LARDACEOUS Roasted Bone Marrow with a Side of Parsley Salad

If you’re going to be alive and on this planet, you have to, like, suck the marrow out of every day and get the most out of it. (Drew Barrymore)

On Saturday evening I sucked on marrow. Literally. And it was good. Really, really good!

The Linga Longa team is expanding their offerings (Yay!) and Greg had some lovely bone marrow just begging to be taken home at the markets this week. So, I did. Take them home, that is.

And, then I cooked them. That night. I couldn’t wait!

Small sidebar: Did you know that lardaceous is actually a word? I swear I didn’t make it up. It’s another word for ‘unctuous’ or ‘fatty’. And, it’s accurate. Bone marrow is almost all fat.

And, because it’s almost all fat, its critical that you ensure you’re getting your bone marrow from pasture-raised, happy animals.

Why does that matter?

Well, two main reasons, really.

The first is a no-brainer. Increased vitamin density. When you compare a pasture-raised, happy animal to her more industrially raised wee sister, you’ll find she has many times more vitamins and minerals. For example, pasture-raised, happy meat can contain up to 3 times more Vitamin E (which reduces your chances of things like heart disease and cancer).

The second is a healthier balance of fats. It’s now widely accepted that Omega-3 is the good fat we need to decrease inflammation levels in our body. Certainly, Omega-6 has its place, too – but, in a western diet, most of us are taking in way too many Omega-3, which increase inflammation. In grain-fed beef, the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio can exceed 20 to 1. Pasture-raised, happy beef is a more balanced ratio of 3 to 1.

Kind of makes you question why you would ever eat grain-fed meat, doesn’t it?

Have you ever watched a dog chew on a bone?

Dogs know where the most nutrient dense parts of the bone are – the marrow.

When Bella gets a bone, the first thing she’ll do is try to crack it open to get at the healthy bone marrow inside.

Roasted bone marrow is good for you, tastes great AND is another way to eat more sustainably. Nose to tail, if you will.

If you’re a newbie at cooking bone marrow, then I suggest soaking the fresh bones so as to remove the blood from the marrow. I don’t mind marrow bones in their natural state, but some do. It does give them a ‘cleaner’ appearance. 

All you need to do is pop your prepared bones in a bowl of ice water with a teaspoon or so of coarse sea salt for every cup water. Then, refrigerate your soaking bones for up to 24 hours, changing the salted water every 4 hours or so. 

When LM and I visited London back in 2012, we had a most memorable bone marrow course at St John Restaurant. I believe it may have been LM’s first ever experience with bone marrow. So, of course, recreating that was high on my agenda.

This recipe is adapted from a Fergus Henderson take on roasted bone marrow…

[recipe title=”LARDACEOUS Roasted Bone Marrow with Parsley Salad” servings=”3 – 4″ time=”30 minutes tops” difficulty=”ridiculously easy”]

Ingredients:

6 – 8 x 8 – 10 cm long pieces of happy beef marrow bones (sliced lengthways if possible)
1 x bunch flat leaf parsley
2 x shallots
2 x Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 x Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
zest of 1/4 lemon
1 x Tablespoon capers
Himalayan sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper (omit for strict AIP)

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 230°C/450°F. Line a roasting pan with baking paper. Pop your bones – marrow facing up – into the lined pan. Roast until the marrow is soft, but not melting everywhere! This is the most delicate part of the proceedings – I put the timer on for 15 minutes, and then use my judgment from there.

2. While the marrow is roasting, prepare your parsley salad. Roughly chop your parsley. Peel and finely slice your shallots. Chop your capers. Throw all your salad ingredients into a bowl and mix. Taste for seasoning.

3. When your marrow is ready, divide the bones and salad amongst plates. Make sure you don’t forget any fat that has melted into the pan! Serve with Himalayan sea salt on the side.

E N J O Y ! [/recipe]

As I am currently in the reintroduction stage of the autoimmune protocol, I served a side of seeded crackers with the meal. I am still experimenting with the recipe. Watch this space!

If you’d like to read more about lardaceous marrow, Mark’s Daily Apple has an awesome post on the unctuous goodness that are roasted marrow bones…

 This recipe feathers in the Phoenix Helix Recipe Roundtable