Is this ever delicious! So worth making. Long simmered pork shoulder chunks in a brothy sauce, ladled over a fresh batch of oven-baked polenta, and topped off with gremolata (the green stuff in the center).
So there’s a cute story about this – – we had this on New Years’ Eve, for dinner. My son-in-law, John, (Sara’s husband) was in l-o-v-e with it. He had seconds. Then he ate what was left on their son’s plate. He said: “Oh, where has this been for the last 56 years?” Obviously, he’s 56 now. Does that give you a clue as to how good this is?
A couple of weeks ago my friend Cherrie and my daughter Sara and I met in La Jolla (a seaside village north of San Diego) to attend a cooking class. I don’t believe I’ve been to a cooking class since we attended this same kind of class last December. Phillis Carey and Diane Phillips (both long-time cooking instructors and cookbook authors) taught the class, aimed at Christmas feasts. Diane is either Italian herself, or her husband is (they own a home in Spoleto, Italy and divide their time between San Diego and Tuscany). Phillis doesn’t teach cooking classes anymore (she’s retired except for taking some group cruise ship tours in various parts of the world with cooking and food as the emphasis). I miss Phillis’s classes.
But anyway, Phillis and Diane teach the equivalent of a full cooking class each at this particular event – a full course meal, demonstration and then everyone gets to sample the food. Diane did 6 dishes, Phillis did 5, I believe. There were several stars in the mix, and this was one of them. Sara and I decided we’d like to prepare this over New Years’ weekend sometime. We’re going to be in the desert with family visiting that weekend and it’ll make a great company meal. The flavor was just over the top delicious. A pork shoulder is used, cut up into small chunks (see photo below) and it’s served over a very easy baked polenta. Diane explained that some while back she just didn’t want to buy veal shanks anymore (they’re so very expensive, and it’s so inhumane to slaughter a very young steer), so she tried pork shoulder. Here’s the photo of it simmering.
Here on my blog I already have a recipe for osso bucco using pork shanks. But this one is very different using the pork shoulder. What’s there not to like about all the flavor from the fat in that pork shoulder? You do get to skim some of that fat off during the cooking process. The pork is browned then all the aromatics are added (onion, carrot, celery, sage, wine, broth, tomatoes). The meat is simmered for about 2 hours, or until the pork is super-tender. Diane recommends making it the day before, refrigerating it (that’s when you can remove the fat that rises to the top), then it’s merely a matter of reheating it. Serve with Gremolata – to me it “makes” the dish. It’s a mixture of freshly chopped Italian parsley, orange and lemon zest and fresh garlic (finely minced). See photo below.
The polenta was super-easy – you combine water, polenta style cornmeal, salt and pepper in a baking dish. You leave it uncovered, transfer to a 375°F oven and bake for an hour. Then you stir in Parm and butter. You want to serve the meal immediately when the polenta comes out of the oven while it’s creamy and hot, though you can add more hot broth or water to it to loosen it if it has to sit a few minutes.
What’s GOOD: everything about this was yummy. So tender, the meat, delicious juices running all over the plate, and the creamy polenta that is a match made in heaven. Serve it with gremolata (garlic, lemon zest, orange zest and Italian parsley). So pretty and it truly adds a lot of extra flavor.
What’s NOT: only that you need to start this several hours ahead (or ideally the day before).
printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)
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Pork Shoulder Osso Bucco
Recipe By: Diane Phillips, cooking class, 12/2023
Servings: 8
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 pounds pork shoulder — cut into 1″ cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup onion — finely chopped
1 cup carrot — finely chopped
1 cup celery — finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 cup dry white wine — or vermouth
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
30 ounces canned tomatoes — including juice
GREMOLATA:
4 cloves garlic — minced
grated zest of one lemon
grated zest of one orange
1/2 cup Italian parsley — chopped
OVEN BAKED POLENTA:
8 cups water
2 cups polenta — medium grind cornmeal, not instant type
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated (about 2 cups)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter — cut into pieces
1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven, melt butter in the oil. Sprinkle pork cubes with salt, pepper and brown the meat a few pieces at a time, until they are nicely crusted on all sides, removing them from the pan and adding more, as they are browned. Remove all the meat and set aside.
2. Add onion, carrot, celery and sage and saute for 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften and turn translucent.
3. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
4. Add broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add the pork into the pan, along with any accumulated juices. Simmer the meat for 2 hours, covered, or until pork is tender. At this point the dish can be cooled to room temp, covered and refrigerated up to three days of frozen for 2 months. Reheat over low heat before serving.
5. GREMOLATA: In a small bowl combine garlic, zests, and parsley. Set aside.
6. Remove any fat that may have accumulated on the top of the stew; serve with oven baked polenta and garnish the top with the Gremolata.
7. POLENTA: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 375°F. Coat the inside of a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
8. Combine water, polenta, salt and pepper in baking dish. DO NOT COVER.
9. Transfer uncovered dish to oven and bake until water is absorbed and polenta has thickened, about 60 minutes.
10. Remove baking dish from oven and whisk in Parm cheese and butter and stir until polenta is creamy and smooth. Plan to serve the osso bucco immediately after the polenta is cooked through. If you let it sit it will become much more firm. You can add broth or water to is to loosen is up, but it’s ideal served immediately.
Per Serving: 658 Calories; 43g Fat (59.8% calories from fat); 50g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 175mg Cholesterol; 1708mg Sodium; 7g Total Sugars; 2mcg Vitamin D; 277mg Calcium; 3mg Iron; 466mg Potassium; 612mg Phosphorus.
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