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Bone marrow was an important sacred food for the preindustrialized Indian cultures living in the Rocky Mountain range far into the Canadian North during the early 1900s.
Dr. Weston A . Price studied these cultures firsthand and documented in his masterpiece Nutrition and Physical Degeneration that bone marrow was provided as a special dietary ration for growing children and also served as a substitute for milk when necessary.
Bone marrow is not a typical food in the Western diet, but it should be. ย It is not only one of the most delicious of all the sacred foods, itโs also one of the most inexpensive!ย
Bone Marrow Health Benefits
Not much nutritional analysis of bone marrow has been done to date, but it is more than likely loaded with the MK-4 version of Vitamin K2 and other fat soluble nutrients due to its importance in the diets of healthy Traditional Cultures and also because it is comprised almost entirely of fat.
Bone marrow contains the immune stimulating lipids alkyglycerols which may explain why some children suffering from leukemia quickly experience a return to normal white blood cell counts and improved energy when they consumed this sacred food under the care of Swedish oncologist Dr. Astrid Brohult.
In the easy recipe below, I share my go-to recipe for preparing bone marrow for a quick lunch or dinner. Enjoy!
Roasted Bone Marrow Recipe
Easy recipe for roasting marrow bones with serving suggestions for a quick lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 8 pieces marrow bones about 2 inches thick, thawed or right out of the freezer
- 4 slices sourdough bread optional
- sprouted or sourdough crackers optional
Instructions
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Pre-heat oven to 350 F/ 177 C.
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Place marrow bones in a glass baking dish.
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Bake fro 20 minutes until each piece of marrow is bubbly and browned on top.
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Remove dish from oven and carefully scrape marrow out of each piece of bone into a clean, glass bowl using a fork.
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Spread marrow on crackers or lightly toasted pieces of sourdough bread.
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Cool and refrigerate leftovers.
Recipe Video
More Bone Marrow Recipes
Hooked on this sacred food now that you know how delicious it is? Try these other savory ideas for preparing it too.
Source: ย Weston A. Price Foundation
Is there any reason not to eat bone marrow from a grass fed source raw? If the bones are sliced in 1″ sections, the marrow just pops right out.
I’ve never eaten it raw, but why not? I’m sure it would be beneficial. I would just ensure it had been frozen for 14 days or more.
There is nothing like walking back into the house and smelling the rich smell of bone broth simmering (esp. if the bones were roasted first).
What a great idea for making bone marrow! Bone marrow is very big in traditional European cuisine, with many recipes. But this recipe is as simple and elegant as it gets.
Interestingly, enough,whenever they find a cave that early humans live in, they find a big pile of bones, that had been cracked open to get at the marrow.
I love bone marrow!!! We eat it roasted, spread on a piece of toast (if it makes it) with a topping mixed with parsley, shallot, capers, good olive oil and some sea salt. Yummy!! I may have to go thaw the ones I have in my freezer for dinner. ๐
Can marrow be a good substitute for liver in pregnancy? I try to follow the WAPF guidelines for pregnant women but since I got pregnant I can’t tolerate liver (I get nauseated even at the smell of it). I like marrow however so I was thinking of eating it weekly instead of liver. I would appreciate any comments on that from you Sarah and from other readers.
No, you must have liver .. it is the most nutrient dense of the organ meats. Marrow is actually low in vitamin A though it is probably very high in vitamin K.
Have you tried liver pate? The smell is very different than liver just grilling with some onions in a pan.
Try the old trick of freezing the liver into pill size pieces (or cutting it while
Still frozen, which is actually easier) and separating in to an ounce a day and taking with a glass of raw milk or water.
Do you swallow it like a pill then? Silly question, I know, but I assume it won’t matter if you don’t chew it??
You don’t have to chew it if you cut it into small enough pieces. If you eat it raw, the enzymes to digest are present in the liver so not chewing is not such a big deal. Swallowing pieces of cooked liver would be another thing though as these would be much more difficult to digest.
We do this all the time at our house. I have come to really enjoy my raw liver pieces .. primarily because of feel like SuperGirl within about 20 minutes of doing so. It gives me such physical vitality boost it’s quite hard to describe.
Sarah. How many pieces do you need to take to feel like SuperGirl? I could certainly use that vitality boost in the afternoon!
Marta, in NT, page 307, Sally said, “All liver recipes will be greatly improved if the liver slices are first soaked in lemon juice for several hours. This draws out impurities and gives a nicer texture.” So, after many years, I mustered up the courage to buy some, recently tried it, and I found that she was absolutely correct about the improvement. After doing that, I didn’t mind the smell of it cooking, nor the taste and texture. Hope this might be helpful. . . .
