Pork Osso buco – Sous Vide

Craving fall-off-the-bone tender pork shank with restaurant-quality flavor? This sous vide pork osso buco recipe is your ticket to mouthwatering results at home, no culinary degree required.

nstead of traditional beef shanks or veal shanks, our tested method takes the guesswork out of cooking this often-tough cut of pork. You’ll get perfectly tender meat infused with rich, complex and classic Italian flavors every single time. Whether you’re new to sous vide or a seasoned pro, this recipe delivers consistently impressive results that’ll have your guests wondering when Nonna taught you her secret recipe.

Grab your knife and fork – well, really, just your fork because this dish is so tender you don’t need a knife – and dig into this fantastic pork recipe. The sous vide cooker will work its magic, both tenderizing and cooking to perfection, a cut of meat that is often prepared in a Dutch oven or on the stovetop. 

By preparing this recipe sous vide style, you lock in all the flavors, allowing the meat to cook low and gently in a juice that transforms into an amazing sauce. Plus, it’s practically a set-it-and-forget-it recipe, so what’s not to love? 

Perfect for dinner parties or just a meal with the family on a Tuesday night, dust off your sous vide equipment, and let’s get started!

Want more pork comfort food recipes? Try our Pork Tenderloin over Three Cheese Gnocchi, Bacon Wrapped Smoked Meatloaf, and Quick Skillet Lasagna!

WHAT IS SOUS VIDE PORK OSSO BUCO?

Sous vide is a French cooking technique used for years in restaurant kitchens. It means under vacuum, and whatever’s being cooked is vacuum-sealed in plastic and cooked underwater at a precise temperature.

The idea is that if you maintain the water temperature, the food being cooked will never cook past that temperature. So, if you want a steak perfectly cooked to 125 degrees F, you’d set your sous vide to 125 degrees F, and a while later, your steak is finished and cooked to that temperature and not a degree more.

As for the meat, we’re using fresh pork shanks as the base for this recipe. The name osso buco means bone with a hole or hollow bone. Essentially, pork shanks are a meat cut with a hollow bone. Inside the pork bone hole lies bone marrow, lending to the dish’s deep flavor. 

Of course, you can use any cooking method you want for these pork shanks. For this recipe, we chose the sous vide cooking method. Cooking pork shanks low and slow using the sous vide method allows for juicy meat with a rich flavor, perfect for a cold winter evening. 

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SOUS VIDE COOKING?

Besides never overcooking another piece of meat, sous vide cooking usually yields fork-tender proteins. The meat essentially braises in the consistent heat of precision cooking until the connective tissue breaks down. Plus, there’s no loss of flavor – everything is cooked together in a vacuum-sealed bag. 

This skips the need for a low and slow simmer all day in a Dutch oven or roasting pan, everything can be cooked right in the sous vide machine. You only want to note that because the food is cooked in a water bath, it needs to be seared ahead or after for a more appealing look. Trust us.

INGREDIENTS for Pork Osso buco

Also often called pork osso bucco, you’ll need to gather a few ingredients to make this incredibly delicious pork recipe.

• Sous Vide precision cooker – Any brand will do, but we love our Anova Sous Vide machine.
• Large container – Filled with water. Having a fitted lid is helpful. Many sous vide appliances also sell water bath containers specially designed to fit the sous vide and any ingredients.
• Pork osso buco – Look for meaty pork shanks.
• Vegetable oil – Or olive oil.
• Carrots – Diced.
• Celery – Diced.
• Shallots – Diced. Shallots have a milder flavor than onions, perfect for this sous vide osso buco recipe.
• Garlic – Fresh is best!
• Italian Seasoning – a go-to blend of herbs and a hint of citrus to brighten dishes
• Tomato paste
• White wine – If you can drink it, you can cook with it! We go with a dry pinot grigio.
• Crushed tomatoes – a 14-ounce can.
• Bay leaf
• Salt and pepper

For the gremolata (herby topping):

• Parsley – Fresh and chopped fine.
• Garlic – Yes, more garlic – bring on the garlic!
• Lemon zest – From a whole lemon.
• Salt

To serve: 

• Fennel bulb, freshly ground black pepper and red pepper flakes, if desired.

How to cook sous vide pork osso buco

Traditionally made with veal shanks, we’re using more affordable pork shanks in this recipe. You should find pork shanks at most grocery stores or ask your butcher. If shopping for meat online, check out our guide to ordering meat online. 

This is a two-step cooking process. The first step is done on the stovetop, and the second is done on the sous vide.

• First, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear the seasoned pork shanks until brown and caramelized. Set them aside when they’re done.

• Then, in the same pan, and with a bit more oil, saute the vegetables until they are tender.
• Mix in the tomato paste, stir to coat, and add in the seasonings. 
• Deglaze the pan with the white wine, and add the diced tomatoes and bay leaves. Mix well and allow to thicken a moment.
• Add the tomato-vegetable mixture to your sous vide bags and add the pork shanks. Massage the contents so that the shanks are well coated. 
• Seal the bags.
• Set your sous vide cooker to 175 degrees F and submerge the bags. Set the timer for 24 hours.
• When the time is nearly up, make the gremolata by mixing the parsley, garlic, lemon zest, and salt and roast the fennel.
• Finally, carefully remove the bags from the water and extract the pork and sauce. Plate with roasted fennel and top with the gremolata. Dig in!

WHAT TO SERVE WITH OSSO BUCO

If you were to order this delicious osso buco in a restaurant, chances are it’d be served with saffron risotto (risotto Milanese), but creamy polenta or even mashed potatoes are a great option, too. You want something to soak up all that fabulous sauce.

To keep it keto, we paired it with mashed roasted parsnips.

​LEFTOVERS & REHEATING

Store leftover Pork Osso Buco in an airtight container for up to 2 days. 

To reheat:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. 
2. Place leftover Pork Osso Buco into a covered oven-safe dish.
3. Cook for 45 minutes or until warm.

If you don’t have time for that (we don’t blame you), pop your leftover meal into a saucepan over medium-high heat and reheat until warm.

You can also use the microwave if you’re super short on time. Just reheat in a microwave-safe dish or plate for at least 1 minute. Keep reheating in 20-30-second intervals until warm. 

More sous vide recipes

Beef Recipes

Beer Braised 48 Hour Sous Vide Short Ribs

Venison

Sous Vide Venison Tenderloin Recipe

Beef Recipes

Sous Vide Hanger Steak Frites

Beef Recipes

Sous Vide Teres Major Steak Recipe

With a rich flavor profile and few key ingredients, this Pork Osso Buco is the perfect recipe for any occasion, especially on a chilly night!

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Pork Osso Buco Recipe FAQs