[Tyson]

Probably taste hella good!

[Bob in St. Louis]

Rather than roasting, I wonder how it would taste if the bones were thrown into a 240° smoker for 8-10 hours first... 

Honestly Jerry, I was thinking the exact same thing....and almost mentioned it.
I just figured that everybody might be getting tired of "all the food having to be smoked" threads. 

But on a side note....I did smoke two pork butts a while back.
When they were almost finished, I pulled the bones out, threw them in a sauce pan with some of the fat trimmings, added some herbs and spices and let that simmer for about six hours.
When I ziplock bagged the pulled pork left-overs, I pour the broth/stock (after it cooled) into the bags.

The leftovers were amazing.

Bob

p.s. By the way, what's the difference between broth and stock? 

[Rob Babcock]

I'm not sure how the smoking would work.  That's a pretty low temp to get the kind of caramelization you're looking for.  I'm also not sure how the smoke particulates would be once reduced down in the final stock.  Cloudy?  Bitter?  I'm not sure.  It would be interesting to try, though.

[jules]

Bob, broth is the murky one. Stock is the clear one 

I'd say that broth is a more down to earth, homely sort of thing, while stock, particularly in its more refined versions, is close to high art though practically speaking the terms are interchangeable and it probably doesn't matter a fig which one you use. Sort of depends on which recipe books you look at.


jules

[Bob in St. Louis]

Bob, broth is the murky one. Stock is the clear one 

That sounds the most reasonable. 

[Tyson]

Stock is what the French make.  Broth is what the rest of us make

[Bob in St. Louis]

Now see....I thought it'd be the other way around. 

[Rob Babcock]

To a chef the difference isn't so much whether it's clarified; it's more to do with being made from bones or meat.  Nowadays the distinction is generally lost.  At any rate, if you completely clarify it (Superbag or egg clarification) I would tend to call it consumme myself.

The main problem with smoking bones is that the Maillard reaction responsible for browning and the creation of certain aromatic flavor components doesn't occur until about 300 degrees F.  Smoking the bones lower than that temp won't get same results as using a higher temp.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Hmm, interesting. I guess a fellow could save the bones and have a dedicated smoke just for that. But that's getting a bit carried away. Great information Rob, thank you.

[Syrah]

My understanding is that stock is made from bones only, broth is made from meat and bones.  But they are definitely now used interchangeably.