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Marrow Bones


Jesse_March

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I recently played around with some marrow. I love the delicate texture which reminds me of foie gras. However, when we introduced it to the menu at Mendocino, a restaurant in the Georgetown area of DC, it didn't seem to sell. We had combined it in a sauce with poached garlic (garlic confit) and a 8 oz. kobe beef rib eye that was out of this world. we didn't go to extravagant with the dish however. We kept the traditional meat and potatoes appeal to it with a scallion mashed and served it with crispy roman style baby artichokes. It looked nice and I think the sauce complimented the steak very well. I guess the consumer wasn't too fond of it. We changed it two days later to a salsa verde and a fava bean salad. It now is a top seller. I guess I am just wondering how come nobody out here appreciates marrow? Are they scared? I'd like to know what someone else thinks of this product. If they might enjoy it as much as I.

Jesse March

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My grandmother always made pitcheh when I was a kid - marrow bones with a lot of garlic, hard boiled egg yolk and ... well I don't know what else. My sister makes it every once in a while and my father and uncles get portions. (I never really liked this one, but everybody else in the family seems to)

It was not out of the ordinary for my father, aunts and uncles to crack chicken bones at the dinner table and suck the marrow out of them.

We also throw some marrow bones in when making borscht. These I love. Just scooped out with a little spoon and eaten as is. Hmmm... I'm making borscht this week, gotta find some bones.

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The tender meat from a slow-braised shank is good, but it's really the marrow I look forward! Last weekend, I went to a nice restaurant in Burnaby (suburb of Vancouver) called The Pear Tree and I sat there trying to discreetly suck the marrow even though I was wearing my nicest white silk dress. :blush:

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It's kind of sad that marrow would be a "hard sell" in your restaurant. Maybe you can offer a few dishes that appeal to the more adventurous types who actually try stuff like marrow, sweetbreads, etc. Not that salsa verde and fava bean salad sound bad , mind you.

In the hopes of cultivating an audience that's actually fun to serve. (just a thought). Don't be discouraged!

Oh, and welcome to eGullet, Jesse.

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Coincidentally I had marrow the other day. It had been removed from the bone, mixed with fine bread crumbs and garlic and replaced. Delicious: With the addtion of parsley it would have been even better. Pretty easy sale here.

Edited by jamiemaw (log)

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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You can do a Steak Bordelaise.

Or if you want to introduce marrow bones to you customers offer the more adventurous regulars an amuse made sort of like the dish jamie describes but on toast.

By the way what did you call the dish on the menu? Sometimes rewording a dish helps.

I can be reached via email chefzadi AT gmail DOT com

Dean of Culinary Arts

Ecole de Cuisine: Culinary School Los Angeles

http://ecolecuisine.com

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Or if you want to introduce marrow bones to you customers offer the more adventurous regulars an amuse made sort of like the dish jamie describes but on toast.

That is how it is done at St. John. The marrow bones are hot and come with toast, so you scoop out the marrow and spread it on the toast and then sprinkle gray sea salt on it. The parsley salad, which was dressed with capers, is kind of on the side.

My 8 year old thought it was the bomb. He ate so much of mine that I had to order a second one.

Edited by scordelia (log)

S. Cue

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Or if you want to introduce marrow bones to you customers offer the more adventurous regulars an amuse made sort of like the dish jamie describes but on toast.

That is how it is done at St. John. The marrow bones are hot and come with toast, so you scoop out the marrow and spread it on the toast and then sprinkle gray sea salt on it. The parsley salad, which was dressed with capers, is kind of on the side.

My 8 year old thought it was the bomb. He ate so much of mine that I had to order a second one.

It's served like that in France, sometimes with mustard. I was thinking of presenting the dish differently for the original poster's customers.

I can be reached via email chefzadi AT gmail DOT com

Dean of Culinary Arts

Ecole de Cuisine: Culinary School Los Angeles

http://ecolecuisine.com

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A few weeks ago I was having dinner at <a href="http://www.laregalade.com/">La Regalade</a> in West Vancouver, another suburb of Vancouver, when low and behold my prime rib came with two lovely pieces of marrow. I could only express puzzlement bordering on delight; this had not being on the menu, if it had I might have been saved valuable minutes of deliberation when selecting my main. Never the less, it was a good thing and a delightful meal.

Edited by radbertus (log)

How can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat?

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Or if you want to introduce marrow bones to you customers offer the more adventurous regulars an amuse made sort of like the dish jamie describes but on toast.

That is how it is done at St. John. The marrow bones are hot and come with toast, so you scoop out the marrow and spread it on the toast and then sprinkle gray sea salt on it. The parsley salad, which was dressed with capers, is kind of on the side.

My 8 year old thought it was the bomb. He ate so much of mine that I had to order a second one.

It's served like that in France, sometimes with mustard. I was thinking of presenting the dish differently for the original poster's customers.

The original poster could present it as a fait-a-compli with the marrow already on the toast and some nice greens to garnish. No yucky bones to freak people out.

S. Cue

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I find this site very interesting and I keep on running down the kitchen stairs inbetween dupes to read what others have written. I think I found a new hobby that should be keeping me busy for hours on end. I'm glad to hear everyones views on marrow. My father intorduced it to me as a young boy and told me it was the best part. I fully believe it is and I enjoy it completely. thanks for all your insight and ideas. I shall be posting more often

Jesse March

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I adore marrow bones! Recently, we went to St. John's in London and I had the marrow bone and parsley salad. SUBLIME!

I was at St. John's in September for the express purpose of having the marrow bones. I had seen them described here as beef-flavored butter..but I found the consistency to be more like poached snot and sperm lightly scrambled together and poured into a brittle bone tube. I ate them, but remained uneducated about them. We have very nice ones at work, but I dasn't try to duplicate the experience, even with the book in my hot little hand.

