Beef

Smoked Osso Buco Recipe for Fall Cooking

As the days get shorter and the evenings turn crisp, few dishes bring more comfort than osso buco cooked low and slow.

Osso buco is one of the glories of Italian cuisine—veal shanks braised for hours with wine, herbs, and aromatic vegetables. It starts with an undisputably tough cut of meat—the shin—and you cook it low and slow until it’s tender enough to eat with a spoon. The best part might just be the buttery marrow inside the shank bone. (Hence the reference to a spoon—which you need for scooping the marrow out of the bone.)

What Is Osso Buco?

A specialty of Milan in the province of Lombardy in northern Italy, osso buco (literally “cow bone”) is the ultimate comfort food—perfect for winter. (Actually, it’s pretty perfect any time of the year.) It’s hard to imagine how you could improve on a dish Italians have been making for centuries. But I’m going try. And my secret weapon—you see this coming—is my smoker.

My osso buco upgrade involves a technique I call smoke-braising. You read about it in my book Project Smoke, where I used it to make smoke-braised Asian lamb shanks. I like to think of smoke as the umami of barbecue and it imbues this already amazing dish with the spirit of American barbecue.

How to Smoke Osso Buco

Despite its amazing flavors and a semi-long ingredient list, osso buco is quick and easy to make. Note I said to make. It does require 3 hours of cooking. But if you own a pellet grill, you pretty much set it and forget it. Ditto on a gas grill. A kamado grill, like a Big Green Egg, is perfect for osso buco. So is a charcoal smoker or grill, although with both you’ll need to replenish the charcoal and wood every hour.

As you look at the following photos, you may be surprised to find aluminum foil wrapped around the pot. That’s to keep the smoke off the outside. (If the truth be told, it’s pretty easy for you to clean the pot with a blast of oven cleaner.)

I give you smoked osso buco! It’s great the day you make it and even better served as leftovers.

Smoked osso buco isn’t just a dish—it’s a full fall feast. Pair it with sides like Grilled Smoked Mac and Cheese, Grilled Poblano Cornbread, or Plancha Potato Chips to round out the meal. For more autumn inspiration, check out our collection of fall-friendly sides and recipes

Smoked Osso Buco: Frequently Asked Questions

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