Beef Femur Bone Ends

The femur is the largest bone in the animal — running from hip to knee, dense with marrow through the shaft, and capped at each end with knobbed, cartilage-rich joints that most packers discard or send to rendering. We break them out separately. The ends are a different product than the canoe-cut shaft, and they do different work in the pot.

Where the canoe cut is built for roasting and spreading — rich marrow exposed, beautiful on the plate — the femur ends are the serious broth maker's secret. The cartilaginous joint surfaces are extraordinarily rich in collagen, and a long simmer extracts that collagen into the surrounding liquid, producing a broth that sets to a firm, glossy gel when chilled. That gel is the mark of a truly great stock — the difference between something that coats a spoon and something that pours right through it.

Roast them first at 400°F for 30 to 45 minutes until deeply browned. Cover with cold water, add aromatics, and simmer low and slow for 8 to 24 hours. The longer the simmer, the richer and more gelatinous the result. Add a canoe-cut marrow bone or two alongside and you have built the most complete broth possible — the ends for gelatin and depth, the shaft for richness.

Each pack contains approximately four ends, 2.00 to 2.99 lbs.

They also make an exceptional raw chew for large dogs — dense cortical bone with marrow still intact, substantial enough to keep serious chewers occupied. Supervise and remove when worn down to a size that could be swallowed.

Our canoe-cut marrow bones are the roasting and serving cut. Our beef soup bones cover a mixed selection for everyday broth making. And our knuckle bones are the collagen specialist's companion to these in a serious stock pot.