Brimming with rich, deep flavors, Easy Beef Osso Buco is a slow cooker classic. With just 30 minutes of preparation in the morning, this warm stew cooks in 8 hours while you are at work or running errands throughout the day and is ready to eat when you get home.
 
Serves 8 (serving size: about 1 cup beef mixture and 2 teaspoons gremolata)
 
 

Ingredients

 
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3 pounds cross-cut bone-in beef shanks
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
Cooking spray
2 cups sliced onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrot
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup unsalted beef stock
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
8 plum tomatoes
6 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon minced garlic
Hands-on: 30 Minutes
Total: 8 Hours, 30 Minutes
 

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt over beef. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat. Add beef; cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Add beef to a 6-quart electric slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to skillet; swirl. Add onion, celery, carrot, tomato paste, and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Add stock and mushrooms. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add stock mixture, wine, cornstarch, pepper, and bay leaf to slow cooker.

3. Place tomatoes on a jelly-roll pan. Broil 8 minutes or until blackened. Place tomatoes on beef, pressing lightly to crush.

4. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours or until beef is tender. Remove beef from cooker. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Stir meat and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt into cooker. Discard the bay leaf.

5. Combine parsley, rind, and garlic. Sprinkle on top.

 
 
Super-Slow Roasted Beef
from the Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes
 
1 beef roast roast, such as Top, Bottom or Eye of the round
Herb rub
 
Rub roast with the rub of your choice (2 recipes to follow), loosely wrap in plastic and allow to sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
 
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
 
Place meat in a small roasting pan, insert a meat thermometer, and cook for 30 minutes. Turn the oven heat as low as you can (most modern ovens do not go below 170 degrees F, but if yours will accurately go as low as 150 or 160 degrees F, so much the better). Continue cooking until the thermometer registers 120 to 125 degrees F. Because these tend to be lean cuts, it is recommended that you do not cook them any further than medium-rare. As a guide, figure on 1 hour and 10 minutes per pound of meat at 170 degrees F. 
 
Remove roast from oven, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Carve in very thin slices to serve.
 
Garlic-Herb Rub
from the Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground fennel
2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 Tbsp coarse salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
 
Cumin-Cinnamon Rub
from the Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook, by Shannon Hayes
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 Tbsp coarse salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper