Roasted Bone Marrow & Marmite Butter
This roasted bone marrow & marmite butter is rich & has a deep, beefy unami flavour. Flavoured with roasted garlic, fresh herbs & a hint of lemon, this butter goes great with steaks, homemade bread, pasta & loads more.
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This could be the ultimate compound butter to serve with steak!
Here, we’re flavouring butter with a generous amount of roasted bone marrow, roasted garlic, marmite, fresh thyme & a touch of lemon zest. Plus a good amount of salt & pepper as well! The salty, unami flavour from the marmite works fantastically well with the bone marrow & when you mix them together with butter & all of the other flavourings, you’ve got yourself a really tasty sauce, dip or spread!
This bone marrow butter has a rich, beefy flavour that’s enhanced by the salty marmite, sweet roasted garlic, fresh herbs & lemon zest (the lemon helps cut through all of that rich bone marrow & butter!). This butter works especially well with steak, you could even use it to baste it in the pan! But it also goes great with some really good homemade bread, on some roasted veggies or even with fish…
For more sides, sauces & garnishes, take a look at our collection of side dish recipes! There’s plenty to choose from here, including caramelised onions, homemade barbecue sauces, flavoured mayos, homemade oven chips, slaws & loads more…
What You’ll Need
- Butter – You can use either salted or unsalted butter for this garlic butter, just make sure that it’s soft before using (leave it out at room temperature for half an hour or so). Keep in mind that your butter won’t need as much seasoning if you use salted butter.
- Bone Marrow – You’ll need two bone marrow canoes/splits for this butter. These should weigh around 600 grams in total (including the bones) but as bone marrow vary in size, don’t worry if they’re a bit bigger.
- Marmite – Marmite is a yeast extract spread & is available to buy in most supermarkets. This has a salty, unami flavour that seasons & flavours our butter.
- Garlic – We’re going to be roasting our bone marrows with some fresh garlic. Don’t worry about peeling the garlic cloves, as we’ll be squeezing them out of their skins once they’re cooked.
- Lemon – Adding a small amount of lemon zest to our bone marrow butter, cuts through the rich flavours from the fats. It’s best to add this to taste.
- Fresh Thyme – Some finely chopped fresh herbs adds some extra flavour to our butter. I used thyme but rosemary would work as well.
How To Make Roasted Bone Marrow & Marmite Butter
The full, printable recipe card for this butter can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
Roasted Bone Marrow
Before we make our marmite butter, we need to roast our bone marrows & garlic. This is super easy to do, simply place the bone marrows (cut side up) & garlic onto a baking tray, drizzle with vegetable oil then season with salt & pepper and roast at 200°c/392°f for 10-15 minutes, until soft. Cooking the bone marrows at a higher temperature is key as it browns the marrow properly without melting it.
Once cooked, we let the bone marrows cool until we can handle them then scoop the marrow into a bowl. We squeeze the garlic out the skins & place them into the bowl as well. Next, we place the marrow into the fridge & let it chill until it is the consistency of soft butter. This will take around 20 minutes.
Marmite Butter
To make our roasted bone marrow & marmite butter, we add the cooled bone marrow & garlic into a food processor with soft butter, marmite, lemon zest, marmite & a generous amount of salt & pepper. We give the butter a blend, until smooth then give it a taste to check the seasoning. If you feel that it needs more salt, pepper, marmite or lemon zest, add this in now then give the butter another quick blend.
Once your butter is ready, it can be served straight away or stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you’re wanting to scoop or rocher your butter, chill it into the fridge for 30 minutes or so, so that it firms up slightly.
Serving Suggestions
I developed this bone marrow & marmite butter with the idea of it being served with a perfectly cooked steak. It’s rich, beefy, unami flavour really does compliment all types of beef but it’s just as good when served on bread, with roasted vegetables or in a pasta sauce. It’s super versatile!
How To Rocher Butter – Tips & Tricks
A rocher is similar to a quenelle but is shaped with one spoon instead of two. Here, we’re basically scooping butter (or ice cream, mash, a puree, anything soft really!) into a 3 sided oval. This technique is used in restaurants all over the world & is a great way to present butter.
Before you want to rocher your butter, you first need to make sure that the butter is in a bowl & is at room temperature, as this makes it a lot easier to scoop. If it’s been in the fridge, I like to let my butter sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes or.
To rocher butter, dip a round sided spoon in warm water (not boiling hot!), dry well with a tea towel then use to scoop your butter, starting at the side of the bowl furthest away from you. Once you’re scoop is formed, scrape the edge of the spoon on the side of the bowl, to get rid of any excess butter then quickly & confidently, turn the rocher of butter out onto a plate/whatever you’re serving the butter on.
A round sided spoon is best for rochers. You can even get spoons specifically designed for rochers! Another way of scooping a rocher, is to push the spoon away from you in the butter then flip it 180 degrees and bring it back under the rocher.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re not serving your roasted bone marrow butter straight away, it should be stored in the fridge & will keep for up to 3 days. I’d recommend letting it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving, as this will make the butter easier to spread/scoop.
Soaking bone marrow in cold water removes any impurities & excess blood, which gives it a cleaner taste & appearance once roasted. However, as we’re going to be blending the roasted marrow with, soaking them isn’t really needed.
Once cooked, bone marrow will be soft like butter. To check whether your bone marrow is cooked, insert the tip of a knife into the centre. If it slides in with little to no resistance, it’s ready.
Yes, bone marrow butter can be made without a food processor. To do this, add of all the ingredients into a mixing bowl then mash & mix with a whisk until smooth & combined.
Equipment Used
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More Sides & Sauces To Try!
- Marmite Caramelised Onions
- Chip Shop Curry Sauce
- Garlic Butter
- Béarnaise Mayo
- Courgette Tzatziki
- Pizza Oven Garlic Bread With Burrata
- Rice Krispie Fried Mozzarella Sticks With Hot Honey
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Roasted Bone Marrow & Marmite Butter
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
Roasted Bone Marrow
- 2 Bone Marrow Canoes (See Notes)
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- ½ tbsp Vegetable Oil
Marmite Butter
- 150 g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
- 1½ tsp Marmite
- 1 tsp Finely Chopped Thyme
- Zest Of Half A Lemon
Instructions
Roasted Bone Marrow
- Preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c fan (392°f/356°f).
- Place the bone marrows onto a baking tray (cut side up) then nestle the garlic cloves between the bones. Drizzle the oil over the top then season the bone marrows with salt & pepper.Don't worry about peeling the garlic!
- Roast the bone marrow & garlic for 10-15 minutes, until both are soft. If you insert the tip of a knife into the bone marrow, it should slide in with little resistance (like soft butter). The garlic cloves should feel soft when squeezed.
- Once cooked, let the bone marrows cool until you can handle them then scoop the marrow into a bowl with a spoon. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins & into the marrow as well.It's easier to scoop the marrow out of the bones whilst their still warm. If there's beef fat on the tray, pour this into the marrow as well.
- Place the bowl of marrow in the fridge & chill until it is the consistency of soft butter. This will take 20 minutes or so.
Marmite Butter
- Add the butter, bone marrow, garlic, chopped thyme, marmite & lemon zest into a food processor. Season well with salt & pepper then blend until smooth & combined.
- Give the butter a taste, to check the seasoning then add in more salt & pepper as needed. If you feel that your butter needs more marmite & lemon zest, add this in now as well.
- Give the butter a quick, final blend then transfer to a bowl. You can serve the butter straight away or store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
