In broth, on toast, under tartare: Tips for preparing beef bone marrow
Kantýna: Temple of meat
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What is bone marrow?
An explosion of flavour. This is the experience that those who have ever tasted the dish at Kantýna. In an establishment dedicated to quality Czech beef (and pork), it is served with a fresh salad of parsley, shallots and vinaigrette. How do you prepare the Kantýna specialty at home, and which other dishes take beef marrow to the next level?
Bone marrow is accessed by cutting off the joint heads of long bones - for example thigh or shin bones. Marrow is the soft fatty tissue inside these bones. While it provides healthy bones and good mobility for animals, the challenge for chefs is how to to literally cook an animal down to the bone.
"Marrow is pure fat and therefore a carrier of flavour. It's not an experience for everyone, but I love it," says Kantýna's chef Jakub Hlávka. Marrow bones, sliced into chunks, can be bought both at the counter in Kantýna and in the Naše maso butcher shop as well as at their e-shop.
From broth to steak
In Kantýna, the marrow bone belongs to the icons on the menu. Guests like to start their meat feast with tartare, carpaccio, pork ears or roasted marrow. And there are plenty of other uses for the fatty ingredient in the kitchen.
Under tartare
Roasted marrow can be enjoyed just as it is, smeared on dry-roasted toast and salted. The chefs at U Kalendů use this idea when serving the tartare - they serve it with toasts smeared with smoked marrow. Try it at home too.
On a steak for a more intense flavour
They also like to work with marrow in Čestr. Chefs mix the smoked marrow with clarified butter and with this mixture coat the grilled steaks before they head to the table. Smoked marrow brings out the flavour the meat from the grill and, thanks to the clarified butter, the juiciness and the surface of the steak.
The base of the spicy broth
If you are a lover of good broth, reach for the marrow. As well as vegetables and other bones, roast briefly in the oven to intensify the flavour, and then you're ready to go.
Marrow dumplings
You can make a strong broth and spice it up with marrow dumplings, which will make the soup pleasantly rich. Just mix roasted bone marrow, breadcrumbs, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. And you can count on the fat in the dumplings to make your soup a little more flavourful".
Marrow mayonnaise
The chef Jakub Hlávka recommends this to accompany carpaccio or home fries. Here, bone marrow replaces the oil, and is whisked with egg yolks, lemon and a pinch of salt.
Into sauces
If you want to give your sauce a real kick, you can add warm marrow at the end instead of a knob of butter. This will not only thicken but it also makes sure all the flavours to come together and intensify. "Itcould perhaps work in place of tallow in our coffee sauce," muses Chef Jacob.
An extra tip
Empty marrow bones cut in half lengthwise can be easily upcycled. You just need to just boil them down to a broth and then wash a "bleached" with peroxide so they turn white. The deep pit in the bone thus cleaned serves as a a dish for tartare, sauce or a small salad. And the guests will gawk.
At Kantýna, the empty bones are taken by those who order food from the kitchen at the counter or at the takeaway - for example, tartare, carpaccio or hamburger. The butchers will give you a bone with a number on it, which they then use to find you.
Carrot bone with parsley salad
The iconic delicacy of roast marrow is usually available at Kantýna 1-3 times a week. In 7 days, the butchers here use up around 100 kg of bones which they get from the butchers in Amaso.
Ingredients for 5 portions:
- 1 kg of marrow bones
- 1 l of milk
- pepper and Maldon salt
For the salad:
- 100 g smooth-leaved parsley
- 25 g shallots
For the vinaigrette (4 servings):
- fresh from half a lemon
- a pinch of salt and pepper
- 100 ml wine vinegar
- 100 ml sunflower oil
- 20 crystal sugar
Procedure
- Soak the cut bones overnight in milk to draw out the unwanted animal flavour. Butchers in Kantýna and Naše maso will be happy to cut the bone for you, or you can buy it already carved.
- Heat the oven to 190 °C. Remove the bones from the milk, wash and dry them. Bake for about 18 minutes - they should not be pink on the surface when baked. Season with Maldon salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, prepare the salad. Tear the parsley leaves, cut the shallots into rounds. In a cup, mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Toss the salad with the dressing.
- Serve with dry toasted croutons.
