Totally brought a smile to my face! Even though I grew up mid-middle class eating high on the hog since my mother's passion is gourmet food, I was taught that bones aren't eaten because choking and dying. When I began long-simmering bone broths as an adult, I'd mash up the resulting soft bones with a bit of meat and feed to the cat, who absolutely pigged out on broth-day. Then I moved to an island where eating fish bones and sucking marrow from bigger bones is common, though I still haven't made it a habit. Given calcium and other mineral deficiencies so prevalent in Western society, it makes total sense to get back to the future and start eating dem bones again. Especially since the chalky calcium supplements they told us to eat like candy for so long have turned out to create the brittle bones we were trying to avoid.
I'm in. Next batch of broth or fried fish I'm chowing the bones. Kitty will have to fend for herself and catch a rodent if she's got a hankering for crunch.
I've always eaten chicken bones. I don't usually clean my plate, but I certainly gnaw the ends off and suck the marrow, and grind up the backbone and a few other parts.
My favorite was the backbones of the salmon my grandmother had canned. I can still feel the soft, crunchy texture. I didn't know it was unusual to like eating these until much later.
The first time I saw my Vietnamese coworker eating the legs and heads of the grilled prawns on the papaya salad at Green Leaf I was amazed. While technically exoskeleton and not bone I found that they are crunchy and delicious! Also much less work that fiddling with it to get the meat out. I'll have to try some of these suggestions :)
I was chastised quite harshly, told I'd crack my teeth clean open, because I bit down on a candy cane I'd been sucking on for 20 minutes. That might have something to do with it.
Fabulous story. I'm not adept at cleaning bones so I pass them on to my husband, who is Irish and loves to eat bones, singing as he chews, "Fee, fie, fo, fum..." well, I think you get the drift.
I'm in. Next batch of broth or fried fish I'm chowing the bones. Kitty will have to fend for herself and catch a rodent if she's got a hankering for crunch.
Maybe from my German immigrant grandparents from whom I also inherited a love of headcheese, and tongue.
Also remember my first generation mother serving up an enormous cow's tongue on a platter: yum