# What are Butchers Supposed to Do With All Those Bones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403 "2013-02-15T16:12:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/1 "2013-02-15T16:12:23Z")
Put them in the trash? And what _did_ they do, before governments started becoming concerned with such things as pollution? Toss them in the river with the skins & offal? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/2 "2013-02-15T16:15:12Z")
Bones are often ground and added to sausage meat. They can probably be sold to a processor. There’s no offal on bones. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/3 "2013-02-15T16:18:35Z")
Stock and demi-glace. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/4 "2013-02-15T16:20:43Z")
Bone Meal. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/5 "2013-02-15T16:30:08Z")
I was eating in a restaurant with “marrow bones” on the menu as an appetizer. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/6 "2013-02-15T16:36:17Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > And what _did_ they do, before governments started becoming concerned with such things as pollution? Toss them in the river with the skins & offal? Ever heard of bone china? Since the eighteenth century, animal bone was valuable. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/7 "2013-02-15T16:38:22Z")
[Some UK residents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_the_Beanstalk)make a type of bread with them. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/8 "2013-02-15T16:40:43Z")
[Gelatin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin). ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/9 "2013-02-15T17:05:26Z")
[Soup](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/dining/25soup.html?_r=0) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/10 "2013-02-15T18:16:44Z")
Bones are great for making soup, as others said. When we had dogs, I used to make stock from bones and freeze the stock in portions…and I’d freeze the cooked bones in portions, too. Every now and then, I’d give the dog or dogs a bone. If the weather was cold, I’d let the bone thaw. During the summer, though, the dogs were happy with their bonesicles. Bones add a lot of flavor to a soup. Good luck in finding reasonably priced bones in a supermarket, though…many times, it seems that bones are priced at regular meat rates. ---
**Author:** ![andrewbub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@andrewbub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewbub)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/11 "2013-02-15T21:33:16Z")
a case of veal bones costs about $200. no butcher throws bones away. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/12 "2013-02-15T22:45:14Z")
> [@andrewbub](#): > > a case of veal bones costs about $200. no butcher throws bones away. Bet they’re worth every penny. Man, I loves me some veal.😃 ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/13 "2013-02-15T23:16:59Z")
vital material to the gambling industry. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/14 "2013-02-16T01:07:03Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Stock and demi-glace. Good chefs always utilize bones. The bones are generally roasted for about a half hour in a semi-hot oven. Bones with joints are desirable for their cartilage which adds body (gelatin) to the stock. Browning the bones also adds brown color to the stock (I am assuming beef bones here, for an example). > [@kayaker](#): > > I was eating in a restaurant with “marrow bones” on the menu as an appetizer. Hell yeah. There’s a quasi-famous dish called _petite marmite_, which is a type of _pot-au-feu_ that can often be served in the vessel it was cooked in. Water, browned marrow bones and veggies are simmered together producing a rich broth. Usually cheese is grated over it and the bone marrow is served on the side with toast points or something similar to spread it on. It’s really fucking good too. ---
**Author:** ![Roboticwurm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbce88/32.png) [@Roboticwurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roboticwurm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/15 "2013-02-16T01:13:29Z")
Before modern times. > **[Bubbly Creek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbly_Creek)** > > Bubbly Creek is the nickname given to the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River. It runs entirely within the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It marks the boundary between the Bridgeport and McKinley Park community areas of the city. The creek derives its name from the gases bubbling out of the riverbed from the decomposition of blood and entrails dumped into the river in the early 20th century by the local meatpacking businesses surrounding the Union Stock Yards directly ... ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/16 "2013-02-16T01:20:01Z")
> [@Roboticwurm](#): > > Before modern times. > > [Bubbly Creek - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbly_Creek) Yes, this is exactly germane to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/17 "2013-02-16T01:53:55Z")
The butcher at my local grocery store will give (no charge) the large knuckle bones to me for my dogs to chew. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/18 "2013-02-16T18:09:04Z")
Mark Ruhlman wrote “The Making of A Chef” (at the Culinary Institute of America). The students made gallons and gallons of stock every day, with bones from the carcasses they cut up. Though what they did with the depleted bones, I don’t know. I should think there were tons of bones to dispose of. ---
**Author:** ![qualityleashdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/9f8e36/32.png) [@qualityleashdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qualityleashdog)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/19 "2013-02-18T01:17:47Z")
Sold to fertilizer companies along with the hides and guts. Large scale operations have plans to utilize the ‘trash parts’ such as hides by passing them on to be turned into gelatin, but smaller, local slaughterhouses just turn the stuff over to fertilizer companies. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Eel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/977dab/32.png) [@Old\_Eel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Eel)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403/20 "2013-02-18T01:44:40Z")
The idea that you’d throw away any part of an animal is pretty new. Even if the rich guys didn’t eat it, you know that the guys doing the cooking were eating the hooves, tripe, intestines, and making soup from the rest of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-butchers-supposed-to-do-with-all-those-bones/650403.md?page=2)