Did you notice that the whole restaurant smelled like smoking animal fat..that there was almost a haze in the air, as if giant roasting pans had been left in very hot ovens. Not saying that's a bad thing, but it was almost like the smoke of incense floating around the altar at the Vatican.

I think i've seen it recommended to soak the bones in ice water to draw out some of the blood. Think that makes a difference?

Edited by McDuff (log)
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I've never tasted snot or sperm. Marrow bones are boiled, not roasted. If you smelled roasted fat it was from another source. Soaking in water? How does that change the consistency? I have no idea what you are talking about. They are boiled, the scum is skimmed off. If you don't know how to skim you can soak and wash, but again that won't change the consistency.

I edited this post three times before hitting the submit button. The previous versions were really funny.

I can be reached via email chefzadi AT gmail DOT com

Dean of Culinary Arts

Ecole de Cuisine: Culinary School Los Angeles

http://ecolecuisine.com

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You can do a Steak Bordelaise.

Or if you want to introduce marrow bones to you customers offer the more adventurous regulars an amuse made sort of like the dish jamie describes but on toast.

By the way what did you call the dish on the menu? Sometimes rewording a dish helps.

Here is my attempt at Steak Bordelaise from a few months ago..

gallery_21049_162_37737.jpg

Having grown-up in 3 continents, I enjoy marrow quite a bit. However, my wife who was born and raised in the US does not like it and even cannot look while I enjoy marrow :wacko: I guess it is a cultural thing.... I have seen it in NYC restaurants though.

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Marrow bones are boiled, not roasted.

While I usually boil them, I have had them roasted and they were good that way too. :smile:

Roasted ?!??!??!?!?!? What do you mean (*)(*#(&$(#^*&^*&%^*%!!!

:laugh:

Having grown-up in 3 continents, I enjoy marrow quite a bit. However, my wife who was born and raised in the US does not like it and even cannot look while I enjoy marrow wacko.gif I guess it is a cultural thing.... I have seen it in NYC restaurants though.

My sort of Korean wife likes them dipped in seasoned soy/vinegar.

I can be reached via email chefzadi AT gmail DOT com

Dean of Culinary Arts

Ecole de Cuisine: Culinary School Los Angeles

http://ecolecuisine.com

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Roasted ?!??!??!?!?!? What do you mean (*)(*#(&$(#^*&^*&%^*%!!!

:biggrin::raz:

maybe it's a Jewish thing? I have no idea.

edited to add I think the roasted were actually lamb... not beef. hrm.

Edited by Pam R (log)
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Even when I was a kid and had no idea what marrow really was or that other people considered it a delicacy, I was enjoying it whenever it "accidentally" turned up on my dinner plate (inside chicken bones, beef shanks, etc.). When I discovered that marrow really was a "done thing" in major cuisines, I felt the same kind of sorta-goofy vindication as when I discovered that the Japanese savored salmon skin (in sushi, etc.)--"see? I wasn't a freak for thinking that stuff was good eats and not trash!" :laugh: Yeah, many Americans can be pretty funny about that kind of stuff. Just leaves more for me, I say.

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In the Philippines, we have a dish called nilaga that includes marrow bones. I happen to adore marrow bones so much that we throw in extra bones for me! :biggrin:

I think that people tend to get put off by the "richness" factor. I like to dip my marrow bits in a patis/citrus sauce and eat it with rice to balance that richness.

Marrow in D.C., you say? Should I make my reservations now? I will gladly eat an surplus marrow bit or two.

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I've never tasted snot or sperm. Marrow bones are boiled, not roasted. If you smelled roasted fat it was from another source. Soaking in water? How does that change the consistency? I have no idea what you are talking about. They are boiled, the scum is skimmed off. If you don't know how to skim you can soak and wash, but again that won't change the consistency.

I edited this post three times before hitting the submit button. The previous versions were really funny.

Ah, well...for those of you who haven't read Fergus Henderson's book, or eaten at his restaurant, his marrow bones are roasted. And one who knows how to cook would soak sweetbreads and brains in ice water for several hours. I was only wondering if doing the same to marrow bones would draw out some of the blood and whiten them, and maybe firm them up.

And the answer is..look at page 188 of the French Laundry. I knew I'd seen that advocated somewhere.

I also most emphatically did NOT liken the taste of bone marrow to snot and sperm, only the consistency.

Edited by McDuff (log)
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  • 1 year later...
It looked nice and I think the sauce complimented the steak very well.  I guess the consumer wasn't too fond of it.  We changed it two days later to a salsa verde and a fava bean salad.  It now is a top seller. 

After reading some of the responses, I realized I misunderstood the original post -- I somehow thought you were serving a marrow-fava bean salad, which to me sounded like it would be a really tasty puree on brochette. An obvious seller, I thought, even if it never existed. . .

I love marrow, too, and think the comparison to foie gras is a perfect one. Luxurious flavor, a rare occasion for relishing the texture of unrendered fat in the mouth. A few things I'm wondering: does one really need to keep the bone when cooking? Sure, it's necessary for presentation, but what if you plan to puree the marrow anyway? Also, does roasting help the flavor that much? We're basically warming/loosening fatty tissue, no? What if you were to scrape out the inside, put it all in a plastic bag, then poach? Higher yield, no?

That said, I still think the French way of eating it -- salt, some incidental parsely or caper, scooped onto thin slices of toasted bread -- is my favorite. The only problem is that there's so little of it in comparison to the entire plate.

percyn: that steak bourdelaise looks great.

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