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Marrow Toast
Take the marrow from the bone, cut it up, and parboil in salt and water for one minute. Drain, season with pepper and salt, and add a little lemon-juice and chopped parsley. Toss lightly together; spread the mixture on squares of hot crisp toast, and serve immediately.
A Victorian savoury that has come back into fashion via restaurant menus. Everything depends on the marrow staying in soft nuggets rather than dissolving into the water.
- Getting the marrowAsk the butcher for beef or veal marrow bones cut lengthwise (canoe cut) or in 2-3 inch lengths; the marrow pushes out easily from short sections with a spoon handle, and lengthwise bones can simply be scraped. A 3 inch length of shin bone yields roughly 2 tablespoons.
- Soak firstSoak the bones in cold salted water for several hours, changing it once or twice. This draws out blood, which otherwise leaves the marrow grey and slightly metallic. The recipe itself says nothing about soaking.
- The one minute mattersMarrow is largely fat and softens at little above body heat. Drop the pieces into barely simmering salted water, count sixty seconds, and lift them out; a rolling boil or three minutes will leave you with a slick on the water and nothing to spread.
- Cut it coldChill the extracted marrow before cutting so it holds its shape. Half-inch dice hold together through the parboil; anything finer collapses.
- Season hard"Pepper and salt" understates it. Marrow is bland and very rich, so it needs more salt than seems reasonable, a good grind of pepper, and the lemon juice is structural rather than decorative.
- ToastThin slices, well crisped, cut into squares no bigger than two bites. Soft or thick toast goes sodden under the fat.
- Serve immediately means itThe mixture is only pleasant while warm; as it cools it sets waxy on the tongue. Assemble at the last moment and carry it straight to the table.
- YieldNo quantities are given. Reckon on two bones and four small squares of toast per person as a savoury or first course.
Marrow was treated as a delicacy in British kitchens long before Cassell's, which is why Georgian and Victorian silver includes the long narrow marrow scoop, made specifically to reach down a split shin bone. Roasted marrow bones served with toast and a napkin were a standing item on chophouse and club menus through the nineteenth century, and marrow toast belongs to the same family as the other hot savouries — anchovy toast, devilled kidneys — that closed a formal English dinner after the sweet course. Queen Victoria is often said to have eaten marrow on toast regularly, a claim repeated widely but not easy to document.