Sous Vide: Beef Marrow Bones, 2020

Whether people-watching on the Champs-Élysées or just enjoying a little time in front of the fireplace, this potent snack is unique!

Ingredients

Beef marrow bones, 4+ lbs./2 Kg.
Kosher salt, as needed.
Volcanic black salt, as needed (optional).
Coarse ground black pepper, as needed.
French bread (baguette), 1 loaf.

Chopped parsley, as needed.

 

 

Apple slaw
Apple, 1 each, peeled and cut into thin strips.
Extra virgin olive oil, a few drops.
Lemon juice, a few drops.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Franks’ Pepper Vinegar (optional).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summertime Salad (optional).
Sweet potato, peeled, sous vide processed @183 F/84 CX1.5 hours and shocked cold.
Plums, 1-2 each, sliced.
Radishes, 2-3 each, sliced.
Cucumbers, 0.5 each, sliced.
Sweet pepper, yellow, 1 each, diced precise.
Sweet pepper, red, 1 each, diced precise.
Extra virgin olive oil, a few drops.
Balsamic vinegar, a few drops.

 

 

Equipment requirements
Immersion circulator, portable or stationary.
Heat rated Lipavi container, minimum of 2 gallons/8 liters.
Lipavi L10 rack or larger.
Heat rated sous vide bags.
Cast iron broiler pan (optional).
Roasting pan, small.
Infrared thermometer.

Lipavi N15 polycarbonate racks–super convenient, durable, rust free.

Actual prep time, 1 hour
Serves 1-4
Level of difficulty 2.25

Above: Lipavi C15 container, N15 polycarbonate racks. Lipavi C15L lid.

Procedure:

Preheat your sous vide bath to 140 F/60 C.

When the interval has elapsed, either proceed to finishing the dish OR conserve the marrow bones for future use. If your plan is to postpone service until a later date, safe handling procedures require the sealed packages be shocked in iced water until they achieve 70 F/21 C and then refrigerated at 40 F/4 C. The sealed portions can be safely refrigerated for at least two weeks. On the day of service, reheat in a 140 F/60 C sous vide bath for a minimum of two hours to re-soften the marrow.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 F/176 C. Cut the baguette on the bias to create slices of the desired length.

Toast or grill the slices until they are crisp and well browned. Set aside.

Remove the pouches from the bath. For ease of handling, allow to cool for five minutes.

Remove the bones from the pouches.  Use a long slender knife to loosen the marrow from the inside of the bone.   

With a little practice, the sections of marrow will come out in one piece. But not always. Desirable, but not essential.   

Set aside to keep warm. Roast the bones in the oven until they darken.

Service options: It’s all good!

For the purist, the perfectly intact section of marrow creates a stunning visual effect—a classic, slightly sinful appetizer.

Another, slightly less esoteric model–the marrow is coarsely broken apart and distributed evenly over the crisped baguette.

Or, of course, you can have it both ways!

A little bit of apple slaw creates a sweet and slightly acidic counterpoint.

Mouth watering!

Double barreled excellence! We added a little bit of pepper vinegar to the slaw for this presentation.

Still another version!

After allowing to cool, the marrow can be spread on the baguette like butter, lightly seasoned and baked.

Add a Summertime Salad!

Make a meal out of it!

Norm

About

Beef marrow bones may not appear in your local market's butcher's case, but can usually be acquired on request "for a price." Some big box/wholesale to the public warehouses offer scattered beef bones for stock and sauces, usually frozen in 20+ lb. cases . Then it's just a matter of sorting through and separating the marrow bones from the broth specific knuckles.

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