A Night Out - Prime Meats - Brooklyn

This weekend we visited Prime Meats on Court Street in Brooklyn. While we are hesitant to tell you about it (our wait was already an hour and a half), we must confess that this was one of the best meals we have had in a long time. When we heard that they were having a special of Bone Marrow and Ox Tail we had to try the Marrow after being so inspired by Gordon Matta Clarke's infamous meal, Matta Bones.

Falcinelli and Castronovo Frank of Frankies, Spuntino, and Prime Meats
image Via The New York Magazine

And we must admit it was a wonderful meal. We started off with Pemaquid Oysters from Maine, followed by the Marrow, and finished it all off with a Strip Steak. Perfectly Cooked. Perfectly Salted. The whole meal was completed by their Old Fashioned made with pear bitters and served over a glacier of hand chipped ice. Yes Please.

So this got us thinking - how does one prepare Marrow? We decided it must be a slow cook - expecting hours of heat and much patience. After only a wee bit of research, we discover that the Marrow preparation that we so loved is Anthony Bourdain's chosen Last Supper - but from St. John, the London restaurant founded by Fergus Hederson (of Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking, The Whole Beast, Nose to Tail Eating, and Beyond Nose to Tail: More Omnivorous Recipes for the Adventurous Cook). We found the recipe via Serious Eats.

Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad

- serves 3 -
Adapted from My Last Supper by Melanie Dunea.

Ingredients

12 three-inch (7 1/2-centimeter) pieces veal marrowbone
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked from stems
2 shallots, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons (30 grams) capers
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Toasted bread, for serving

Procedure

1. Prepare the bones: Put the bones in an ovenproof frying pan or roasting pan; place in a 450°F (230°C) oven. Depending on bone thickness, roasting should take about 20 minutes. You're looking for loose and giving marrow, but marrow that's not yet melted away.

2. Prepare the parsley salad: While bones are roasting, lightly chop the parsley and mix it with the shallots and capers. Just before serving, dress salad with the olive oil and lemon juice; salt and pepper to taste.

3. Serve the dish: Don't completely season this dish before serving; let the diner do the last-minute seasoning. To eat, scrape the marrow from the bone onto the toast; season it with coarse sea salt. Place a pinch of parsley salad on top; eat immediately.

Although we let the cat out of the bag (sorry) we will be back. Don't you doubt it. With a menu like this, nothing could keep us away. After all, we do love meat.