Osso Bucco is most commonly braised for 2-4 hours, depending on thickness, until the meat is fork tender and falling off the bone. Osso Bucco is cut from either the hindshank or foreshank and ordered by the cut thickness. Osso Bucco is available frozen in a variety of sizes depending on your application. The most popular food service cut is the 2" hindshank cut.
In terms of flavor, texture and tenderness, hindshank and foreshank osso bucco are identical. There are three main factors when Le Québécois customers choose what kind of osso bucco to use: height, plate coverage and price. If a taller profile is desired, a thicker foreshank (say, 2.5") can be used to generate the same yield as a shorter hindshank slice (say, 1.5"). Foreshanks are less expensive because there is a lower meat-bone ratio.
All Le Québécois osso bucco is center cut, faciliting greater consistency than most osso bucco products. The remainder of the shank is used to produce shank meat or osso bucco end slices.
Porterhouse chops are cut from the block ready loin, which is the short loin with the fat and chine bone removed, and most of the tenderloin muscle remaining. If you have a bandsaw, you can buy a block-ready loin and cut your own chops. Or, you can purchase 16oz. porterhouse chops portion-controlled and individually vacuum sealed. If you cut your own, we recommend a thickness of 1 ½ inches, but not much thicker, in order to yield a juicy chop.
The porterhouse chop is similar to the t-bone: a long bone running through the middle with the tenderloin on one side and the strip loin on the other. The tenderloin is the most tender cut and the strip loin has a great texture and mouthfeel.
Similar to the rib chop, season with olive oil, kosher salt and coarse pepper. Use high heat and hot oil to pan sear the strip side of the chop first (i.e. stand the chop on its side and give the strip side a head start because the tenderloin side needs less cooking time). Then, sear both sides of the chop to a golden brown. Finally, finish in the oven at 350-375 degrees to desired internal temperature. Let the meat rest and lightly sauce to allow the veal's natural flavor to show through. High heat grilling and broiling are other options, but not as recommended.