The traditional meaning is cross cut veal shank, leaving the signature ”hole” bone slice, and the dish, while open to variation, is a braise. I've never heard it used for anything else, but we all know that nowadays people will call anything by any old name if there's an ingredient in common, like any old emulsion is called ”aioli” even though aioli literally means garlic oil.

It’s traditionally veal shanks sliced through to make rounds with a round bone in the middle. Here it’s hard to get veal so we use baby beef instead.

Funny story- I love the marrow in the centre of the bones but DH is skeeved out by it. So when I dish up I poke the marrow out of the bones in his portion onto my plate. He didn’t realise this until I related a similar story posted by someone else!

Isn't veal baby beef?

I've only ever heard of it being cooked with veal.

Proper veal is suckling calf; baby beef is a little older.

I always make with venison.

I’ve often seen pork shanks cut and sold as osso bucco, seen it on menus and I see there are plenty of recipes for it out there, too. Never had it though, I’ve only made or eaten it with veal. I would try pork, though I’d have to overcome something mental and likely irrational to eat the marrow.

Since veal has become taboo to eat (oh, those poor baby calves!) I've switched to lamb as an alternative.

Ha - my dad would never eat lamb or rabbit because he hated thinking of those cute little creatures being dead. I think he felt similarly about veal.

I've never cooked nor eaten Osso Bucco myself, BTW - looked at plenty of recipes for it, tho...

Can you get rose veal in the US? https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/farmed-animal-welfare/beef-cattle/what-is-veal/#:~:text=Rose%20veal%20accounts%20for%20around,bedded%20barns%20in%20the%20UK.

I have never cared for veal, so I'm not up on all the details, but California has pretty good animal welfare laws which govern all meat raised or imported here. The veal raised by growers active in sustainability has a good reputation. Again, I don't know the details, other than most people would rather have awful, cheap food, than ethically produced good food, and few, do to standardization and lack of imagination, even eat lamb or goat, let alone veal, so I doubt there's market penetration into ordinary grocery stores. But if you know where to look and are willing to support hands on agriculture, ethically raised veal is obtainable. Same as you can buy a $4 chicken from who knows where, if it passes the bare minimum humane requirements, or you can buy a $20 local pastured chicken.

We enjoyed our beef "OssoBucco", so I found more at the Grocery and will make it again. Veal is taboo in many States and haven't heard of it in years.

Many years ago we knew a family that had a Veal farm, and it turned off me just to visit the realive nice/clean operation and I didn't like how the calves were treated and how they lived.

I also pay extra for the better meat - all Organic and well treated - like rated at Whole Foods. So things I like because they taste the way I grew up and have better taste when pasture-raised and ran around free-range.

So I guess I had Osso Bucco all wrong. My grandmother made something she called OB. And in her later years I made it for her. Yes it was veal (or beef) shank and yes braised. But hers was cooked in this lemony, wine tomato sauce that I love. I guess I particularly associated the sauce’s flavor profile with it being Osso Bucco.

My osso bucco recipe has a whole lemon peel, wine and tomato in the sauce. There’s also onions, carrots and celery.

I've had it with and without tomatoes, but a must is the topping of gremolata. It lifts the flavour.

Different strokes but I find gremolata ruins it.

I do'r knoe that I've had gremolata on OssoBucco before.

Funny! I've never had it without.

Maybe I should try it with the gremolato if we would like it. I jarred 3 jars for the freezer and used the Bone Broth of it to make another batch of the "Osso Bucco"and there is more left over so I can make that and try that flavor.

I've never made osso bucco, although I've eaten it. But Felicity Cloake, whom I rate highly, insists on both veal and gremolata. She writes a column in which she discusses different chef's versions of classic dishes and comes up with her 'best' version. I've never made a dud from one of her recipes. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/mar/06/how-to-cook-perfect-osso-buco

That said, if people are making delicious meals from other meats and different ingredients, who's to quibble? But perhaps call it braised beef bones or something, rather than osso bucco.

Agreed! it's not the variation that's at issue, just the expectation behind the name.

I’ve had that argument with fellow cooks in at least two of the restaurants I’ve cooked in.

”If you’re going to use that leftover lamb to make vegetable soup, you can’t call it ”Beef and Vegetable Soup”. 🙄 Someone is bound to notice the difference in flavour. If you don’t think people will go for ”Lamb and Vegetable Soup”, call it ”Farmhouse Stockpot” or something.”

”No, you can’t use any flavour iceceam to make affogato. People are expecting vanilla.”

If something is a classic recipe, then by all means vary it as you like, but call it something different.

Here in Oz it’s very common to braise lamb shanks in a way not unlike Osso Busso, but it’s never occurred to me to call them Osso Bucco.

Even ”Lamb Shanks Osso Bucco Style” would work...

Sherry, there still is ethically raised, milk fed by mommy veal if you're willing to pay for it. I appreciate your position, however. What we're asking is not that you cook or eat veal, but that you call your venison dish something like ”No tortured cattle babies osso buccu made of venison” or ”Veal will never enter my kitchen bambi in the osso bucco style” or just the elegantly restrained ”Venison osso bucco style” or ”Italian style braised deer.”

Sorry to me osso bucco is any leg shank cut in to rounds, be it beef of any age, lamb, goat, or venison.

ossobuco, which means “bone with a hole” in Italian

https://honest-food.net/osso-buco-recipe/

You all know what a bore I am over the names of dishes. I do think it's important. I got really itchy about a vegan restaurant in England going on about serving "cassoulet" and "coq au vin". It's total stupid nonsense imho.

I agree that a name should tell a person what they are getting - or cooking. What I make it still is beef steak cooked in liquid until tender. We always used a big piece with a round bone for the marrow... usely caused a fight over it.