Pork Shoulder vs. Pork Butt

[Attjack]

Because I wasn't clear on this I thought I would share. I'm sure most of you already know this and that neither cut has anything to do with a pig's butt.



"Both come from the shoulder of the pig, but pork butt is higher on the foreleg, while pork shoulder is farther down."

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When to Use Pork Butt

Since pork butt has more fat marbling throughout the meat and a more uniform shape, it’s the best cut for stewing and braising as well as for making fall-apart-tender pulled pork for a barbecue or for tacos. If a recipe calls for a choice between pork shoulder and pork butt, we highly recommend choosing pork butt. When to Use Pork Shoulder

Pork shoulder is our cut of choice when making a pork roast that calls for crackling-crisp skin (such as our Cuban-Style Oven-Roasted Pork), since the cut is sold with the skin on.

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/1214-the-difference-between-pork-butt-and-pork-shoulder?extcode=NSCII28FB&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=photo&utm_content=porkbuttshoulder&utm_campaign=cifacebook

[HawkerXP]

Pork shoulder is also cheaper then butt.

[LA Pork Butt]

The taste is a little different. What you are calling the shoulder is sometimes called the picnic and sometimes the butt and picnic still connected together is called the shoulder. Both are good and as HawkerXP notes the shoulder or picnic is usually cheaper.

[JGo37]

I've always known the cut as Boston. I wonder where that comes from.

[smn1285]

During the revolutionary war, butchers in New England packed the cheap and less desireable cuts of meat into barrels known as butts... Boston Butt. Something to that effect.

[lostclusters]

I did not know this! I thought butt and shoulder were the same. Thanks for the education.

[Attjack]

That's what I thought too and I preferred the term shoulder for obvious reasons.

[JGo37]

OK - Attjack is NOT a butt man.

[Steve R.]

All butts are shoulders, but not all shoulders are butts. Clear as mud?

[JGo37]

Darn - I've always been a butt man and now I question my motivations. Well - good shoulder blades are always attractive too...

Wait - butts and .. umm ?

What about 4-legged pigs?

[johnec00]

According to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment the whole part of the hog forward of the first few ribs is the "shoulder" which consists of the upper section called the "Boston Butt" and the lower section called the "Picnic".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sVVqx8vvA0

[surfdog]

This has zip all to do with the obviously good info shared thus far...but I just had to share an image of a hat I had made a few years ago. ;-)

[jgreen]

Never seen a cut labeled as a butt in Canada, although I shop mostly at the grocery store and have not asked at the butcher I go to. We only get a cut labeled as shoulder, although they don’t always look the same.

[Santamarina]

I’m a bone-in butt kind of guy (stop being dirty!!!). Makes the best pulled pork. Also use it for Mexican-style carnitas. Smoke with my Mexican seasoning, pull, then fry in corn oil. Mmmmmmm...good!

[LA Pork Butt]

surfdog the back of my shirt.

[marshall]

thanks for the info and pics Attjack

[Donw]

Thanks for the clarification. But when I go to the butcher shop and ask for a pork shoulder I always receive a cut with both the butt and the shoulder. Maybe it is the difference between a grocery store butcher cut and my local stand alone shop, or a regional thing.

[Santamarina]

I haven’t done a lot shopping in other parts of the country, but I know that different regions definitely favor different cuts. Making friends with a local butcher is a great idea; whether it’s a stand-alone butcher, or the guy at your local grocery store, having a good relationship with that dude will take you places!

[Thunder77]

I have used both cuts for pulled pork, and the main difference I have noted is that the picnic or "shoulder" requires a bit less time to cook. At one time, around Baltimore, the Boston Butts were up to almost $3/lb, so I started going with the picnic shoulder, for about 1/3 of the price. The yield from a picnic shoulder seem to be a bit less than the butt, but the bonus is the skin, which makes awesome cracklins!

[MBMorgan]

Interesting ... if you google "anatomy of pig" and look at a few of the pics that are returned, it appears that the pork "shoulder" actually corresponds to the upper arm on a human (I met some interesting folks on Borneo once who could probably have offered up a taste comparison test at one time ) ... and the "butt" appears to correspond to the human shoulder area.