I have always wanted to make ossobuco. In fact, it’s on my short list of dishes that I hope to prepare sometime in my lifetime. Traditionally made with veal shanks, it’s just not something that one can make on a whim, because the average home cook simply doesn’t have access to veal shanks. Or veal anything for that matter. (At least in my neck of the woods.) I have long been enchanted by the idea of the long, slow braise, topped with a bright and vibrant gremolata just before serving. I have always known that the melting meat of ossobuco would be a fine accomplishment indeed.
Well. A few weeks ago, while grocery shopping, I found a ridiculous deal on turkey drumsticks. Despite the fact that we had plenty of turkey over the holidays- and I still have turkey to be cooked in the freezer, I picked some up. In the back of my mind I could see a recipe somewhere for an ossobuco made with turkey legs. I was not mistaken.
Friends, I have to tell you, it just doesn’t get much easier than this to make something so spectacular. Who would have thought that humble turkey drumsticks could turn into perfection in just a few hours. To make turkey ossobuco, first the turkey legs are dredged in flour and browned in oil. The recipe, originally from Gourmet, called for the whole turkey legs, thigh included. While I do have thighs in the freezer, I opted to just use the drumsticks. Once the drumsticks were browned, I used the same oil in the same pot to gently cook some chopped onion and some anchovy fillets. Yes, you read that right. Anchovies. Up to this date in time, I have never used an anchovy. While I know it is IN things that I buy all the time, I have plead my ignorance in knowing that these little fishies were floating around in my food. But let me tell you about anchovies. These tiny little fish pack a wallop of delicious umami flavor. I very finely chopped up five little fillets and added them with the onions. And what do you know? About 8 minutes later I had golden onions, and no trace of anchovy to be seen.
I added some sauvignon blanc and reduced that, followed by the tomatoes and chicken stock. In no time at all, that reduced down to a rather tasty sauce- needing only a few grinds of pepper. I poured the liquid over the drumsticks, tightly sealed them up with foil, and popped them into the oven. 2 1/2 hours later I had my finished drumsticks, and I’d already prepared some brown rice in anticipation of sopping up the sauce.
The gremolata was where I encountered my own problem with the recipe. Mainly, that the flash of yellow I had seen in my produce drawer in the fridge was actually a yellow apple- and not the lemon requisite for gremolata. Since the recipe called for orange zest as well, I used orange zest, parsley, and garlic. I’d taken a bit of dried lemon peel and soaked it to see if that would be an adequate substitute… um, that’s a definite no- that went down into the garbage disposal. My gremolata was missing the lemon element, and I suspect that if I’d had the lemon, this dish would have blown us away. As it was, it was terribly delicious, but I know it would have been better with a pop of lemon.
This was so good. The drumsticks literally melted off the bone- and you know all those extra little bone bits in a drumstick that are hard to eat around? Not a problem, because the meat simply fell off, leaving all that behind. The sauce was lip-smacking delicious, and I’m planning on using the remaining sauce and two legs tonight in a soup of sorts for dinner- I will report back how that works out. We will be making this again- Andy was eager to have some leftovers to have for dinner as well- and that’s always a sign of a great dish.
Turkey Ossobuco
5 1/2 to 6 pounds whole fresh turkey legs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 to 8 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 flat anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (16 fluid ounces)
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
For gremolata:
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Pat turkey legs dry. Stir together flour, salt, and pepper, then dredge 1 leg in flour mixture, knocking off excess. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown leg, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes, and transfer to a large (17- by 12-inch) roasting pan. Meanwhile, dredge another leg. Continue to prepare, brown, and transfer legs in same manner, adding up to 4 tablespoons oil to skillet as needed.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to skillet, then add onion and anchovies and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until onion is golden and anchovies are dissolved, 7 to 8 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes, then stir in broth and tomatoes with their juice.
Pour liquid over turkey legs and cover surface with a sheet of parchment paper, then tightly cover pan with foil. Transfer to oven and braise until meat is very tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Transfer legs to a cutting board and cut them into thigh and drumstick portions, then transfer to a deep platter. Skim off fat from sauce. If sauce measures more than 3 cups, boil until reduced. Season sauce with salt and pepper and pour over turkey.
Make gremolata:
Stir together garlic, parsley, and zests and sprinkle over turkey just before serving.