Iron Chef: BEEF BONE MARROW

I decided to do an Iron Chef night and, this time, use an ingredient that I do not believe ever appeared on either the Japanese or American versions of the Iron Chef show.  The secret ingredient was ... BEEF BONE MARROW.  There are many recipes on the Internet for roasting bone marrow, which is the primary way of preparing it.  Given it was my first time using bone marrow, I stuck to the traditional approach, roasting the marrow at 475 degrees for about 30 minutes (some recipes say 450 degrees for 15 minutes, but I wanted to be safe, but I watched to make sure that the marrow did not become liquid). I then tried to think of different ways to incorporate the roasted marrow into dishes.  This is truly an experiment and I have included these recipes only to show some of the more "oddball" things I try to make every once in a while.  These are original recipes and I would only recommend them to the truly adventurous.

BEEF BONE MARROW CROSTINI WITH CILANTRO SALAD

Serves many

Ingredients:
Crostini
2-3 beef bones
Bunch of cilantro, chopped well.
1 shallot sliced thin
1 lemon, juiced
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  Roast the bones for 30 minutes at 450 or 475 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2.  Heat the croutons.  Mix the cilantro and scallions, adding the lemon juice from half of the lemon.  Place the cilantro/scallion mix on the crostini.  Once the bones are done (you can tell when the marrow begins to separate from the bones), scoop out the marrow and divide amongst the crostini.  Drizzle the lemon juice from the second half of the lemon over the crostini.

MASHED POTATOES WITH ROASTED BONE MARROW AND TALEGGIO CHEESE
Serves 2 people


Ingredients:
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into even shaped pieces
1/2 pound Taleggio cheese, cut into small cubes and pads (like butter)
Milk
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, diced
1 teaspoon fresh sage, diced
2-3 beef bones

Directions:
1.  Roast the bones for 30 minutes at 450 or 475 degrees Fahrenheit. 


2.  Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add potatoes and boil for fifteen minutes.  When the potatoes are soft to the fork, drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add milk gradually while you mash the potatoes.  Continue to mash until you get your desired smoothness, adding milk if the potatoes seem dry.  In addition, add some of the taleggio cubes and mix them into the potatoes.


3.  Add the bone marrow and mix well.  Plate and sprinkle the rosemary and sage over the potatoes.

GRASS FED NEW YORK STRIP STEAK WITH ROASTED BONE MARROW AND REUNION PINK PEPPERCORNS
Serves four


Ingredients:
1 pound of grass-fed N.Y. Strip Steak
3-4 beef bones
2 teaspoons Reunion pink peppercorns
1 teaspoon of whole thyme leaves
3 tablespoons rosemary, diced finely
3 tablespoons sage, diced finely
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  Roast the bones for 30 minutes at 450 or 475 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2.  Spread the olive oil over the strip steak.  Sprinkle the rosemary and sage over the steak.  Salt and pepper the steak. Cook the steak in the broiler.  Flip the steak after about 6 minutes and cook for 6 minutes more.  You want the temperature to be medium rare.  After the steak is done, wrap it in foil and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

3.  Slice the steak.  Spoon the roasted bone over the steak and drizzle the peppercorns and thyme leaves over the marrow.

ENJOY!