Tom Steele On Bone Marrow
ADVICE FOR THE FOODLORN
by Tom Steele
I saw a cooking program on TV recently which made Milanese risotto using bone marrow. Was that real? Do reputable cooks really use bone marrow when making savory dishes? It sounds disgusting. Do you do marrow, too?
Jenny, New York, NY
Bone marrow has been used in cooking world-wide for centuries. Marrow is the fatty tender tissue found in the hollow center of most animals’ bones, though in cookery cattle leg bone marrow is most often used. It lends soups and stews some real body, and some classic dishes, especially Osso Bucco, would be practically unthinkable without marrow. Well, make that impossible, since veal shanks are filled with marrow, and you can’t make Osso Bucco without veal shanks. Marrow isn’t as widely used in America as it is in Europe, though that’s starting to change. In certain steakhouses around the country, it’s not terribly unusual to be served a short hunk of leg bone with the marrow inside for you to scoop out.
Whole Foods sells 2- to 3-inch marrow bones for just $2.99 a pound. Marrow can be extracted from raw bones, but I think it’s better to work it out with a smallish spoon after cooking the bones. It’s not especially uncommon in Europe to be served toast spread with marrow extracted from baked or poached marrow bones, though I think I draw the line there. Marrow is high in calories and pretty low in protein, so it’s not an everyday affair. There is an excellent cookbook, Bones: Recipes, History, and Lore, by Jennifer McLagan (Morrow, 2005), that features a number of great marrow recipes.
Visit Tom Steele’s website, www.hugeflavors.com
