Organ: "a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function"

I'd say yes, it can be considered offal. Some people do suck the marrow out of the bones, like my late grandparents, so some don't consider it offal. Looking up the definition, I normally wouldn't because of seeing my grandparents eat the marrow from ham bones, chicken bones, etc. as a hold-over from the Great Depression and the fact they grew up on farms.
Today's society doesn't suck the marrow anymore, so it can be considered something not eaten normally and also considered an organ from the definition above.

The definition of offal is 'waste parts, especially of a butchered animal' and is further defined as 'anything that wouldn't normally be eaten'.

If you eat meat then following the Native American tradition of utilizing every piece is considered the only way to value the spirit of the animal.

(I can't believe I responded to this post, since I'm a vegetarian, but as a cookbookaholic felt I could offer the answer)

Bones are organs, especially the marrow. That is where the most important cells in our body are produced.

The skeleton is an internal organ and marrow is part of the skeletal system, so yes, I would consider it offal.

i suck marrow out of bones and i am 24, but i don't know how many of my friends do that ...

The American description tends to be "variety or organ meats" while the English is broader "that which falls or is thrown off." The Italian call it "il Quinto Quarto" or "the Fifth Quarter" and it refers to any part of the animal—head, tail, feet and innards—that is not part of the standard quartering of the carcass.

All of the above is taken from Anissa Helou's "The Fifth Quarter: An Offal Cookbook" which includes chicken wings, salmon roe and yes, bone marrow as offal.

Nope - it is not discarded and is not included or sold separately with other offal products. I live in South Africa, and we definitely suck the marrow from bones, or at least pick it out daintily.

Bones are organs

What does marrow taste/feel like? Does it vary much between animals? I've been mostly vegetarian for 15 years and am completely unfamiliar with eating marrow.

Thank you, akay.

As a vegetarian I've always found it funny that offal is called what it is..... It was a good year from when I first heard the word and saw it in print and realized that it wasn't spelled awful....

I wouldn't consider marrow to be offal, no. It's like obscenity - it's in the eye of the beholder.

Boy, this is an offal lot of discussion over semantics.

Organs as well as bone marrow are nutritionally dense and were a prized part of the primitive hunter's diet. Particularly brains, liver, and marrow.

I'd consider bone marrow to be offal.

Suggestion for next post: Mouffle

karenenan, it's kind of gelatinous (like jello) but fattier. There is an unctuous flavor to marrow as well. I'm having a hard time describing it in vegetarian terms. Marrow (to my mind) has more of a mouth feel about it than a flavor so much. Oh, I know. Have you ever roasted garlic and spread that on bread? Well imagine the roasted garlic texture combined with softened butter. Now give that a "meaty" flavor. That's marrow. :)

And no one made the awful offal joke?

I don't really think of it offal, I limit it to squishy organs, but I guess it really is.

"But anything people don't like to eat" is awful broad.

Interesting, I was just thinking about this the other day. I went on a CRAZY marrow binge in Feb, it was the only thing I could think about and the only thing I wanted. Now, it's not good to eat it everyday but damn howdy that stuff is delicious.
@Karenenen: It's like jello and silky tofu saturated with olive oil. I call it meat butter. It's got a much more meaty flavor and is more gelatinous than butter, but it's pretty close. If it's undercooked, the flavor is like Crisco, but if it's cooked just right it's this oily flavor explosion, especially if combined with french bread.
I consider bones to be offal, since it is a non-traditional animal product. Personally, I'm glad because it mean less competition for me!

"offal is anything that people don't normally want to eat"

To me, not eating marrow is abnormal. It's delicious!

Technically all muscles are organs too but we don't consider most muscle meat to be offal (the heart and tongue being notable exceptions) so saying it's the organs is pretty meaningless. I tend to do with offal being any part of the animal other than the major muscle groups which are commonly eaten and in pigs the fatty bits we make into bacon.

So by that measure bone marrow is offal as well as the liver, kidneys, tripe, and other major abdominal organs along with uncommonly eaten muscles like the heart (my personal favorite bit of offal).

I guess it could be considered offal. I had a mushroom with roasted bone marrow butter many years ago. Easily one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.

My French mother (+ all her relatives) always would eat the marrow from lamb chops. When I was a kid I thought it was one of the more disgusting things I'd seen; then I tried it. OMG delicious. Spread on toast it's like a fabulously flavored butter.

emmaaa same here :)

For some people, marrow is the whole point of the Milanese osso buco.