Slow Cooker Oriental-Spiced Osso Bucco with Spicy Cilantro Gremolata

Oriental-Spiced Osso Bucco with Spicy Cilantro Gremolata

Though relatively cheap, shank is a very flavorful cut of beef if not the most. Braising, a cooking method of partly submerging meat in a flavored cooking liquid would be the best choice for tough cuts of meat such as our main component. Good news is, that braising can certainly be done with a slow cooker!

Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 16 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Asian, Italian

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

Oriental-Spiced Osso Bucco

• 1.5 Kilos Beef Shank cut across the bone, 1.5″ slices
• 2 Pieces Ginger thumb-sized, peeled, thinly sliced
• 2 Bulbs Red Onion peeled, quartered
• 1 Piece Carrot peeled, cut to 1/2″ wedges
• 4 Stalks Leeks cut into 3″ lenghts
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cups Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Cups Chinese Cooking Wine
• 2 Teaspoons Chinese Five-Spice Powder
• 5 Pieces Star Anise
• 1 Tablespoons Black Peppercorns whole
• Salt to taste
• Cornstarch for dredging

Spicy Cilantro Gremolata

• 2 Tablespoons Chili-Garlic Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
• 1 Piece Lemon juice and zest
• 1 Handful Cilantro Leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 Tablespoons Honey
• Salt to taste

Instructions

Oriental-Spiced Osso Bucco

• Season beef shanks with salt, pepper, and five spice on both sides.
• Dredge seasoned shanks lightly with cornstarch, patting off excess.
• Heat peanut oil in a pan and sear beef shanks to a dark brown crust on both sides. Transfer the seared beef shanks into the cooking vessel of your slow cooker.
• After searing all the shanks, in the same pan, saute ginger, onions, carrots, star anise, and black peppercorns for a minute. Add in the tomato paste and continue roasting for another minute.
• Deglaze the pan with chinese cooking wine, scraping all the pan drippings.
• Tip the contents of the pan into the slow cooker, on top of the beef shanks. Add in soy sauce, brown sugar, and leeks. Add water until the shanks are barely covered.
• Leave to cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat is fork tender.

Spicy Cilantro Gremolata

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
• Season to taste with salt.
• Refrigerate covered until needed.

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Osso Bucco, Italian for “bone with a hole”, is a traditional Milanese dish of cross-cut veal shanks braised in white wine, stock, and flavoring vegetables. It is traditionally served with gremolata, which is an herb condiment that basically consisted of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.

Though relatively cheap, shank is a very flavorful cut of beef if not the most. Braising, a cooking method of partly submerging meat in a flavored cooking liquid would be the best choice for tough cuts of meat such as our main component. Good news is, that braising can certainly be done with a slow cooker!

This Oriental take on a classic, freshens the flavor profile of the dish, infusing it with the boldly sweet, spicy, and aromatic characteristics that Asian cooking has been known for. It also spices up the accompanying gremolata to perfectly balance out the richness of the dish. This is best served with steamed rice or egg noodles to round-up the Asian dining experience.

This is a sure crowd-pleaser. The sweet, spicy, sticky sauce alone packs lots of flavor. So prepare a much more generous serving of starch sides!

I'd like to share a few cooking tips before we get started:

Truss your individual cuts of beef shank.  That is, securing a length of butcher's twine around its diameter.  This would help the shanks retain their shape throughout the cooking process.  This also applies to all types of meat for roasting.  As my mentors back in culinary school have stressed : TRIM, TRUSS, SEASON!  Just don't get too excited to dig into the dish without removing those strings!

I've used peanut oil for searing the shanks.  It may be substituted with vegetable oil, but is recommended for its high smoking point.  When searing, we want to achieve a very high temperature to seal the surface of the meat without causing it to steam in its own juices.  We don't want the oil to burn during this process as it would impart a bitter flavor.  Peanut oil is mostly used in Asian cuisine for this characteristic, as most dishes are prepared in a thin wok over high-pressure burners.  It also adds a distinct pleasing aroma, which you may have been passively familiar with.

I've used a metal rondo to sear my shanks, and roast my flavoring vegetables.  With all that cornstarch, flipping those shanks was a real struggle.   Using non-stick pans may be an easier option for this task but won’t be ideal for we want some caramelization to form.  You may be tempted to ignore this tip, but believe me, those burnt pieces at the bottom of your pan make for a very huge flavor difference in your dish, and to any other dish that comes with a  brown-based sauce.

