Cooking soup bones

[Tammy & Gracie]

I got a couple of soup bones at the grocery today. They are a little under 1 lb each (bone itself around 2 ") with a good portion of pretty lean meat attached. I thought I may just bake/roast them. Then chop the meat portion into bite size pieces for Gracie's dinner. Any suggestions how to cook these?

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I cook them in a crock pot with water to cover for a couple of days. The bone becomes very soft that you can then crush and mash with the water to make a thick, meaty sauce to pour over the dogs food. It supplies bone marrow and bone meal. If you have a lot of it, freeze in individual bags and pull out as needed. I have done ham bones this way. My aunt told me it is start of pea soup. I never made pea soup but the house smelled really good for the few days it was cooking down. Beef bones would probably go the same way. You have to add water here and there so it doesn't go dry, but my dogs love it. Make sure the bone is really cooked through and soft because cooked bone (not cooked enough) can be a choking hazard.

[Sally loves Maple & Lucky]

Very interesting! What a great and inexpensive way to provide a healthy topping to dry food! Didn't realize you could turn them into mush.

I use shin bones from the butcher in 2" to 6" lengths but I always boil them first to kill any possible bacteria. I boil 2" bones at a covered rolling bubble for one hour and longer for larger bones. When they cool they are great chew bones that last for years. You can renew the interest by spooning peanut butter into the marrow shaft when a bone looks like it's close to throwing away.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Some other good things to fill in there to renew interest is canned dog food, plain yogurt, fruit and kibble mix, bananas, basically anything he likes. Put it in the freezer and give frozen. Especially in the summer, they love it and it cools them off.

[Sally loves Maple & Lucky]

Nice!

[Moose&Mica]

Great idea. I have never thought to cook them down totally. I wasn't aware they could be cooked down that far. I have purchased the ones without much meat on them and just give them to my Doodles raw. I usually freeze them first. They love them and it takes them a while to work out the marrow. Then the bones become good chew toys. Since they are not cooked they don't splinter as badly. I do make sure to wash them if they don't get all the marrow out within a few hours so there is no chance to spoiling.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

I give them raw marrow bones, too but this year on 2 occasions, we had a spiral ham on the bone. No-one wanted the bone to make soup (my aunt used to take them but she passed away last year). It seemed just wrong to throw them out but they were cooked so I didn't want to let the doggies chew on them because of the splintering. So I figured, why not cook them down. I got many small freezer bags of bone marrow broth from them and I pull 1 out every other week or so. The doods love the mix spooned over my homemade dogfood.

[Carla Eldredge]

Is it soft enough to put into a food processor to break it down or do you have to use a knife or somthing? I never realized a bone could be cooked down this far but I am definatly considering doing it for Daisy and Bunker.