Thank you for all the replies! Unfortunately I cannot try the raw liver pill idea as I only have conventional liver available here and I guess it wouldn’t be wise to eat it raw…I know freezing for 14 days kills pathogens but it is still not a very clean piece of meat so probably would be better to eat it cooked?
I wish I had organic liver available but I don’t:(
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I’d feel the same way about conventional liver; I know in my mind it’s probably safe post-freezing, but there are enough unknowns that cooking it would make me feel better about it.
I can barely stand the taste of liver but I do make myself eat at least one serving per week. Here’s one pรยขtรยฉ recipe that really worked for me, in case it helps: http://leitesculinaria.com/62342/recipes-chicken-liver-pate.html. I made a 1/2 batch that filled 3 mini loaf pans. Perhaps you could try it as a tiny batch first to see if you like it. I eat it on homemade rolls, sometimes with cheese or extra butter to cut the taste even more, and it’s my #1 way to eat liver now. If pastured bacon is difficult or impossible for you to obtain, my personal opinion is that it’s a no-brainer to make the small compromise of using conventional bacon if it enables you to eat plenty of liver.
Other tricks:
1) Using scissors, cut liver into bite-size pieces before doing anything else with it. Increasing the surface area so much really seems to multiply the effects of flavor-enhancing tricks, which makes sense.
2) Cook by dropping liver pieces into boiling water. 1-2 minutes works for bite-size pieces. Drain and throw out the nasty liver water.
3) If you haven’t already, try chicken liver over beef liver, as the taste is already a lot milder naturally.
4) Smothering in sauce, of course; I buy Bone Suckin’ brand sauce just for liver, which I find tangy-sweet. Homemade ketchup is also recommended. I also will try to serve mashed potatoes with liver and dip bites of liver into sauce, then buttery mashed potatoes.
I combine as many of these techniques as possible. Combining the above tip for an acidic soak couldn’t hurt, though I’ve never noticed a difference in taste using lemon juice, various vinegars, milk, or buttermilk. Even when I combine all the above ideas, I have to be realistic about taste because I have a super-picky palate, but it’s rarely awful and occasionally tastes almost pleasant. Good luck!
Raw liver can be blended into a “Bloody Mary mix” type of drink (tomatoes, celery, a little horseradish) or a greens smoothie. Start with half an ounce and work up.
If something makes you unusually nauseous, don’t torture yourself. Try other sources for those nutrients and see if you can find a pleasurable way to consume them, or possibly a whole food supplement like CLO capsules. The digestive upset that comes from forcing down foods you find repulsive isn’t good for assimilation, and the misery isn’t good for you. If you hurk at the thought of liver but crave sushi, for instance, try making sushi with cooked fish, veggies and fish eggs. And keep trying liver as your pregnancy progresses – your appetite may return.
I will try roasting them. I have used marrow bones for beef stock and before the stock is completely done, my son has already snuck the marrow out of the bones! I have found a few morsels left floating in the pot he didn’t see, and have had it spread on toasted sour dough bread. Yummy!
Sarah, what temperature did you roast the marrow bones at? I have never had marrow. Does it taste “beefy”? Thanks for the idea.
In addition to the temperature question, you would save the bones to make stock, correct?
Sure, you can save the bones for stock. I roast the marrow at 350F It has a taste all it’s own … not really beefy. It’s so delicious. You must try it.
I actually prefer marrow cold. I cook it, then chill it and spread it cold on bread. Since I’ve been on GAPS I’ve cooked the marrow bones into my broth and pureed the marrow into the soup, along with extra fat and trimmings (GAPS version of ‘pate’). Yummy!! I’ll have to try to give this to my 2 year old – I bet he’d love it! I happen to have some bones in the freezer….
I haven’t tried it cold but would really like too. This sounds interesting. Not enough ever makes it into the fridge as we all descend on it when it’s hot out of the oven. LOL
I ate marrow once or twice a week when I was pregnant. I craved it like mad. Just roasted it and ate it with a spoon!! This was before I knew about the traditional food concept so i just thought i was being naughty. Also it was one of the only things I could tolerate with my horrendous morning sickness. Only time will tell but my 15 month old is tall, chubby (97th percentile in height, weight, and off the charts for skull circumference) and muscular. He walked at 10 months, has a much wider face than I or my husband did as babies, and has only had one small cold once. I wish I’d known to buy grassfed bones, but next baby I’ll be all over it again. The little dude loves marrow too. It’s soooooo good on a piece of sourdough toast with some parsley and sea salt.
yes, we have tried marrow recently as well. the kids weren’t as into it w/ the texture/color of however….so I am going to puree it into soups instead…they’ll never know hehe:)
Very smart idea! Yes, it would blend up so easily they would have no clue it was even in there.