Bone Marrow Butter

Bone marrow butter is a compound butter made with roasted beef marrow. Roast canoe-cut marrow bones at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the marrow is soft and bubbling, let it cool until it is no longer warm, then scoop it out and beat it into softened butter with shallot, garlic, parsley and salt. Roll it into a log, chill it, and slice off a coin whenever a steak, a baked potato or a piece of toast needs one.

Marrow is the soft, pale fat inside the leg bones. Roasted, it tastes rich, savory and gently beefy, a little like the best of a roast's drippings. Beaten into butter, it turns an ordinary pat melting over a hot steak into something that tastes of the steak itself.

At a glance: makes about 1 1/2 cups. Prep 15 minutes, roast 15 to 20 minutes, cool 20 minutes, chill at least 2 hours. Take the butter out of the fridge an hour ahead so it is soft.

Gray Shipley, who runs the farm, was asked what makes a barbecue sauce taste homemade. His answer reached past sauce:

“when you prepare something out of real food ingredients, it can just taste the difference.”

Gray Shipley

He was not talking about this butter, but it is a fair example of his point. It is butter, marrow, a shallot, a clove of garlic, parsley and salt. Everything it tastes of comes from roasting the marrow properly and seasoning it well.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds canoe-cut beef marrow bones (split lengthwise)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch for the bones
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed sheet pan with foil, since the bones will give off fat. Lay the bones on it marrow side up and sprinkle the marrow with a pinch of salt.
2. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the marrow is soft and bubbling at the edges, has pulled slightly away from the bone, and a skewer slides through it with no resistance. Take it out before it starts to melt away into a pool of fat.
3. Carefully spoon 2 teaspoons of the melted fat from the pan into a small skillet. Cook the shallot in it over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, until soft, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then take the pan off the heat. This takes the raw edge off both.
4. Let the bones cool for about 10 minutes, until you can handle them. Scoop the marrow into a bowl with a small spoon and mash it with a fork until smooth. Leave it for another 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until it has cooled to room temperature. If it is still warm, it will melt the butter.
5. Beat the softened butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon or a hand mixer for about 1 minute, until creamy. Add the marrow, the shallot and garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and lemon zest, and beat until evenly mixed. Taste it on a piece of bread and add more salt if it needs it.
6. Spoon the butter in a line onto a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap, roll it into a log about 1 1/2 inches across, and twist the ends to tighten it.
7. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm. Slice off 1/4-inch coins to serve, and keep the rest wrapped in the fridge or freezer.

Add 2 lb canoed marrow bones to cart

Roasted bone marrow, served plain

The first two steps of this recipe are also the whole method for roasted bone marrow, one of the simplest starters there is. Roast the canoes at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes and bring them straight to the table on a board, with toasted bread, flaky salt and a small spoon. A sharp little salad cuts the richness: a handful of parsley leaves, a thinly sliced shallot, a spoonful of capers, a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil. Spoon the marrow onto the toast, salt it, and pile a little salad on top. Two canoe halves per person is plenty as a first course.

Marrow bones: canoe cut or cross cut?

Marrow bones are cut from the leg in two ways. Canoe-cut bones are split lengthwise, so the whole length of marrow lies open like a boat. They roast evenly and the marrow is easy to scoop, which is why this recipe uses them. Cross-cut bones are sawn into rounds 2 to 3 inches tall. Stand them upright to roast, allow 15 to 25 minutes depending on their size, and push the marrow out with the handle of a spoon. They work, but they take more patience.

Do not throw the roasted bones away. They still have plenty of flavor for a pot of stock or broth, and the guide to beef bones below explains how to use them. Marrow bones are also one of the easiest ways into cooking more of the animal; the nose-to-tail guide has others.

How to use bone marrow butter

Lay a coin on a steak while it rests, and let it melt into the juices on the board. Stir a spoonful into a pan sauce at the end, toss it with roasted potatoes or green beans, melt it over grilled corn, or spread it on hot toast. It is also very good on a plain baked potato.

One thing it is not good for is basting. If you butter-baste a steak in the pan, use plain butter: the shallot and parsley in this one scorch at searing heat. Baste with plain butter, using the method in the butter-basting guide below, and add the marrow butter on the resting steak.

Storing it

Keep the log wrapped and refrigerated, and use it within a few days. For longer keeping, slice the whole log into coins, freeze them on a plate, then pack them in a freezer bag. Frozen coins keep well for a few months, and you can drop one straight onto a hot steak.

Food safety

The USDA FSIS chart does not list marrow separately. For whole cuts of beef it lists 145 degrees F, followed by a rest of at least 3 minutes, as the safe minimum internal temperature. Marrow roasted until it bubbles and goes soft right through will be well past that; if you are unsure, check the thickest part with an instant-read thermometer. The finished butter contains cooked marrow, so keep it in the refrigerator, not on the counter. See the FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart.