10/22/2026
Bone marrow is my number one. Not steak. Not brisket. Marrow.
Look at that photo. Those are beef femurs, split lengthwise. Butchers call it a canoe cut. Run a saw down the middle and you open up the whole channel so the marrow sits right there like it's waiting on you. Cross-cut rounds work too, but the canoe gives you more surface, more browning, and an easier time getting every last bit out.
Marrow is mostly fat, and it's the richest, most savory fat on the whole animal. Roasted, it goes soft and wobbly, somewhere between butter and custard. People have been cracking bones open for it for as long as there have been people. Before anybody had a grill or a recipe, they knew the good stuff was inside the bone.
For years, a lot of it went straight into the scrap bin or got sold as dog bones. Now chefs put it on menus for $20 a plate. Same bone. Same marrow. It was always that good.
Most folks roast it, scoop it, salt it, and put it on toast. Nothing wrong with that. But if that's all you're doing with it, you're leaving a lot on the table.
10 things to do with bone marrow besides roasting it and eating it straight:
1. Marrow butter. Mash roasted marrow into softened butter with garlic, parsley, and salt. Chill it, slice it, and let it melt over a hot steak.
2. Burgers. Fold cold, diced raw marrow into your ground beef before forming patties. It melts as it cooks and bastes the burger from the inside.
3. Bordelaise. The classic French red w**e sauce for steak is traditionally finished with poached marrow.
4. Risotto alla Milanese. The old school version of the saffron risotto starts with beef marrow melted into the pan.
5. Osso buco. Braised beef or veal shank with the marrow still in the center. The bone does half the cooking for you.
6. Bone broth. Roast the bones hard, then simmer them low and slow. The marrow gives the broth body and a rich, beefy finish.
7. Pho. A real pho broth is built on long-simmered beef marrow bones. That depth doesn't come out of a carton.
8. Cooking fat. Render it down and fry your eggs, roast your potatoes, or sear your next steak in it.
9. Cornbread. Melt marrow fat in the cast iron before the batter goes in. Crispy edges, rich bottom.
10. Mashed potatoes. Whip roasted marrow in with the butter. Nobody will know what you did. They'll just know it's the best mash they've had.
Nose to tail means every part has a purpose. Marrow might be the best purpose of all...
