It's the dish that's either considered a delicacy, or just plain nasty. We're talking about bone marrow, which has been eaten for ages but only recently become popular at Sacramento restaurants. That was the focus on my bone marrow story in Wednesday's Food & Wine section. We'd originally planned to run a couple of bone marrow recipes with the story, but space got tight and you know how that goes.
So, let's run a bone marrow recipe here. This one comes courtesy of "Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes," by Jennifer McLagan. Bon apetit!
MARROW BONE PREPARATION
Marrow bones must be soaked for 12 to 24 hours in salted water to remove the blood. Place the bones in a large dish of ice water to cover, add 2 tablespoons of coarse sea salt, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water 4 to 6 times and adding 2 more tablespoons of salt to the water each time.
ROASTED MARROW BONES
Serves 4 as an appetizer
1 lemon
1/2 cup / 11/2 ounces / 40 g fine fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 veal or beef marrow bones, each about 8 inches / 20 cm, split in half lengthwise and presoaked
Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C.
Finely grate the zest from the lemon and combine it in a bowl with the bread crumbs, parsley, and mustard. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of juice from the lemon. Add the juice to the bread crumb mixture with lots of pepper and the salt. The bread crumbs should just hold together when squeezed; if not, add a little more lemon juice.
Drain the marrow bones and pat dry.
Place the bones cut side up in a roasting pan and top evenly with the bread crumb mixture. Roast until the marrow is warm in the center, 15 to 25 minutes. To test, insert a metal skewer into the center of the marrow and touch it to your wrist to see if it is hot. There should be no resistance when the skewer is inserted, and a little of the marrow should have melted and started to leak from the bones. Serve the marrow bones hot.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.