Slow Cooker Osso Buco Recipe

Osso buco.

Prounounced “ah-so boo-ko”.

Tastes “amazing”.

Cooks, sooo tender.

Last week, I was walking by the farmer’s market at Copley Square in Boston, and noticed a meat purveyor that sold local grass-fed meat.  And one of the things I like to ask, is “Is this grain-finished”?  It’s a minor detail that most aren’t even aware to ask, and I didn’t even know to ask until about a year ago.

Now, what do I mean by grain-finished?  Well, a very common practice in raising grass-fed beef is to feed the cattle grain for the last several weeks to a couple of months before they are butchered to fatten them up a bit.  So, even though you buy “grass-fed” beef, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is 100% grass-fed, and grass-finished.

So, I was wicked excited to hear that this vendor sold 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef.  Yeah buddy!

$80 dollars later in beef sales, and I was able to not only make this melt-in-your-mouth osso buco, but I also snagged few rib eyes for the freezer.  Which, have been a bit of an obsession lately.

Slow Cooker Osso Buco Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 osso buco shanks (size will vary)
• 3 ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 1 yellow onion chopped (I ended up using 8-10 cippolini onions)
• 2 carrots, chopped into rounds
• 4 cloves fresh garlic
• 6-8 sprig of fresh thyme tied together
• 2 tbs. grass-fed butter
• 2-3 cups homemade broth (if you do not have, you can substitute with store bought chicken stock)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• Parsley
• Sea salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat and add the 2 tbs. of butter.
2. Season the shank with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Brown the shank for about 2 minutes on each side.  Place the shanks in a slow cooker.
4. De-glaze the pan with the 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar and about 1 cup of the broth.   Pour this liquid mixture into the slow cooker.
5. Add the tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and thyme and pour the remaining broth into the slow cooker.
6. Set to 8 hours.
7. Add more salt and pepper to taste and garnish with fresh parsley.