What is Marapo? Why South Africans Love Slow-Cooked Beef Bones

Ask a South African where to find real comfort food and someone will mention marapo. A plate of slow-cooked beef bones might sound simple, but it is one of the most loved dishes in township eating houses. Here's what marapo is, why people love it, and how to eat it properly.

What is marapo?

Marapo is the Sesotho, Setswana and Sepedi word for bones. On a menu, marapo means beef bones with meat still on them, simmered for hours until the meat is falling off and the marrow inside is soft. The cooking liquid becomes a deep, beefy gravy, and the whole thing is served with pap.

Why bones are so full of flavour

Meat cooked on the bone tastes richer than boneless meat. As bones simmer, they release marrow fat and collagen into the pot. The collagen turns into gelatine, giving the gravy body, while the marrow adds a buttery richness you can't get from a fillet. This is the same reason chefs everywhere make stock from bones, and why bone broth has become fashionable around the world. South African grandmothers simply never stopped making it.

A dish of patience and sharing

Like most traditional offal and bone dishes, marapo comes from a culture where nothing from an animal was wasted. Bones that might otherwise be thrown away became the base of a meal that could feed a whole family. Because it needs a long, slow cook, it became weekend food: something put on the fire in the morning and shared in the afternoon.

How marapo is cooked

1. Meaty beef bones are cleaned and placed in a large pot.
2. They are covered with water, seasoned with salt, onion and spices, and brought to a gentle simmer.
3. The pot cooks low and slow for hours, topped up with water when needed, until the meat is tender and the marrow is soft.
4. Towards the end, the liquid reduces into a rich gravy.

How to eat marapo

• Start with the meat. Pull the tender pieces off the bone with your fingers.
• Don't skip the marrow. Tap the bone or suck the marrow out. For many fans this is the best part of the meal.
• Finish with pap and gravy. The beefy gravy soaked into pap is the reason people order marapo again and again.

Marapo vs oxtail

Both are slow-cooked beef on the bone, but oxtail has more meat and a silkier, more gelatinous sauce, while marapo is all about the marrow and a lighter, beefier broth. If you love one, try the other on a 2 mixed meat plate.

Order marapo from Phala's

Our marapo with pap is served daily at 6233 Block S, Mabopane, and delivered around Mabopane and Soshanguve. Browse the full menu for more traditional favourites.