Costco Boneless Pork Butt

[westgordonfn]

I’m sure this has been discussed previously, but what is everyone’s thoughts on using the boneless pork butts from Costco?

[captainlee]

I don't like them. They seem to be really butchered up. You definitely have to tie them up with string to get them back into shape.
I prefer to buy the single bone in from the grocery store. Nothing wrong with the meat, just the way they are butchered is not my preference.

[jfmorris]

2nd this.

[Finster]

3rd…

[Purc]

I prefer the bone in on either the Kettle or Bronco and my son prefers the boneless on his BGE. We both smoke great pulled pork. He thinks it's a shorter cook pound per pound and taste better. I may agree on time but not on flavor. Sorry that I'm not any better help.

[Draznnl]

I’ve used them on a number of occasions and everyone has enjoyed the pulled pork. I prefer bone in butts because they have more flavor in my view. However, Costco’s are usually much cheaper.

[captainlee]

I usually look for the sales. City Market/Kroger run specials with either a nice price decrease or 2 for 1 sales. Of course the timing for me isn't always the greatest.

[Jfrosty27]

I agree that they sometimes can be poorly butchered. But heck, you’re going to pull it anyway. So I just tie them up nicely and toss them on the pit. They turn out great. Especially for the price.

[HawkerXP]

+1

[snowswamp]

Agreed.

[Dadof3Illinois]

Yep

[RonB]

The biggest difference for me is that ya don't get the satisfaction of pulling the bone out clean and easy for the Costco butts.

[surfdog]

Well yeah, there is that.

But I also have 300'+ of butcher twine that isn't gonna use itself... LOL

[J-Melt]

I really don’t like them. The one time I bought one it came out pretty dry due to lack of fat left by the butcher. Thankfully I can consistently get pork butt for around $2 per pound from our area butchers so Costco actually feels expensive for this.

[ecowper]

I like them for doing big pulled pork cooks. Easy to deal with, good price per pound, a bit of tying never hurt. Does need some fat trimming. I always get rid of the fat cap on pork butts because I prefer bark to more fat.

Here’s what four of them on the Hasty-Bake looks like and how it turns out

[Dadof3Illinois]

This is the way....LOL. I also like them when making taco meat.

[radiodome21]

I buy at Costco when I need them. It’s a lot of meat that I don’t have space for. But I have no complaints. I believe they’re $1.99 a pound up here but that’s a little expensive compared to sale prices which is less that that, includes a bone, and is smaller.

[jfmorris]

I don’t like the boneless butt 2 packs from Costco at all, and won’t buy them. All the flapping pieces where it was deboned made me feel I needed to tie the meat up with twine, and I just prefer the bone in butts, having done many hundreds of them. I buy my butts at Sam’s in a pinch, but prefer to find them BOGO or 99 cents per pound on sale at Kroger.

[JoeSousa]

I use them all the time. Been quite a while since I made pulled pork using something else.

Yeah, they do need some tying. I usually dry brine my pork butts so I kind of like that they are already cut open and I can just throw some salt inside of the meat before tying it up. Never had a problem with the flavor. For some reason bone in butts aren't very common around here so I just default to grabbing them at Costco.

[JoeSousa]

ecowper I try to avoid Fred Meyer as much as possible. There are few places that stress me out more than their horribly designed parking lot. But next time I venture there for some Duke's mayo or Boar's Head pepperoni (only place near me that has those two things) I will check their pork selection.

[ecowper]

JoeSousa I really hate Fred Meyer …. But yeah

[BruceB]

I tend to use the CHEF'STORE (formerly Cash 'N' Carry) shops in the Puget Sound area for bone-in butts, and ribs. They have lots of big hunks of beef for those that can handle larger amounts. Brisket too

[surfdog]

Given the difference in price between those and a decent bone in butt...around here anyway...I'll grab the bone in every time.

The boneless almost ALWAYS need to be tied. They also have sometimes lost some/too much/most of the fat...so they're not quite as moist as one might want. Obviously, that could be store specific...so YMMV.

And as RonB pointed out,,.there is some satisfaction with pulling that bone out cleanly. Heck, if nothing else, you'll know it's seriously ready to be pulled.

[jtw]

For grinding or making sausage, it's a great deal. Yes, you can find better sale prices, but the Costco/Sam's/GFS option is definitely reliable.

[bardsleyque]

I prefer bone in, I can get them at restaurant depot for around $1.40 per lb.
I like pulling the clean bone as well!

[jfmorris]

That's not a bad price at all. Only thing lower around here is 99 cent or BOGO sales at Kroger.

[bbqLuv]

I use pork butts from Costco, Boneless, and Bone-in. I do tie it into shape.
Works for me