Well, marrow bone ?
Yes, it is becoming increasingly popular on restaurant menus. It’s the trade mark dish at the great St Johns Restaurant in London which serves “Roast Marrow with Parsley Salad” and at Mark Hix’s Oyster and Chop House they sell a “Hanger Steak (onglet) with Baked Marrow Bone”. Also one of my favourite steak houses, Hawksmoor in London, use it in their burgers.
I love it as it adds small chunks of rich goodness. It adds a rich deep flavour to accompany meaty, hearty dishes and it is cheap – we sell it at £4 a kilo.
But what is marrow?
Well it’s a flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. We source it from bovines especially calves. It is the marrow from the femur (thigh) bone that is commonly used for eating and prized among gourmets.
But it’s not just trendy London restaurants that use it. Around the globe a wide range of different cooking cultures use it. The Vietnamese prize beef bone as the soup base for their national staple “Pho”. Indians use slow-cooked marrow as the main ingredient of the “Nalli Nihari”. That’s not forgetting the classic “Osso Bucco”.
But I like to roast a piece of marrow with sea salt, prize it out and serve on crispy white toast. But what about the health part, surely it is packed full of fat ? Well a study presented at the Indiana University showed “Historically, native American hunters would pass up a thin bison carcass, rather than eat lean muscle… or just eat the fatty bits. This is also one reason why bone marrow is a very popular food among foragers — a great source of lipids & kcal.”
So next time you are at the butchers ask for a marrow bone, roast it and have it on toast or try this recipe at home.
Charlie the Butcher.
In mid winter I have been known to add marrow bones to a slow cooked beef and red wine stew. Ends up rich, decadent, fabulous.
mmmm………..
I was introduced to the delights of bone marrow after ordering it in a pub! really surprised to see it on the menu; I had to order it and very glad I did.