Pork Butt vs.Shoulder

[Katie Meadow]

Okay, I know there are lots of names for both these cuts of meat. My understanding is that the butt is above the shoulder, resulting in the butt being more tender, more marbled and fatty, while the shoulder sees more action and is therefore a little bit leaner. I've also read that the butt is  best for stewing or braising and the shoulder cut is.is betters for a slow roasted crispy hunk that can be sliced. However, there seems to be a lot of misinformation or simply disagreement about all of it.

 

I have been on a Green Chile Stew kick lately. The first time I sent my husband to the  butcher the shop had no shoulder but did have boneless pork butt, which is what he bought. A  2.5 lb. butt needed a lot of trimming of the fat; I would estimate almost a full lb of it was fat. It maade a delicious tender stew; worth the waste.

 

The next time he went shopping for butt at  the same place the butcher said they didn't have any pork butt, only shoulder. He went to another store and the butcher told him that butt and shoulder were the same. He went to a third store where they told him the built was way more pricey, and despite my husband requesting it be boneless, they sent him home with bone-in butt. I cooked it and it wasn't quite as tender as the first butt.  I have no idea why. But that bone was not inconsequential in terms of waste or in terms of irritation ofcutting around it. I did throw it into the stew but the flavor was not noticeable improved by including the bone.

 

How much of any of this sounds right? I don't believe they are the same cut. Is the price usually higher when they tell you it's pork butt rather than shoulder?

 

What cut would you use if you wanted pulled pork? If you are roasting the pork rather than braising or stewing it you will not have to trim as much fat off, since the meat will release a lot of fat as it cooks and you can avoid some of the remaining fat when you start pulling it apart. When making a stew you really do have to trim off a lot of fat before cooking, or the broth will be really greasy.

 

Shed some daylight on this  if you can!

[weinoo]

 

[C. sapidus]

4 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

. . . despite my husband requesting it be boneless, they sent him home with bone-in butt. I cooked it and it wasn't quite as tender as the first butt.  I have no idea why. But that bone was not inconsequential in terms of waste or in terms of irritation ofcutting around it.

 

What cut would you use if you wanted pulled pork?

 

 

 

For pulled pork I would use bone-in pork butt 100% of the time. I have tried boneless butt and even when trussed it does not turn out as well. This is smoking around 230°F on a Weber bullet. If I was making carnitas boneless might save some time trimming around the bone.

 

If the pork is smoked to the proper level of doneness there should be no cutting around the bone. That sucker will just pull clean of the meat.

 

One of the tricks with pork butt is cooking past "the stall", which is where the temperature stalls while fat and connective tissue are rendering to delectable goodness. This is one of those things where "it is done when it is done", which does not always match our preferred schedule for feeding guests.

 

The video that @weinoo posted matches my understanding of the cuts, but as you have seen the terminology is all over the place depending where you go.

[weinoo]

To add - in most of the local groceries close to me, they sell what is called the picnic shoulder (that lower portion, and usually at a great price) always with the skin on.  It is often used for pernil.

[rotuts]

another take here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpU_mD640P0

 

this is what Ive always thought , but the WHPS has not doe the experiment :

 

 Butt is more expensive , but [sic]  you end up with better flavor and more meat .

 

Edited May 18 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

what might only be interesting to me :

 

Market Basket , where i shop ( + TJ's )  has stores in areas with a significantly lower cost / sq foot.

 

and their prices are significantly lower as a result .  same style of store in general.  they treat all their employees 

 

very well .  the manages are constantly offered local jobs at stores w higher  $$ // square foot .

 

pretty much nobody jumps ship.

 

however , w lower realestate costs , the clientele is in a different strata than ' Whole Food-ies "

 

MB would never sell asparagus water , even under their own label.

 

is rare to see pork butt there , but very common to see mountains of picnic shoulder 

 

why ?  PS is cheaper // lbs. , and even if PB tastes better , and you might be more meat for the listed price

 

its unclear if the total edible meat // cost is cheaper that PS  probably not , but I do not know 

 

I did warn you , Im probably the only one that finds this interesting.

[FeChef]

Anyone know whats a good cut with some marbling but not too much fat running through it. Something similar to a beef chuck roast. Pork loin and tenderloin are out for this purpose. They are too lean. Pork butt i found to be way too fatty with very small muscle groups inbetween the large sections of fat.

Edited May 20 by FeChef (log)

[AAQuesada]

I would personally cut the Coppa from the pork butt for a pork roast but since the butt is out maybe a heritage breed pork loin might be less lean and still give you that 1 muscle you are looking for. I hope you get a better answer, can't think of anything that matches exactly. 

 

 

[weinoo]

On 5/20/2024 at 6:37 PM, FeChef said:

Anyone know whats a good cut with some marbling but not too much fat running through it. Something similar to a beef chuck roast. Pork loin and tenderloin are out for this purpose. They are too lean. Pork butt i found to be way too fatty with very small muscle groups inbetween the large sections of fat.

 

Does the beef chuck roast have a number of muscle groups within?

 

Here's what Bruce Aidells has to say, in one of my favorite books when it comes to understanding pork: Bruce Aidells's  Complete Book of Pork (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don't mention whether you want to roast or braise the pork, so...

 

 

 

Edited May 22 by weinoo
Added a few extra pages on roasting. (log)

[rotuts]

@weinoo

 

I have that book  

 

it's excellent .  the older school

 

published , w a reputable publisher

 

there it is.

 

 

[FeChef]

Yeah i suspected Fresh Ham was going to be the best choice for my purposes. Ive avoided it due to the higher cost and size. But i think i need to just bite the bullet and pick one up at RD. Seems they are out of stock on the boneless, so bone in will have to do. Its probably cheaper to go bone in anyway, im just afraid im going to "butcher" it.

[haresfur]

On 5/21/2024 at 8:37 AM, FeChef said:

Anyone know whats a good cut with some marbling but not too much fat running through it. Something similar to a beef chuck roast. Pork loin and tenderloin are out for this purpose. They are too lean. Pork butt i found to be way too fatty with very small muscle groups inbetween the large sections of fat.

 

Why not go with the shoulder part, below the butt, which is not as fatty, as mentioned above? Rolled shoulder is a popular roast here with the skin for crackling.

[FeChef]

3 hours ago, haresfur said:

 

Why not go with the shoulder part, below the butt, which is not as fatty, as mentioned above? Rolled shoulder is a popular roast here with the skin for crackling.

Im assuming you are referring to what we in the US call the picnic shoulder. It might not be as fatty as the "butt" ( shoulder blade ) but its still has a bit too much fat inbetween the muscle groups. I am not sure what you call the Fresh Ham down under, but thats probavly my best bet.