[Sca-cooks] properly prepared marrow?
Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius
adamantius1 at verizon.net
Tue Aug 12 20:03:01 PDT 2008
On Aug 12, 2008, at 10:15 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:
> That would be beef bones.
> ------
> Veal bones, too, generally from the femur or the shank bone. Smaller
> or narrower bones (think cross-section) such as ribs won't have any
> significant amount of marrow in them.
>
> Adamantius >>>
>
> Thanks. yes the size of the bones makes sense. So what about the
> larger bones of pigs or sheep? Are these two small to be worth the
> effort or is there some reason this marrow isn't as good as veal or
> beef?
The short answer would probably be, some combination of both. Pork
bones, and their marrow, can have a slightly sulfurous aspect to their
flavor profile, which is why you [relatively] rarely find stock being
made from fresh pork bones, unless it's being mixed with chicken
bones, shrimp shells, etc. It's a popular meat for southern Chinese
soups of a sort of country or family style, like real winter melon
soup, which is a slightly different animal than the stuff you get in
restaurants. I'm a heretic in this regard, and prefer the chicken or
mixed pork, chicken and shrimp versions. My mother-in-law makes all-
pork soups frequently, and all her children love them ("Mmmmm!!! Pork
neck bones boiled in dishwater, improperly skimmed _and_
unseasoned!"), but I'm not really seeing the allure. I guess I'm
spoiled, brought up by rich people (!) with questionable values, and
generally a barbarian.
As for sheep bones, well, you've pretty much got to like mutton and
lamb to appreciate their marrow, which is basically fat anyway, and
the thing that most mutton-avoiders seem to object to most is the
flavor of the fat, so this is probably something that carries over
into their view on the marrow of these animals.
Also, as you mention, their marrow bones are smaller, and just as hard
to saw through for somewhat less of a payday. I wouldn't be surprised,
though, to find that I'm not the only one who passionately enjoys
something like lamb shanks, fishing for the marrow when the meat is
eaten.
Adamantius
"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's
bellies."
-- Rabbi Israel Salanter
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