Osso Bucco!

Osso Bucco is something that I typically make in the cold winter months but I wanted a crock pot dish and they had lovely beef shanks on sale at Arbor Farms. Osso Bucco is often made with veal but we don't eat veal (at home), so beef it is. I had never done an Osso Bucco in the crock pot and wow, it worked.

2 beef shanks
some flour
2 T butter
 salt and pepper
1 red onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup white wine
1 can diced tomatoes
2 T thyme

For gremolata:
handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
zest of a lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
Mix together

Salt and pepper the shanks, dredge in some flour and then brown in butter about 5 minutes per side in large skillet. Transfer shanks to slow cooker. To the skillet add the onion, carrot, celery--stir around. Add the broth, wine and tomatoes and the thyme. Bring to a boil and then pour over the shanks-set to cook on low for 6 hours.

When ready to serve, remove shanks and keep warm. Transfer the sauce to sauce pan and bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes to thicken.

Serve shanks over rice, ladle on the sauce and top with the gremolata.