Osso Bucco & Tappenade

[kokopuffs]

Re: the osso bucco. Yesterday I ate one from the Denver restaurant called PANZANO. Now, previous OB's that I've eaten at other restaurants seemed broiled, the meat well browned and served nearly sizzling. But the OB from this venue, although very tasty, was served properly cooked (heated) but looked totally pale throughout. Was this version of OB legitimate meaning a different style of preparation?

Re: the tappenade. It consisted of EVOO, sun dried tomatos, kalamata olives and capers. Does this mixture infuse or is infusion achieved with some heating?

And overall, the food and service were excellent although downtown Denver seemed a bit lifeless.

thanks,
T

[kuan]

The shank should be browned and then braised. Sometimes it's just not browned properly, and sometimes the braising process removes some of the caramelization on the meat.

The tapenade should be more like a spread. It's likely that whoever wrote the menu took some liberties with the term.

Kuan

[MarkV]

Although there are recipes that call for a "white" braise, i.e., not browning the meat first before cooking it in the liquid, Osso buco is not one of them.

Since it is such common knowledge that browning the meat first will always add more flavor to the finished dish, it can only be assumed that whoever made your OB in Denver took a short cut, forgot, was abducted by aliens the night before, or is very inexperienced.

[Suzanne]

Was that tapenade (which sounds closer to olivada) served with the Osso buco?

[kokopuffs]

Suzanne:

The tapenade was an accompaniment to their good bread. The ingredients appeared chopped finely rather than homogenized by running thru a blender.

[kuan]

You know, I forgot to mention, things don't brown as well at high altitude.

Kuan











































Psyche!

[Isa]

Could it be you had ossobucco in bianco? A tomato-less veal shank dish.

[Pongi]

It may depend on the recipe they use. Ossobuco alla Milanese is often rolled in flour before cooking and in this case is obviously browned rather gently. Some recipes call for tomato in the sauce, others don't. The only mandatory things for ossobuco alla milanese are gremolada (parsley, lemon peel, garlic) and white wine for deglazing, so the final result isn't necessarily "brown". My mom, for example, makes a "white" ossobuco, and it's delicious. As for me, I generally brown it more and add some tomato to the sauce, so my ossobuco turns out darker.

Pongi

[kokopuffs]

...probably was OB al Bianco - garnished with spears of asparagus, a few carved carrots, some red colored (nothing insinuated) sauce with either sliced mushrooms or onions. I couldn't discern.