Prairie Butter: Roasted Beef Marrow Bones

bones book In recent years, chefs have brought back an ancient practice, serving roasted beef marrow as an appetizer. The smooth, creamy, slightly nutty textures and flavors are hard to dislike, a sort of poor man's foie gras, unless you look into the calorie content. Marrow is mostly fat (to learn more about marrow and bones, read my article Mythbusting: Does The Bone Make The Meat Better?) so it helps to think of it like butter or bacon. Not diet food. But if you want a treat, ask your butcher for some beef marrow bones. You can ask for pieces cut from the middle of the femur about 4 to 8" long, or just ask for the whole bone. Have your butcher use a bandsaw to cut them lengthwise, like cutting open a baguette or a baked potato.

For a really decadent treat, mix roasted bone marrow in with mashed potatoes. For more recipes, get this fun book: Bones: Recipes, History, and Lore by Jennifer McLagan.

Makes. Appetizers for 4
Takes. 1 hour

Ingredients
8" beef marrow bones
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
4 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
8" fresh baguette, cut on a bias into 1/4" slices

Try this on your next steak

Lightly salt the marrow, but skip the breadcrumbs. Roast the marrow. Let it cool and scoop it into a bowl. Mix it with an equal amount of butter, your favorite herbs, perhaps some lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice, some parsley, squish it all together, and roll it into a log. Freeze. You now have a variation on the classic Maître d'Hôtel Butter. Next time you serve a steak, a filet of fish, a porkchop, or whatever, place a slice of the butter marrow blend on top.

Method
1) Rinse the bones to get off any bone dust and splinters. There may be meat and fat on the outside of the bone. You can scrape it off if you wish, but I usually leave it on in case I want to gnaw on the bone afterwards.

2) When you are ready to cook, paint the cut side with oil and sprinkle on some seasoned bread crumbs. If I have fresh herbs, I use them.

3) Preheat the grill in a 2 zone configuration. Place the bones in a baking pan or cookie sheet lined with foil so drippings don't make a mess of your grill or start a confligration. Make sure to line it with foil because the drippings will burn and make cleanup a real pain. Roast them at about 325°F in the indiorect zone for about 30 minutes until the marrow is 150°F and like jello.

4) While the bones are roasting, cut thin slices from the baguette and toast them on the direct heat side of the grill. They'll brown quickly so keep a close eye on them and don't let them burn.

5) When the bones are done, give them a squeeze of lemon juice and spread the marrow on the toast. Now you know why Western settlers called marrow "prairie butter".

This page was revised 8/8/2012

Please please please read this before posting a comment or question:

1) Please use the table of contents or the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Please click the "Follow Conversation" button or the "Email" button below your comment so you will be alerted when we reply.
3) Please don't ask any questions that involve temperature unless you tell us that you are using a digital thermometer! Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F! If you are not using a good digital you have no idea what the temp really is so we can't help you. Please read this article about thermometers, then buy one of our recommendations, and then, if the problem persists (chances are it won't), hit us with your questions.
4) Please tell us everything we need to know to answer your question like the type of cooker you are using.

5) If you are shopping for a grill or smoker and need help, tell us your budget!

About this website

AmazingRibs.com is all about the science of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and tips on technique. Learn how to set up your grills and smokers properly, the thermodynamics of what happens when heat hits meat, as well as hundreds of excellent tested recipes including all the classics: Baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, steaks, barbecue sauces, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers, grills, and accessories, all edited by Meathead.

Advertising on this site

AmazingRibs.com is far the most popular barbecue website in the world and one of the 50 most popular food websites in the US according to comScore and Quantcast. Visitors and pageviews increase rapidly every year. Click here for analytics and advertising info.