Bone Marrow

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Maybe I should explain the bone marrow in title of my blog. I grew up eating every morsel of meat, fat and cartilage off the bone. I did that because my step-father was a hunter and did not like anything that was good for you and edible to be left on the bone. I once watched my step-father take a hammer and chisel to the leg of a deer bone just to get at the marrow. We ate the brownish jello like substance with just a little sprinkle salt and a big bit of home baked bread.

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Simply put bone marrow is comfort food and a reminder of simple cooking and living self-sufficiently. 

Edited November 21, 2013

Fergus Henderson's 

Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad

3-4 inches of bone marrow bones

1 cup of parsley 

2 shallots

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoons of capers

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

sea salt and pepper 

Rustic white bread cut into thick slices

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees place your bones in a roasting pan and cook the bones for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the bones. The marrow will start to separate from the bone. (What they don't say in the recipe if you over cook the bone marrow a bit, don't worry there is a use for that excess fat in the bottom of your roasting pan and I will tell you why later.) 
2. Chop the parsley, but still in big pieces, chop your shallots and combine with the lemon juice and olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. 
3. Toast your bread 

Once your bone marrow is cooked: spread your marrow on a thick slice of toasted bread, with a sprinkle of sea salt and some parsley salad. I don't use parsley salad just a bit of sea salt but the bread is important so make sure its the best rustic bread you can find. 

Now if you accidentally overcooked your bone marrow and you now have a roasting pan full of rendered bone marrow, don't worry that fat can be used. Last month my mother found some bone marrow at the local grocery store (they are hard to find) and brought them home. I had slightly over cooked the bones so I poured the excess fat into a container. The next morning I cooked my eggs in a bit of marrow fat. Bone marrow fat is has a distinct but mellow and delicate flavor and I felt so satisfied afterwards. So don't waste whats left in the roasting pan.