Bone Marrow!

How many of us throw away the bones when we're cooking? I'm more than a little ashamed to say that up until recently I did... Today, while I was preparing some round steaks to put on the grill for dinner, Brandi saw me cut the "round" bone out of the meat and made it a point to check and make sure I wasn't going to throw it away! I wasn't I was just trying to get it ready for cooking!

As a kid, my only exposure to bone marrow was family member that used to eat it at every meal. Unfortunately, I was too young to actually pay attention to what he was eating, and he was a little too strange to intelligently explain the taste and benefits of such an item. Now, we don't go out of our way to purchase bones for cooking, but if the meat we're planning to eat has bones, we certainly take the time to prepare it, cook it, and enjoy it.

If any of you reading this are wondering "why the hell would I eat that?" - hear me out. The texture is almost melt in your mouth soft and when combined with just a little salt is actually a very flavorful piece of tissue. On top of its flavor and texture, bone marrow actually brings some excellent health benefits to the table (yes, pun intended!) as well. I know that in todays "fake news" world no one is going to take the advice of a Welding Engineer when it comes to the health benefits of food, so allow me to cite food.ndtv.com" and four of the major benefits of bone marrow:

"1. A study conducted by University of Michigan states that the fat tissue of bone marrow contains a hormone called adiponectin that ensures smooth digestion of food, regulates the level of insulin and lowers down the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

2. Bone marrow contains myeloid and lymphoid stem cells, which transform into white blood cells and red blood cells that improve immunity of the body and contribute in cell repair and regeneration.

3. Certain studies suggest that bone marrow contains more quantity of vitamins and minerals than the meat itself. It also has higher amount of calcium, which is excellent for bone health and may help prevent problems like arthritis.

4. Collagen present in bone marrow releases antioxidants inside the body, which help boost skin health and prevent early ageing of skin."

I encourage you to try it next time you're grilling/cooking a piece of meat that comes with a large piece of bone. The biggest issue that you're going to have is if the bone isn't "sliced" thinly, you're not going to be able to cook the marrow deep inside the bone. Typically, you can ask your butcher to cut any bones you may end up with lengthwise to expose the bone marrow if it isn't already sliced properly. Put a little salt and pepper on the inner tissue of the bone, and grill it right along with your steaks. Keep an eye on the marrow as you grill it, but typically you're looking at 2-3 minutes on each side to get the marrow to the correct temperature and texture. Usually throw ours on when we throw our steaks on, and then enjoy the marrow while the rest of our dinner is cooking.