Osso Buco is one of those beautiful slow-cooked dishes that feels generous, warming and full of flavour.
Traditionally, it would simmer away gently for hours. But in this Kitchen Confidence recipe, Chef Ian shows how to use the Ninja 11-in-1 to bring the same comforting result to the table in less time.
The secret is not just the pressure cooking — it is what happens before that.
By using sauté mode first, we brown the meat and build a classic flavour base with onion, carrot, celery and garlic. This gives the sauce more depth, sweetness, colour and body before the Ninja takes over and gently pressure cooks the osso bucco until it is tender and ready to fall from the bone.
Finished with a fresh gremolata of lemon, parsley and garlic, this is a proper chef-style comfort dish made achievable for the home kitchen.
Serves: 2
Skill Level: Kitchen Confidence
Cooking Method: Ninja 11-in-1 — Sauté Mode & Pressure Cook Mode
Main Techniques: Browning, sautéing, pressure braising, sauce building
Best Served With: Creamy mashed potato and steamed green beans
Place the plain flour into a shallow bowl.
Season with Olsson’s Sea Salt, Spice Lab Melange of Peppercorn, and Spice Lab Italian Classic herbs.
Lightly coat the osso buco pieces in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.
Chef Ian’s Tip:
The flour helps the meat brown nicely and also gives a little body to the sauce as it cooks.
Set the Ninja 11-in-1 to Sauté Mode.
Add a little olive oil, then place the osso buco pieces into the pot.
Brown well on both sides.
You are not cooking the meat through at this stage - you are building colour and flavour.
Remove the osso buco and set aside.
In the same pot, add the diced onion, carrot and celery.
Cook for a few minutes on sauté mode until the vegetables begin to soften and pick up the flavour from the base of the pot.
Add the garlic and cook briefly, just until fragrant.
Chef Ian’s Tip:
This onion, carrot and celery combination is a classic braising base. It adds sweetness, depth and colour to the finished sauce.
Pour in the Bone Roasters Veal Stock, scraping the base of the pot to lift all the browned flavour.
Add the Rustichella Pomodoro e Basilico and stir everything together.
Return the osso buco pieces to the pot, nestling them into the sauce.
Secure the lid and set the Ninja to Pressure Cook Mode.
Cook for 45 minutes, or until the osso buco is tender and ready to fall away from the bone.
Release the pressure safely according to your Ninja instructions.
Carefully remove the lid.
If the sauce needs a little more body, gently remove the osso bucco and keep it warm.
Set the Ninja back to Sauté Mode and simmer the sauce for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Chef Ian’s Tip:
Be gentle once the meat is cooked. Good osso buco should be tender, so handle it carefully if you want it to stay together beautifully on the plate.
In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, chopped parsley and finely grated garlic.
Mix together and set aside until serving.
Spoon creamy mashed potato onto the plate.
Place one piece of osso buco on top of the mash.
Coat generously with the rich pomodoro, vegetable and veal stock sauce.
Serve steamed green beans on the side.
Sprinkle the gremolata over the meat.
Finish with a sprig of fresh basil and a wedge of lemon.
Pressure cooking is excellent for tenderness, but it does not create the same flavour as browning.
By using sauté mode first, we create colour, savoury depth and those beautiful browned bits on the base of the pot that become part of the sauce.
Carrot brings natural sweetness and colour.
Celery adds savoury depth.
Together with onion and garlic, they create the foundation of a proper braised dish.
This is a small step that makes a big difference.
Bone Roasters Veal Stock gives the sauce body, depth and a more traditional braised flavour.
It helps create that slow-cooked richness without needing to simmer the dish for hours.
Osso buco is rich and comforting.
The gremolata brings freshness from the lemon, lift from the parsley and a little bite from the garlic.
It is not just decoration — it balances the dish.
This recipe is a great Kitchen Confidence lesson because it shows the structure of a proper braise:
The Ninja makes the cooking faster, but the flavour still comes from good technique.
Add a small knob of butter to the sauce at the end for gloss and richness.
For a more traditional flavour, add a splash of white wine after sautéing the vegetables and reduce slightly before adding the stock and pomodoro sauce.
Serve with soft polenta, buttered pasta, risotto-style rice, or crusty bread instead of mashed potato.
You can still make this dish in a heavy-based casserole dish or Dutch oven.
Follow the same steps: brown the osso buco, sauté the onion, carrot, celery and garlic, then add the stock and pomodoro sauce.
Cover and cook gently in the oven at around 160°C for 2½ to 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and almost falling from the bone.
Check occasionally and add a little more stock if needed.
Osso buco is a beautiful example of comfort food with technique behind it.
The Ninja helps speed up the cooking, but the real flavour comes from the simple chef steps: browning the meat, building a vegetable base, using a good stock and finishing with something fresh.
That little spoonful of gremolata at the end brings the whole dish to life.