Roasted Bone Marrow with Parsley Caper Salad


My first introduction to roasted bone marrow was at Ella restaurant. Chef Kelly McCown was the first chef to introduce it to Sacramento as a gourmet dish. Sure, humans have been eating marrow for millennia, but this was becoming a trend in high end restaurants. 

I fell in love with McCown's dish, which turns out to be pretty traditional, of roasted marrow bones served with a parsley caper salad. The great thing about his version at Ella was that the beef leg bones were cut down lengthwise exposing the marrow versus in sections as you see in the pictures. The lengthwise cut exposed the marrow so that they would place it under the broiler to cook quickly and it also meant it was easy for the diner to eat. 

Unfortunately, when you buy marrow bones from a butcher, they are usually cut in the sections unless you have called and special ordered. In my case, I got this package of marrow bones from Lucky Dog Ranch, selling at the W/X Farmers Market on Sundays. The package you see was $5 and was a good deal except for the fact that two bone cuts were actually ends of the bones where there was no marrow - they were solid bone.

To prepare marrow bones, you need to soak them. Take the marrow bones and cover them with water and mix in about 2 tablespoons of salt. I used kosher salt. Refrigerate and let them soak for about 12 hours, changing the salt water a couple of times during that time. The salt water soak helps to draw out any remaining blood in the marrow.




Roasted Marrow Bones with Parsley Caper Salad

beef marrow bones cut in sections or lengthwise
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped 
2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
2 tablespoons drained capers 
Coarse sea salt 
Freshly ground black pepper 
thick slices of French baguette, toasted