Posted by JonnyMangia
It is with great sadness that I announce that I am finshed with veal osso buco.
I just spent (or wasted) all of Sunday afternoon preparing this dish (recipe from Mario Batali's "Molto Italiano" cookbook) over risotto alla millanese and boy did it turn out like veal dung. The meat wasn't tender enough and it was also too gelatinous and silky in texture. Maybe I would have had better luck trying to buy them at the auto collision shop on Arthur Ave as opposed to Vincent's Meat Store, cause I felt like I was chewing on a tire instead of a piece of veal. (Disclosure - I have never bought meat at Vincent's, I typically go to Peter's or Biancardi's, but they were both out of osso bucco by the afternoon. Vincent had a big tray and it seems like a venerable old business, so I'm not going to sit here and say he sold me poor grade meat, but boy what a start we're off to!) 
The three shanks in the back are from Vincent's. The dwarf in the
front is from Peter's. His tasted better. This goes to show you - the
smaller the shank, the better.
The Finished Product - Veal Osso Bucco over Risotto alla Milanese. The sauce is composed
of
carrots, celery, thyme, onion, tomato, chicken broth and white wine.
The sauce tasted great. Wish I could say the same about the meat!
The deeper issue here is that I simply don't think I like veal any longer. I don't like the texture, I don't like the richness and (at least with these shanks) there is too much damn gelatin/fat on them.
My mother thinks I am being too rash and says that she'll make the veal osso buco after the Holidays and we'll judge it then. Nikki thinks that I nailed the risotto and that the meat was as tender as could be...she just thinks that veal might not be for us any more. Me? I think it's time to move on.
This is very tough. I have had a long history with this dish. I think about the days when I was first introduced to Osso Bucco at Valentino's of Yonkers, where they would only serve it on Wednesday nights, and you would have to call in and order your shank in advance. Then we have all the special occasions where my mother would make it served in a variety of ways - over risotto, over papardelle, with a brown sauce, with a tomato sauce...etc. Then there was the time that I made it with my brother Mario and cousin Jimmy as we all cooked together for the first time, and the time I made it for Nikki when we were still dating, as I tried to dust off one of my old special dishes to impress her.
1997: A Rite of Passage
Mario and Jimmy enjoy Osso Bucco
with glasses of Chianti at Valentino's of Yonkers. Oh wait, that's my
wine on the right. The waiter wouldn't serve Jimmy so he's partaking
in a sparkling Coca-Cola to the right of the water.
But, all good things must come to an end, and I am of the belief that this goes beyond having a bad meal. I just don't think veal and I get along any more. Sad to say, but palettes change..especially when the dish you're hedging about tastes more like Goodyear than Batali.
Jonny
Comments