Sous Vided Bone Marrow for Eating

I sous vided beef bone marrow in the bone for part of tonight's dinner. I cooked it at 60C for 40 min. The flavour was as expected but the colour was rather unexpected with a bright red raw look. Texture was good too. I didn't take a photo as my hands were dripping in marrow fat, mustard seeds, salt and parsley. The bone segments where ~3" long, cross cut, not split down the middle of the bone. It is not possible to go much higher with temp as some of the fat was liquid.

My question is:

- is there a way to SV bone marrow in bone and/or a finishing technique so the morrow is not as red?

I have more bone that I will SV to render the fat at 88C for ~3 hours so the colour for this will be ok.

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Chris_Young_80640

@Tim the red color is, in this case, some haemoglobin. The pigment will start to denature around 60C, but very slowly; above 68C it occurs very readily and you shouldn't see it blooming bright red after cooking.

Adding salt increases how readily the pigment with be denatured by heat. So, curing or brining the marrow and higher cooking temperatures should work.

Shannon_Barnes_68642

I love bone marrow, with a parsley, caper, and lemon juice salad... I'd been thinking about trying it in the sv as well, but hadn't considered the color change. I would love if you posted pictures next time you make it!

Tim_Sutherland_52834

Thanks @Chris.

I'll buy a few pounds of bone marrow and play with brines/temps/times get to colour and texture I like.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

@shannon out of the bag the marrow in the bone looks like it came out of the oven but not as crusty, the top is grey.

When you dig into the marrow you will find shockingly bright red marrow. It tastes great but the colour is very off putting.

I served the marrow with parsley, salt and pressure cooked mustard seeds. The side dish was deep fried brain fritters on a sunflower sprout salad and a selection of fruits. A New Zealand Riesling washed it all down

Shannon_Barnes_68642

@Tim, that sounds AMAZING. And maybe I'll just stick with the oven for the marrow, then... I do like the whole crusty thing. Unless I hit it with a blowtorch...

Tim_Sutherland_52834

@shannon, I tried the blowtorch to finish out of the bag and it is difficult to achieve the "oven crust" without burning. A salamander/broiler might be easier. I do like the oven bone marrow as I leave meat and tasty bits still on the bone. After eating the marrow there is nothing better than gnawing on the bone, caveman style. I make sure there is nothing left for my dogs.

Chris_Young_80640

@Tim — Yeah, a blowtorch can be tricky with the bone marrow. The bone is dry, so it heats quickly and then chars, but the marrow is moist, so you have to evaporate enough water off the surface before it begins to caramelize. Usually, I keep the blowtorch a very good distance above the bone marrow and then keep it moving constantly. You just need to go slowly.