Cuts · also called: marrow bones
Tuétano
Tuétano is the soft, melting marrow inside roasted leg bones — and in a Mexican kitchen, it's the spread that turns a tortilla into a celebration. Roast it 15 minutes, scoop it onto a hot tortilla with salt and salsa, and you understand why this cut anchors so many Sunday tables.
Where it comes from
Tuétano comes from the long leg bones of the steer — typically the femur, cut crosswise into 2–3 inch sections. Inside each section is a column of beef marrow: nearly all fat, packed with flavor, and built for high-heat roasting that turns it spreadable in 15 minutes.
We have our processor cut the bones to spec — short rounds for roasting on a single plate, longer canoe-cut halves for the table-spread approach. Both come vacuum-sealed and ready to go straight from the freezer to the oven.
Why Piedmontese makes the difference
Marrow takes on the flavor of the diet — feedlot cattle on a corn-heavy ration produce marrow that tastes washed-out and uniformly mild. Pasture-finished cattle on Magic Valley grass develop marrow with deeper, grassier, more genuinely beefy character. You taste the field.
And because Piedmontese carry a natural lean gene, our bones come with cleaner, denser marrow inside — less of the loose, watery fat you sometimes get from commodity bones. The result is a richer roast and a stronger backbone for any broth you build with the leftover bones.
How to cook it
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Tuétano asado (15 minutes at 400°F)
Place the bones cut-side up on a sheet pan. Season the marrow with flaky salt and a crack of black pepper. Roast at 400°F for 12–15 minutes until the marrow is bubbling and lightly browned but not totally melted out. Serve immediately with warm tortillas, lime, and a salsa de molcajete.
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Bone broth (8–24 hours, slow cooker)
Roast the bones at 400°F for 30 minutes first to develop color. Move to a slow cooker, cover with water, add a bay leaf, garlic, and a splash of apple cider vinegar to pull collagen. Cook 8–24 hours on low. Strain and use as the base for caldo, sopa, or pozole.
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Sopa de tuétano
Make a beef broth from roasted marrow bones (above), then poach the marrow rounds gently in the finished broth for 5 minutes just before serving. Garnish with cilantro, raw onion, lime, and a chile de árbol or two. Tortillas on the side.
Recipe inspiration
Tuétano asado is the simplest, most satisfying use — roasted marrow bones, hot corn tortillas, flaky salt, fresh salsa, and lime. Spread the marrow with a small spoon, top with a pinch of sea salt and a few drops of salsa, fold the tortilla, eat. Repeat. This is the cut that converts skeptics.
Sopa de tuétano (or "caldo de tuétano") simmers the bones into a broth so rich it gels in the fridge — then serves the marrow rounds floating in their own broth. It's a dish for cold weather, hangover mornings, or any day that needs grounding.