A Simple Dish With Deep Flavor
This recipe is inspired by a trip I took to Florida with Fergus [Henderson] where we got to eat lunch cooked by Marcella Hazan. She made the most delicious spinach pappardelle with ragu and then these wonderful veal shanks. These are the ones that I recreate in my book. The veal shanks were a bit sticky and chewy, and she stuck two spoons inside the hollow of the bone directly into the marrow. It is something I will always remember.
April Bloomfield’s Roasted Veal Shanks
Ingredients
- 1 veal fore shank (about 4 ½ pounds), without the knuckle, bone cut to reveal the marrow
- About ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- About 1 ½ tablespoons Maldon or another flaky sea salt
- 5 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 medium skin-on garlic cloves
- About ¾ cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
- Salsa Verde, optional
Instructions
Servings: 4
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Put the shank in a roasting pan or baking dish. Drizzle all over with olive oil and rub the oil into the meat, then season it liberally with salt. Roast the shank in the oven for 2 hours, turning it over every now and then.
Lower the heat to 300 degrees F and scatter the shallots and garlic around the shank. Cook, knocking the shallots around occasionally with a spoon, until they look soft and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pour a small splash of white wine over and around the shank and keep cooking, adding a splash of wine every 15 minutes or so and basting occasionally, until the shank is tender but with a slight, almost crunchy chewiness (the meat should not be falling the bone), about 1 ½ hours more. If you run out of wine before the end of cooking, you can add little splash of water, just to keep things moist.
Transfer the shank to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pour ¼ cup water into the roasting pan, set it over high heat, and bring to a boil as you stir and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon to get at all the caramelized bits. Turn off the heat, add salt to taste, and set it aside while you slice the shank.
Cut the meat perpendicular to the bone into ¼-inch to ½-inch slices. Put them on a plate and top with the pan juices. Spoon the salsa verde, if using, here and there.
