Beef Osso Bucco (too many Pics)

... or "Resigning Myself to the Onset of Autumn"

Got a massive new book on pastured meat called "Good Meat". I got it for the wide ranging recipes, more than for the guide to pastured lamb, beef, pork, chicken, etc, but it does have some wonderful resources for finding pastured animals. Also has a little section on cut sheets (ordering your cuts from the processor, as well as a little photo essay on breaking down a side of beef, pork, etc. Good visuals. The recipes are not run of the mill either, but are traditional at the same time, if that means anything.

Anyway, been wanting to do Osso Bucco since I got the BGE, and finally did it. I loosely (very loosely) followed the recipe, first twist was using beef shank instead of veal. Was fantastic. Nothing adventurous here. I was avoiding work, and indulged myself by puttering in the kitchen on a fall sunday. After inducing my food coma, i then decided to work til 1am. zzzzzzz

Anyway, speaking of indulging... here are more than a few pics.

Pan seared some beef shanks in (my own homemade) bacon fat. Did a pair at a time, and each pair got a ride on the grill for some extra smoke and color.



Cooked a couple medium onions down



and threw in some small cubes of the last green tomatoes, a red jalapeno, and a small semi-ripe red tomato



while that was all cooking in the dutch oven on the egg, i split and oiled some sugar pumpkins



and put them around the Dutch Oven to Roast for a couple hours



when the pumpkins were softish, i tossed them in an enameled pot on the stove top, added a generous (maybe 5 or 6 cups) of chicken stock, some allspice, nutmeg (just a hint, not making egg nog here), and two smallish cans of coconut milk. Toward the end, i also added a few ounces of lemongrass, squeeze of lemon, and salted/peppered to taste.



stick blender pureed it, and it simmered til we ate

last eggplant from the garden, and the leaves from my younger son's lone-surviving cauliflower plant, for some weird improvised warm salad i came up with, which was damn good thankUverymuchifIdosaysomyself



oiled the eggplant and roasted it next to the Dutch oven



to the beef shanks and onions/tomatoes i'd added some chicken stock, red wine (recipe called for white), two massive sprigs of rosemary and two of sage (not in the recipe either), tomato paste, salt, pepper, etc. it was simmering while the eggplant roasted a bit (but not completely through



while the eggplant was roasting, i hacked together a dressing of sweet curry powder (cheap stuff), salt/pepper, local wild honey, cider vinegar, lemon juice, chili powder (a hint), and olive oil. Was surprisingly good for someone who has no idea how to "make things up" food-wise

art-shot of the spoon of honey and the dry stuff



bear with me... there's a little more.

for the salad, took some lardons from my homemade sweet maple bacon, and cooked it down with some thin sliced red onion til they were both crispy and soft/sweet



finished eggplant for the salad



the osso bucco and soup were simmering, and so i went to work in the studio. my wife's sister was down, and they sat outside drinking a 'little' wine by the fire. told her to take her time with sis, and when she wanted to eat, to simply do her thing with the salad and call me to the table. here's the salad fodder: the de-ribbed cauliflower greens, the eggplant, a lemon to squeeze for some vapor to wilt the greens, etc.



she warmed the onions in the pan with the cubed eggplant, added the leaves and a squeeze of lemon, and covered til it wilted. dressed it at the table with my little curry dressing. not bad. eggplant had been on the vine too long (i was in denial of the end of summer) and was a little bitter, but still good.

believe it or not... no plated pics. sis-in-law scratching her head as i took a few out at the BGE, and when i sat at the table, it was already plated and ready to go. wasn't gonna take pics while they ate.

here's the osso bucco just before it was being served, some of the very last parsley from the garden. after dinner, they lit a fire in the fireplace, and i went back to work.



goodbye summer, hello Autumn. Winter? well, you can go and, well, you know. I ain't ready for that yet.

the book, whose recipe i bastardized to a good degree:
Good Meat

...it has lots of recipes that are tweaks on classic dishes but which are focused on pastured local animals, or which i just found interesting (some middle eastern flavors, for example)