*It doesn’t have to be Moose. Any red meat and especially pot roast works great.*
I knew my mom was coming for a night, and we always enjoy cooking new things together. When I found lamb shank on sale I made plans to cook ossobuco, as she has talked so fondly of it over the last few months, but then I ran into an older ‘weathered’ man at the butcher counter looking for soup bones. “Ohh!” I said excitedly. “What are you planning to make with that?” “It’s for my dog,” he replied sheepishly. I wasn’t sure why he was so shy about it, but then I remembered myself in similar circumstances. One day the owner of the Asian market curiously asked me how I used the small frozen fish I routinely bought. “It’s for my turtle,” I replied, also rather timid with my answer. Perhaps somehow we both were feeling some guilt about using ‘people’ food for our pets. Either way, I had for whatever reason never known that beef leg bones could be purchased there, or that they were usually stalked right in the freezer section. Lamb for my precious mother? No! You’re getting bones!
Actually I knew that it was a venture she would surely enjoy. One of our common pleasures comes in making use of every part of an animal. She has even gone so far as to saw buttons out of caribou antlers in order that they wouldn’t go to waste. When I told her our plans, (neglecting the initial part about the lamb), she was very excited. Later, when I had divulged to whole scenario, we chuckled that I could probably afford to buy the noodles after such a savings on our choice of protein. “Nothing but the best for you!” I reassured her.
When making plans for marrow soup, or simply stock from marrow, it is important to remember that you will need to boil them for a long time. LOOOONG time. 5 hours. I’ve read that people suggest 6 hours. I’ve read people who suggest 8 to 24 hours…I’ve even read that you should boil them for 3 days! We cooked ours for 5 hours and the marrow was soft enough to eat with a spoon, and the broth was amazing. I truly don’t think you need anything more than that, but obviously ‘that’ is still a long time and you will need to plan for it. Perhaps use your crock-pot.
Outside of the bones our soup was simply, kid-you-not, beef stock, water, half and onion, and pepper. We added water as needed because I had filled the pot too full and left the lid off to allow it to boil off. Otherwise it was left to itself until we added a home canned pint of moose meat at the end.
The broth was fatty and savory, rich and smooth. I can’t say I have ever had anything like it.
Obviously if you are using beef bones you will be making a beef stock. Any red meat goes great with beef stock. Root vegetables, and greens are perfect additions, although we chose not to put any in ours so we could have a ‘pure experience’ with the bone marrow.
If you ever want to make a beef stock I highly suggest starting with bones. If you want to make an exotic dish that probably won’t scare away your guests I suggest bone marrow broth with noodles.
Bone marrow is both healthy and beautiful. If you have never tried it before, you should definitely make it for yourself, your family, and your friends. Did I mention that it’s really cheap?
The Aftermath
Bone Marrow with Moose and Udon Noodles
By:semiserious chefs
Serves: 4+
Ingredients:
- 4 cow shank bones (sometimes labeled as soup bones)
- 1 quart beef stock
- 1/2 to 1 quart water (to taste and as needed)
- half of a yellow onion (no need to slice or dice)
- 1-2 T whole peppercorns
- Udon Noodles*
- 1 pint/1 pound of moose or meat of choice (see step 3)
- Green Onion; chopped or julienne for garnish
*Note: Many stores carry packaged, pre-cooked udon noodles. These are really easy as they only need to be reheated in water or broth. Another choice is dried noodles. These will need to be boiled for 10-12 minutes using plenty of water. The third option is to make your own. This is much easier than you may think. We don’t have the recipe on our own site yet, so here is a link to someone else who does. It’s a really fun process, especially with children, because you get to use your feet! <— True story.
-But for this meal we simply used the precooked noodles.
Directions:
- In a large pot add beef stock, water (just refill the carton with water to measure a quart), bones, halved onion, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and let simmer, over medium-low for 5 hours. If you cover it, you probably won’t need to add water. If you need to reduce your stock, leave it uncovered, and add water as needed.
- Prepare your udon noodles. (see note above) I suggest boiling them separately so your bone broth doesn’t get cloudy with starch.
- When your soup has had sufficient time to simmer add your choice of red meat. Obviously raw meat will need time to cook. I suggest letting any cubed meat simmer in the broth for at least the final hour to get tender. Left-over pot roast would be a perfect choice for this dish.
- Plating: Generously pile noodles into wide bowls and ladle in broth. Distribute the meat evenly among the dishes. Present one whole bone on each dish, centered atop the noodles. Be sure to offer small spoons or chopsticks to each guest for removing the precious marrow. Garnish generously with sliced green onions.
Post a comment