Bone Marrow

December 19, 2012: Bone Appetit

If you’re a vegetarian you might not want to read any further. But if you own a restaurant, you should think about adding bone marrow to your menus. Yes, bone marrow. Newsweek reports it’s a hot trend sweeping the food industry right now. Apparently, the “rich, bloody gelatin found inside animal bones” is increasingly being used by chefs as a flavoring ingredient, and as a meal itself, “serving bone, split open and roasted, tableside.”

The magazine says the new infatuation with bone marrow coincides with several other big foodie trends. Marrow is being served at trendy gastropubs, fits in with the “farm-to-table” movement, and is a “politically correct alternative to foie gras.”

In the cookbook My Last Supper, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain told author Melanie Dunea he would choose (and shares the recipe) roast bone marrow for his last meal on earth. And the manager of the meat department at New York City’s food department store Eataly told Newsweek “there are definitely more people asking for bone marrow.”

Lest you think this is an only-in-New York delicacy, the magazine reports bone marrow has become a popular dish in such diverse places as Traverse City, Michigan; Cleveland; Arlington, Virginia; and Hoboken, New Jersey.

If you’re still on the fence about serving bone marrow in your restaurants, think about it from an economic perspective: Bone marrow is versatile and cheap.