Help! Purchased a whole Pork Shoulder (Butt and Picnic, and maybe more) and not sure which to cook for pulled pork

[chet87]

I am an American living in Sweden, and getting into the smoking game. Last year I successfully smoked (twice) what I thought was pork butt for pulled pork. This year, I went back to the butcher and maybe something was lost in translation but they ordered and gave me (what they were calling a “Boston Butt”) a rather larger chunk of meat compared to before (10.5 lbs this time about 5-6 pounds last time). When I asked them about this they said this has the Boston Butt and the picnic cut all together (they also seemed to indicate that there may be something els included but i couldn’t understand). My understanding is this might be a proper “whole” pork shoulder.

So I brought this 10.5 lb cut home and decided to cut it because it is just too big, and I think….that the picnic and the butt will give much different results which I don’t want to mix.

-can you guys tell me what I should be cooking for pulled pork?

-looking at my older pic from when I cooked this recipe last year (the picture with the meat on plastic wrap and the picture with the two pieces of meat in butcher twine (it’s the same piece)). Was this piece of meet pork butt or was it picnic (or neither)?

-which of these pieces (in my pics) is the shoulder and which is the picnic? From what I can tell the more “tube” like piece is most similar to what I had used last time (pic with the meat on the plastic). But no idea if this is the butt or shoulder, or picnic…..

-is there any other pieces that are present in my pics that I should be aware of and not mix for my pulled pork recipe?

-have I ruined this by trying to cut this myself? Have I cut it the wrong way?

-I had to start dry bringing these now. And have separately brined the two chunks of meat I cut up. If I (with your help) identify which one I should cook, will I be ok to freezer the other cut in the freezer considering I already salted or will it not make a difference.

any help appreciated!!

[DaveD]

The shoulder is the main "pulled pork" cut, so you will be good to go there. But I don't think there's any reason you couldn't do the shoulder piece as well. This is one of the most forgiving cuts to smoke, if not THE most forgiving. Run them at 225-250/110-120 and you will be in good shape. Most of the "butts" I see on the shelf are bone-in, so they're in the same ballpark as what you have, and they routinely turn out great.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[dpearce]

+1 I've done the whole "butt", bone in, multiple times. I had no problem cooking the picnic part along with the rest of the meat together. I've seen competition shows where they cut the picnic part differently and present it differently than the shoulder meat, but that's probably overkill in your case (as it is in mine!).

[texastweeter]

dpearce in competition they only use the butt. The part cut and cooked different is the "money muscle" its never the picnic ham. Picnic ham typically comes separately in the states.

[dpearce]

Thanks for the clarification texastweeter

[STEbbq]

Yea, I agree with Dave. You have effectively 2 pork butts so treat them the same and smoke them the same.

[Uncle Bob]

Agreed with above that it should all cook up similar. If you can see the bone from the end of either piece the "butt" will have a somewhat "T" shape blade to it, the lower "picnic" will be more round-ish.

[LA Pork Butt]

I agree with DaveD you could cook the whole thing, but the meat in the butt and the meat in the picnic have different tastes and textures. At 10 pounds for the whole thing is small. I routinely cook 9-10 Boston Butts and the picnic would be in the same range. It appears that the picnic includes the hock and the shank which would be below the hock. Let us know how everything turns out.

[Mosca]

Honestly, I’ve looked it up before, and I looked it up again right before writing this to make sure I wasn’t talking out my ass again.

My experience is that when it’s over the smoke there is no practical difference. I buy a big hunk of pork and smoke it, pretty much without paying attention to the label other than price. I suspect I’ve bought shoulder labeled as butt, and butt labeled as shoulder. The competition folks will rightly care about the difference because they want that one piece to turn in; the rest of us want pulled pork sandwiches.

[Purc]

Here are 2 YT videos, Chudds BBQ and Malcom Reed about the picnic shoulder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuZ0FV2iSP8&pp=ygUgaG93IHRvIGJicSByaWdodCBwaWNuaWMgc2hvdWxkZXI%3D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYb_ygsTDfY&pp=ygUgaG93IHRvIGJicSByaWdodCBwaWNuaWMgc2hvdWxkZXI%3D

Have fun and enjoy.

[bbqLuv]

Thanks good YT Vids

[barelfly]

What time are we eating! have fun with the cook!

[WI Bubba]

Henrik Is probably going to be the most knowledgeable about what cuts you will get from a Swedish butcher, but I agree with everyone else. Go low and slow, and you're going to be just fine with either piece.

[Ace]

Agree with all the above. You could cook it all (or part) until tender, then shred. You can also freeze part for a later cook and the pre salt that you did won't hurt it at all. The upper part (Boston Butt, Pork Shoulder, Butt, etc) are the same cut with different names for marketing. The lower part (Picnic Shoulder, Picnic Ham, Picnic, etc) is a slightly tougher piece of meat due to more connective tissue and a little less intermuscular fat but it will cook up virtually the same. I've used both cuts for Pulled Pork and also for Ground Pork. What ever you decide, you'll be fine. Give it a go... You got this...

[texastweeter]

Spot on

[HawkerXP]

We just need to know when you want us to show up.

[Jessterr]

As far as freezing one portion, you’d be fine even though salt has already been added. That said, the scientist in me sees this as a perfect opportunity for some experimentation! As LA Pork Butt has mentioned, the two portions do give slightly different results. IMO, although I may be the only one here that feels this way, I prefer the picnic to the butt, it just always seems to taste better to me, and guests have always loved it. This would be an opportunity to cook both portions separated from the same cut, seasoned and cooked identically, to see if you actually prefer one over the other. Either way, enjoy the cook!

[jfmorris]

I feel that with the bones, you really don't have 10 pounds of meat there, and with shrinkage of about 40% during the cook, I would just cook the entire thing, and shred it all as pulled pork. It looks like it has what we would call the butt, and a small part of the joint below the shoulder. If I had to guess you will end up with 5-6 pounds of pulled pork in the end.

I routinely cook 9-10 pound butts.This looks like maybe a 6 pound butt with 3-4 pounds more that would normally be cut off, i.e. the picnic portion. But I think it will all cook up properly if smoked low and slow.

[cruiseplanner1]

I would agree with your thought however not having done it. When we would purchase a grocery store ham for eating I always liked the taste of a picnic ham over a bone in shank ham.

[texastweeter]

I do complete pork shoulders (butt and picnic) on the feral hogs i hunt. It will be fine. If you want to just do the butt, its going to be the piece with the shoulder blade it it as opposed to the femur and part of the shank or hock.

[chet87]

Thanks all! It sounds like it all should cook roughly the same. May still cook one later (freezing it) as I only have four people!

but questions I am still unclear on is which piece is which, and did I screw up cutting it this way and thus cooking them separately? My hunch for the latter question is “no” and that they may just cook faster now.

but for which price is which, I still have no idea. Is the butt the more “tube” like piece with no bone (that I can tell), or is that the picnic? Or is the piece with the bone (which I think is the picnic) still have the “real” butt on there or part of it (due to my poor butchering skills). Last year it was the “tube” peice I cooked and it came out great (but now I’m incite if that was even the right piece!)

i reattach the pictures below for convenience. The first two pics are the whole piece (before I cut) and last two pics are of the seperate pieces I am trying to identify.

[texastweeter]

Both should have bone.