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Message

Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt
Posted on 8/22/12 at 8:34 am
Posted on 8/22/12 at 8:34 am
What do you prefer when doing pulled pork. I made it this past weekend with the shoulder and was blown away at how good it came out. Thoughts?
Posted on 8/22/12 at 8:39 am to Lambdatiger1989
hmmm
Well considering it's the same thing...I'd go w/ the shoulder. Sounds more appetizing.
Posted on 8/22/12 at 9:12 am to LSUAfro
Well shite
Only way to find out is to ask.
The next question you need to ask is, bone-in or bone out? And the answer is bone-in.
The next question you need to ask is, bone-in or bone out? And the answer is bone-in.
Posted on 8/22/12 at 9:17 am to Lambdatiger1989
Shoulder=butt in the pork world. It's OK--you're young by the looks of your name. 
Posted on 8/22/12 at 9:38 am to Motorboat
Not quite that clear cut. From Memphis Barbecue Network definition of Shoulder:
Pork Shoulder
is the portion of the hog containing the arm bone, shank bone, and a portion of the blade bone. The pork ham is considered to be a shoulder entry if it contains the leg bone. Boston butts or picnic shoulders are not considered valid entries. Some teams are able to compete with less…but this amount is good advice.
Pork Shoulder
is the portion of the hog containing the arm bone, shank bone, and a portion of the blade bone. The pork ham is considered to be a shoulder entry if it contains the leg bone. Boston butts or picnic shoulders are not considered valid entries. Some teams are able to compete with less…but this amount is good advice.
Posted on 8/22/12 at 9:45 am to BlackenedOut
Mr technical
Truth is, if you walk in to almost any butcher and ask for a boston butt or a pork shoulder the names are interchangeable and you will get the same cut in my experience.
Truth is, if you walk in to almost any butcher and ask for a boston butt or a pork shoulder the names are interchangeable and you will get the same cut in my experience.
Posted on 8/22/12 at 9:47 am to LSUAfro
Ohhh I agree that the common nomenclature that we all use shoulder and butt are the same thing.
But this is the internet, where techinicality is king.
But this is the internet, where techinicality is king.
This post was edited on 8/22/12 at 9:53 am
Posted on 8/22/12 at 9:47 am to BlackenedOut
quote:
Pork Shoulder is the portion of the hog containing the arm bone, shank bone, and a portion of the blade bone. The pork ham is considered to be a shoulder entry if it contains the leg bone. Boston butts or picnic shoulders are not considered valid entries. Some teams are able to compete with less…but this amount is good advice.
still the same piece of meat
Posted on 8/22/12 at 10:10 am to gmrkr5
Bone in. Consider it your built in thermometer. Once you can pull it out, it's done.
Posted on 8/22/12 at 11:19 am to Lambdatiger1989
A whole pork shoulder consists of the picnic(round bone) and Boston butt(blade bone). In stores they are sold separated, butcher shops are your best bet to get a whole shoulder
Posted on 8/22/12 at 12:19 pm to BamaFanInTigerland
"Boston butt comes from high on the hog, above the shoulder blade, and has lots of juicy, marbled fat. It's a versatile piece of meat that you can just as easily roast or braise. For home cooks, it's also very inexpensive.
Below the butt is the pork shoulder. This cut includes most of the hog's front leg quarter. Because the leg muscles work a lot more than the back, the meat is a little tougher here than the butt, thus requiring a bit more time to coax out tenderness.
A shoulder cut with the shank -- or hock -- attached is called a picnic ham. This cut is cheaper than most because it requires less butchering and has more bone in it. Picnic hams usually come straight from the abattoir in a clean, cryovac'd package, all ready to go."
I guess you can say it's semantics, but seems as though they are diffrent cuts. The one I cooked sure as hell didn't look like any pork butt I have ever cooked.
Below the butt is the pork shoulder. This cut includes most of the hog's front leg quarter. Because the leg muscles work a lot more than the back, the meat is a little tougher here than the butt, thus requiring a bit more time to coax out tenderness.
A shoulder cut with the shank -- or hock -- attached is called a picnic ham. This cut is cheaper than most because it requires less butchering and has more bone in it. Picnic hams usually come straight from the abattoir in a clean, cryovac'd package, all ready to go."
I guess you can say it's semantics, but seems as though they are diffrent cuts. The one I cooked sure as hell didn't look like any pork butt I have ever cooked.
This post was edited on 8/22/12 at 12:23 pm
Posted on 8/22/12 at 12:54 pm to Lambdatiger1989
quote:
The one I cooked sure as hell didn't look like any pork butt I have ever cooked.
Why? What did it look like.
Posted on 8/22/12 at 1:00 pm to Lambdatiger1989
quote:
I guess you can say it's semantics, but seems as though they are diffrent cuts. The one I cooked sure as hell didn't look like any pork butt I have ever cooked.
I'm no butcher, but have cooked a lot of pig, and I've never tasted/seen a difference in these cuts no matter what they are labeled. They are usually one in the same in my experience.
Posted on 8/22/12 at 1:07 pm to LSUAfro
quote:
seen a difference
The Butt is darker and fattier tasting. In my head I compare it to white/dark meat of chicken. They may taste like chicken but they are slightly different in taste/texture/feel.
This post was edited on 8/22/12 at 1:08 pm
Posted on 8/22/12 at 1:12 pm to kkille1lsu
quote:
The Butt is darker and fattier tasting. In my head I compare it to white/dark meat of chicken
So you're saying the "shoulder" and "butt" aren't identical in appearance/taste?
Hmmm. Well that's news to me and the butcher at Maxwell's who interchangeably uses the two.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I've never heard of anybody differentiating the two and sure as hell haven't noticed a difference in taste.
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