True comfort food! With tender, fall off the bone venison shanks in a rich red wine sauce. This slow cooked venison osso buco, is a simple yet delicious Italian classic. Start with a little prep work at the stove devekoping a great flavour base, then let your oven do the hard work for you, as you leave the dish to slow cook to perfection. Creating a flavoursome melt in your mouth dish the whole family will love.
We think you will love how simple yet packed with flavour this dish is! Like our slow cooked beef cheeks this recipe is a classic one pan stove to oven wonder.
Cooking low and slow in the oven is the best way to create fall-apart tender venison shanks with great flavour.
Serve with parmesan risotto, gremolata or a roasted carrot salad for a delicious dinner. We hope you are ready for a new family favorite.
And for those of you who love deer meat, our ground venison koftas are another great recipe!
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What is osso buco?
Osso buco (sometimes referred to as osso bucco) is a classic slow-braised Italian dish. With a rich red wine and tomato based sauce, creating the most tender meat with great flavor.
This cut of meat is a cross-cut of a shank piece, which reveals the bone. Allowing the bone marrow to melt into the sauce during the cooking process. (Seriously yum!)
Meat substitutions for osso buco.
Traditionally, osso buco is made with veal shanks (which is calf meat). But we love using venison which is a great lean meat, and perfect for long, slow cooking.
This recipe is a great way to cook tougher cuts of meat. You could use beef shanks, lamb shanks or even short ribs.
Ingredients
- Oil - canola, vegetable or olive oil.
- Venison osso buco - a cross cut of venison shank.
- Salt and black pepper to season
- Shallots - sometimes called eschalots or French shallots. They are a smaller, oval onion with a mild, slightly sweeter flavour.
- Garlic
- Carrot - or baby carrots
- Celery
- Anchovy fillets - a little secret ingredient that adds a great layer of flavour to the sauce.
- Bay leaf
- Fresh rosemary
- Fresh thyme
- Red wine - a pinot noir or cabernet sauvignon work well.
- Beef stock
- Tinned cherry tomatoes - for great flavour go for the best quality ones you can find.
- Kalamata olives - we love the flavour of kalamata olives but you can substitute with your favourite black olives.
Gremolata - optional but highly reccomended
- Fresh parsley
- Garlic
- Lemon zest.
See the recipe card below for quantities.
Instructions
- Heat a pan to a high heat. Season the venison osso bucu with salt and pepper then drizzle with oil.
- Add the venison to the hot pan and seal both sides.
- Once all the meat is sealed, set a side.
- Heat an oven-proof dish or dutch oven to a medium-high heat. Add a little oil then add the peeled shallot, garlic cloves, diced carrots, and celery, and allow them all to brown lightly.
- Then add the chopped anchovies, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme, and stir through.
- Add the red wine, to deglaze the bottom of the pan and reduce by half.
- Once the red wine has been reduced by half, add the tinned cherry tomatoes and beef stock.
- Return the sealed venison, along with any rest juices, to the dish. Add the olives and bring to a simmer. Make sure all the meat pieces are submerged in the sauce.
- Cover the dish with a lid and place into a 150℃ / 300℉ preheated fan oven.
- Cook time: around 3 ½ hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
More delicious one-pan dinner ideas.
Are you a big fan of flavour packed, one-pan dinners? Then our oven-roasted creamy chicken dish is for you. Or try our easy chicken and prawn paella for another dish that lets the oven do all the hard work for you!
Have you ever tried goat meat? Deliciously tender when slow-cooked, our goat curry recipe is filled with gentle spices to create the most amazing gravy!
Tips from the chef
- Take time to seal the venison steaks well, allowing each side to caramelise will help create delicious flavour and perfectly cooked meat in your finished dish.
- When cooking the shallots and vegetables, allow the pan to get hot first, then add the oil and ingredients and let them get a little brown. Those brown bits are going to add great flavour.
Serving suggestions
Osso buco is traditionally served with bread for mopping up that delicious gravy! But can also be served with:
- Risotto
- Polenta
- Pasta
- Mashed potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Roasted vegetables
- And we highly recommend topping it with some fresh and herby gremolata.
Storage
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 3 days. Remove the meat from the bone prior to storing.
To reheat use a microwave or a small pot on the stove and heat till piping hot. Cool a little and serve, this is one of those dishes where the flavour gets better with time, enjoy!
Alternative cooking method
This recipe could also be cooked in a crock pot or slow cooker. Prepare the venison and sauce as per our steps above then place on a low setting in the slow cooker rather than the oven.
For best results, we would allow 8-10 hours for this slow cooking method. You may also want to adjust your sauce further for a thicker gravy. To do thi remove the meat and reducing the sauce in a saucepan on the stovetop
Love this dish? Please leave us a review below. And come join us on social, tag us in your delicious photos Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Hungry for more deliciousness? Subscribe to our newsletter, to receive our latest e-recipe book and never miss another ATK recipe!
Our goal is to share simple, tasty dishes created by Chef Shane and partner, Sara.
Using Shane's understanding of flavours and knowledge of food, to teach and inspire you to create delicious food everyday and gain a new level of confidence in the kitchen.
Sara understands what it's like preparing weekly dinners for a busy family of five and likes to create dishes that are easy, full of flavour, that the whole family will enjoy.
Happy cooking!
Recipe
Slow cooked venison osso buco
Ingredients
- 100 ml Canola oil
- 1 kg Venison osso buco (See note 1)
- Salt and Pepper to season
- 8 Shallots peeled
- 10 Cloves Garlic peeled
- 1 Carrot peeled, medium diced
- 1 Stick of celery medium diced
- 2 Anchovy fillets chopped
- 2 Bay leaf
- 1 Stick fresh rosemary
- 1 Small bunch fresh thyme
- 500 ml Red wine
- 350 ml Beef stock
- 1 tin cherry tomatoes
- 100 g Kalamata olives
Gremolata (Optional to garnish)
- 1 small bunch Fresh parsley
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- ½ Lemon zest only
Instructions
- Preheat oven fan forced to 150℃ / 300℉
- Prep all the ingredients.
- Heat a medium pan to a high heat, season the venison osso buco with salt and pepper and a drizzle of oil. Add to the hot pan and seal both sides giving a nice caramelised colour to the meat. Remove from the pan and repeat until all the venison pieces are sealed. Set aside.
- Heat an oven-proof dish on the stovetop to a medium-high heat. Add a little oil then add the peeled shallots, garlic cloves, diced carrot, celery and lightly brown.
- Now add the chopped anchovies, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme, stir through then add the red wine and reduce by half. Add the tinned cherry tomatoes and beef stock.
- Return the sealed venison to the dish, along with any rested juices. Add the Kalamata olives and bring to a simmer. Ensure all the meat pieces are submerged in the sauce.
- Cover with a lid and place into the oven. Cook for 3.5 hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
Gremolata (optional but delicious!)
- Wash the parsley under cold running water and shake dry. Using a sharp knife, chop finely.
- Add the minced garlic and lemon zest and mix well.
- Sprinkle over the osso buco.
Leave your reviews, comments and questions below.