Marrow Bones with pictures and Instructions.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I finally got around to buying to buying marrow bones. I had the butcher cut them but they were cut a bit long. Karen told me about 5-6" by 3" wide would be good. She had written instructions as follows:
"I ask the butcher at the grocery store for them. They sometimes have them already packaged for soup in the meat case, but not the really big
ones. The butcher will cut them to size for you.
I usually microwave them, because when you boil them, the marrow does
cook, but some of it escapes into the water, lol. last time I did boil
them because i got concerned about the microwave not sterilizing them
well enough after that discussion we had...although honestly, I've
always done that and the dog s have always been fine...and I handle
those bones and have been fine, too. But anyway, you can microwave for a
few minutes, check to see if the marrow is soft enough to remove yet,
if not, do a few more minutes, etc. They really hold up well to heat. Or you can boil for maybe 15minutes and strain the water to get all the marrow. I will chill them for a little while before giving them, because in addition to being too hot, they're also pretty greasy when you take them out."
Here they are:

I'll cook them tomorrow and let you know the results. Thanks Karen

UPDATE:

A good time was had by all, supervisor/cook, Calla and Luca. The cooking is easy, the cleanup greasy, the enjoyment great. I had accidentally bought the package of bones I thought were too short. They were, in fact, just right. I cooked them for about ten-fifteen minutes. I scraped out all the marrow, which certainly was not cooked through but it quickly cooked in the hot water. I discarded the pure fat and kept some of the less fatty marrow. I even put the water in the trash, because it was so greasy. The dogs got some marrow with dinner. Yesterday they got the bones and spent lots of time getting the tendons off. They stayed outside and amused themselves with the bones for a long time. The second big batch of bones I cut with a reciprocating saw. Not fun. It’s hard, makes lots of bone dust and noisy. I managed to put a small hole in my cutting board but all my fingers are intact and that’s the important part! I would have cut them smaller yet but really! Too much mess and work. Get the butcher to give you about 4 inch pieces. The good news is I have a batch of bones,some of which I’ll freeze. The doodles are happy. A good time was had by all.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Yeah, I got some at our Mollie Stones last week. I boiled them and let them cool. I removed the marrow and put it in their dinner...yum. They Loved, Loved, Loved the bones and loved their dinner:) I took them away after around a half hour of their gnawing. Gave them back the next day for some more. Hindsight.... should have refrigerated them after the fact. They were sitting in a ziplock for a few days and they got moldy so I threw them out. Question; How long can they last? The bones you buy at the pet store don't seem to go bad. Maybe these did because we're in a heatwave and they were sealed in the bag. Do they have to be refrigerated or can they be left out in the air?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good questions but I don't know the answers. The store bought bones are very dry which I think makes a big difference but I'm not sure how thet do this. Certainly refrigerating seems necessary for bones you've cooked yourself. The fat will get rancid after a time too even without the mold. More research called for : )

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I have bones that have been lying around for months, maybe years, and they have never gone bad. I don't seal them in a bag or refrigerate them, either. They go in Jack's toy basket.
I know another FG member does this, and she runs the bones through the dishwasher periodically to clean them, stuffs them with peanut butter, etc. They truly last forever.
If F's experiment is a dud, I am going to have to cook some again and pay attention to what the heck I'm doing!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I've never had them mold but I never take them back and place them in baggies. Perhaps you should listen to the old wives tales--Never take a bone from a dog!

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Lol...I wouldn't....only our Golden Ret is a voracious chewer and he has to have limits!!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Wow...a scientific marrow bone experiment.
Disclaimer: I am like my mother, who was never able to tell me how to cook anything, because she just knew by the way it looked or something and didn't measure or time anything. (Which resulted in my being a lousy cook.) So the above was my best stab at trying to explain what I do, lol. Maybe they need to cook longer. I'm usually doing three things at once. But you'll know. And then we'll really have it down to a science!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

None of our butchers or local grocers will cut down the marrow bones any longer :( They all come in the sizes you have displayed in your pictures.

We place them in a vice and take a reciprocating saw to cut them into smaller sections. This would be six servings in our house--plus half a hanging mobile

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There you go! The mobile! They are indestructible!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

They are indestructible!<---- darn, that thing is still hanging there today!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Uh-oh again. Reciprocating saw, I do have one but this is sounding too much like work! And thanks, no mobiles of bones for me--a bear might decide it smelled good : )

[F, Calla & Luca]

First unscientific article but written by a vet. Read the last part on the 3rd kind of chew.
http://blog.timesunion.com/petsandvets/216/dogs-need-to-chew/

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Glad to have some agreement that marrow bones are appropriate "chew toys" for dogs, even if it is unscientific!