You may do this in batches, if you have a small-sized pan.

Sweat out your aromatics.  The ginger, onions, peppercorns, carrots, and star anise will release a more potent flavor if you give them time in the pan.  You may need to turn down the heat for this.

Also, take time to roast your tomato paste.  This would allow for a deeper red sauce, and will cut out most of the tomato's acidity.  Skipping this step would give this dish a sour hint, which we do not like.  We'll use tomato paste in this recipe for the body that it would give and not for its acidity.

When deglazing your pan with wine, scrape every bit of those burnt pieces.  They would release lots of flavor.  Also, allowing wine to reduce cuts out its acidity.  You'll know if you've reduced your wine enough by taking a sniff off the steam.  It should not give a stingy feeling to your nose.  Adding some water will also give you more time to scrape those sticky bits if needed.

You may leave this dish to braise longer in your slow cooker, resulting to much more tender meat.  I like mine tender with a bit of bite though.  This is all personal preference.

Play with your gremolata.  Alter the proportion of ingredients to your taste.  Add some chopped anchovies.  Add a bit of soy sauce.  It basically is a condiment, so feel free to please your taste buds.

At the end, I scooped out all those tender shanks on to a serving plate and ran an immersion blender in the pot.  I wanted to incorporate all the flavors from those vegetables into my sauce.  Also,  they acted as a natural thickener.

Final tip : I suggest cornstarch as a thickener for this particular recipe due to the translucent colour and sheen that it would give to the sauce.  Flour would also work without altering the flavor, but would make the sauce cloudy and less appealing.

Serving suggestion : Toss some pre-boiled egg noodles with the gremolata and top with the pieces of beef shank. Feel free to ladle in some extra sauce!

A fantastic slow cooker to make this recipe is the Crock-Pot Digital touchscreen slow cooker. It's a very well designed, 6.5 quart slow cooker that goes well in just about any kitchen. It's about time someone started updating the dated look that's so common to “standard” slow cookers. Check out our review and see what you think.

Oriental-Spiced Osso Bucco with Spicy Cilantro Gremolata

Though relatively cheap, shank is a very flavorful cut of beef if not the most. Braising, a cooking method of partly submerging meat in a flavored cooking liquid would be the best choice for tough cuts of meat such as our main component. Good news is, that braising can certainly be done with a slow cooker!

Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 16 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Asian, Italian

Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

Oriental-Spiced Osso Bucco

• 1.5 Kilos Beef Shank cut across the bone, 1.5″ slices
• 2 Pieces Ginger thumb-sized, peeled, thinly sliced
• 2 Bulbs Red Onion peeled, quartered
• 1 Piece Carrot peeled, cut to 1/2″ wedges
• 4 Stalks Leeks cut into 3″ lenghts
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cups Soy Sauce
• 1/2 Cups Chinese Cooking Wine
• 2 Teaspoons Chinese Five-Spice Powder
• 5 Pieces Star Anise
• 1 Tablespoons Black Peppercorns whole
• Salt to taste
• Cornstarch for dredging

Spicy Cilantro Gremolata

• 2 Tablespoons Chili-Garlic Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
• 1 Piece Lemon juice and zest
• 1 Handful Cilantro Leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 Tablespoons Honey
• Salt to taste

Instructions

Oriental-Spiced Osso Bucco

• Season beef shanks with salt, pepper, and five spice on both sides.
• Dredge seasoned shanks lightly with cornstarch, patting off excess.
• Heat peanut oil in a pan and sear beef shanks to a dark brown crust on both sides. Transfer the seared beef shanks into the cooking vessel of your slow cooker.
• After searing all the shanks, in the same pan, saute ginger, onions, carrots, star anise, and black peppercorns for a minute. Add in the tomato paste and continue roasting for another minute.
• Deglaze the pan with chinese cooking wine, scraping all the pan drippings.
• Tip the contents of the pan into the slow cooker, on top of the beef shanks. Add in soy sauce, brown sugar, and leeks. Add water until the shanks are barely covered.
• Leave to cook on low for 8-10 hours or until the meat is fork tender.

Spicy Cilantro Gremolata

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
• Season to taste with salt.
• Refrigerate covered until needed.

Like this recipe?Follow @FoodForNet on Pinterest!