Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Broth
- 1500 g whole chicken, cut into pieces
- 3000 ml water, cold
- 250 g yellow onions, halved, skin left on for color
- 300 g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 200 g celery, roughly chopped, including leaves
- 150 g parsnips, peeled and roughly chopped
- 20 g fresh dill, whole sprigs
- 5 g black peppercorns, whole
- 15 g kosher salt
Marrow Balls (Markkloesschen)
- 500 g beef marrow bones, center-cut
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 120 g gluten-free matzo meal
- 5 g fresh parsley, finely minced
- 1 g ground nutmeg
- 3 g kosher salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 1518 kcal
- Protein
- 59 g
- Carbohydrates
- 67 g
- Fat
- 113 g
- Fiber
- 15 g
- Sugar
- 23 g
- Sodium
- 1615 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 48 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 16 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Cholesterol
- 188 mg
- Potassium
- 2160 mg
- Calcium
- 273 mg
- Iron
- 8.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 139 mg
- Phosphorus
- 698 mg
- Zinc
- 4.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 2107 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 21 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.5 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 4.0 mg
- Vitamin K
- 87 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.8 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.45 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.55 mg
- Niacin
- 20.6 mg
- Folate
- 73 mcg
- Water
- 722 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place the chicken pieces and cold water in a large stockpot. Slowly bring the liquid to a gentle boil at 100°C/212°F over medium heat. As it heats, use a fine skimmer or slotted spoon to continuously remove the grayish foam and impurities that rise to the surface.
Once the surface is completely clear of foam, add the onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, fresh dill, black peppercorns, and salt. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to maintain a gentle simmer and cook partially covered for 2 hours.
While the soup is simmering, extract the raw marrow from the center of the beef bones using a small spoon or butter knife. Place the scooped marrow into a mixing bowl and use a fork to thoroughly crush and mash it into a smooth paste.
Add the room-temperature eggs to the mashed marrow and whisk vigorously until well incorporated and slightly aerated. Gently fold in the gluten-free matzo meal, minced parsley, ground nutmeg, and salt until a soft, sticky dough forms.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator. Allow the mixture to chill and hydrate.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. With moistened hands, gently roll the mixture into small balls, roughly the size of a marble or cherry, as they will expand during cooking.
Bring a medium saucepan filled with well-salted water to a steady simmer. Gently drop the marrow balls into the water. Poach until they float to the surface and are cooked completely through, ensuring they reach an internal safety temperature of 74°C/165°F.
Carefully ladle the cooked chicken soup through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pot or large heatproof bowl. Discard the spent vegetables and herbs, but reserve the chicken meat and carrots if desired for serving.
Distribute the cooked marrow balls into warmed serving bowls. Pour the hot, clear chicken broth over the dumplings, garnishing with the reserved sliced carrots and an extra sprig of fresh dill.
Chef's Notes
- Leaving the skin on the yellow onions provides a natural, deep golden hue to the finished broth without affecting the flavor.
- If raw marrow is difficult to extract, roast the bones at 200°C/400°F for 10-15 minutes just to loosen the marrow before scooping.
- Gluten-free matzo meal absorbs moisture differently than traditional wheat matzo meal. If the dough feels impossibly dry before chilling, mix in a teaspoon of water or broth.
- For strict dietary adherence during Passover, double-check that your potato or tapioca starch-based gluten-free matzo meal is explicitly certified Kosher for Passover.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store marrow balls separately from the broth to prevent them from becoming soggy.
Freezer: 3 months — Freeze broth and marrow balls in separate airtight containers.
Reheating: Reheat broth gently over medium heat until simmering. Add chilled marrow balls directly to the hot broth until heated through.
Troubleshooting
Marrow balls disintegrate while cooking
Cause: The cooking water was boiling too violently, or the dough did not chill long enough
Fix: Lower the heat immediately. If the first test dumpling falls apart, mix 10-15g more gluten-free matzo meal into the raw dough and re-chill
Prevention: Ensure the water remains at a gentle simmer, and rest the dough in the refrigerator for the full 30 minutes
Marrow balls are too dense and heavy
Cause: The dough was compacted too tightly during shaping or overworked during mixing
Fix: Cannot be fixed once cooked
Prevention: Use a light touch when rolling the balls and avoid compacting the mixture
Chicken broth is murky or cloudy
Cause: The soup was allowed to boil vigorously, which emulsified the fats and impurities
Fix: Clarify the cooled broth using an egg white raft technique, though flavor may be slightly muted
Prevention: Keep the soup at a barely bubbling simmer after the initial skimming step
Cultural Context
Marrow balls, known in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine as Markkloesschen, are traditional dumplings born out of both frugality and ingenuity. Before schmaltz or oil were widely available commercially, beef marrow provided an intensely rich, flavorful fat that elevated ordinary matzo or breadcrumb dumplings into a celebrated delicacy, particularly beloved during springtime holidays like Passover.
