[Sca-cooks] properly prepared marrow?

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

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