“Soup Bone” Osso Bucco with Creamy Polenta

“Soup Bone”

Osso Bucco with Creamy Polenta

A majority of Americans at best have no idea what to do with beef bones, and at worst are totally grossed out by them. I happen to LOVE them. I use bone broth in something almost every day. Simply slow cooking the bones with their marrow and connective tissue in water for about ~10 hours will pull magnesium, zinc, manganese, calcium, phosphorus, selenium, iron, vitamin A, and fatty acids from them. The connective tissue will pull collagen, which contains myriad amino acids, the building blocks of soft tissue. All the odd bits together create an ultra nutritious soup and sauce base (or to just drink alone because it’s delicious). Rainshadow “soup bones” happen to be pretty special, because they are also packed with meat. They really lend themselves to ‘fall of the bone’ recipes. I made a few recipes in the last couple of weeks that highlight this gorgeous and underutilized part of the animal.

*As I said above, start with a package of bones and about 6-8 cups of water depending on how condensed you would like the broth. I tend to use less water because it is more storage efficient. I store the broth as a solid and I can add more water as I use it in recipes. Unless I know exactly what I will be using it for, I don’t season it either, minus a generous pinch of salt to help break down the tissue. In this case, I use the broth and meat, which is perfect.

“Soup Bone” Osso Bucco with Creamy Polenta
(Serves 4)

Creamy Polenta:
3/4 cup polenta
1 quart bone broth (give or take a bit)
¾ cup dry white wine
4 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup heavy cream (optional, but… yup)
Salt and pepper to taste

Osso Bucco:
1 package (4) Rainshadow beef bones, 10 hour braised as stated above
1 medium celeriac root, diced or 4 large celery sticks, sliced
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch spring carrots, sliced
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
1 cup bone broth
4 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves.
Fresh parsley for garnish.

  1. Sautee diced onion over medium high heat with a little high heat fat until browned (Rainshadow lard or avocado oil is good here).
  2. Add carrots, celeriac, and tomatoes, reducing heat to a medium medium-low simmer, stirring occasionally until desired vegetable tenderness is achieved. I go about 10-15 minutes. (These ingredients are typically slow cooked with the meat, but I prefer more toothsome vegetables with more nutrients, so I cook them for much less time.)
  3. Add fresh thyme and the beef to the vegetable sauce and let everything come to temp.

*Since the vegetables are much less labor intensive to watch, you can cook the polenta at the same time in a separate pan*

  1. Add polenta to a hot pan over medium high heat and toss it to toast it, about, 2 minutes
  2. Add white wine and garlic, stirring constantly while lowering the heat to medium
  3. As the liquid soaks into the polenta, add bone broth a half cup at a time and continue to stir.
  4. After about 15 minutes, taste, and check to see the toothsome quality. It should be soft and creamy. Keep adding broth (or water if you run out of broth) and cooking until you achieve this consistency.
  5. Add the cream and a little black pepper… salt if needed.
  6. Assemble the polenta, topped with sauce and beef. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
-@theprimalfocus