Okay smokers…..I gotta kwestshun for y’allslamamajammaz. Which cut do yous use when making pullt park? There is kwite the selecshun to chous from on that there swinemal.

I have done smoky pork hamburgers thrice times on the Kang now. The first was a pork butt or Boston butt….if there is a difference? It was some kinda butt. It was quite phatty and I hadda do lots of work to make sure that dint end up in the meat pile.

The last pair of times I did pork shoulder and it was better in every way. Maybe on a kettle you’d be better with a butt, but on the Kamado, it’s pork shoulder all the way. MUCH less waste, and a lot easier to separate the weirdos. The Kamado keeps the moisture in so well, you don’t even need to use a water pan, although I’m still gonna get one, because it makes cleanup that much easier…and it keeps my ceramic diffuser that much nicer.

I really want to know what y’all’s thoughts on the matter are. Let a brotha in on your secret…lol

In other news, I got an email from Grilla that my Grill Grates are finally shipping!! It’s been so long, I almost forgot. Hot damn, I can’t wait to let her glow.
I prefer the shoulder since it’s more meaty, but usually I’m at the mercy of the grocery store. The pork and Boston butt are the same…. It’s usually cheaper than the shoulder. There’s some good meat to be had on the butt, in my opinion. Personally, I tend to chop the butt meat, rather than pull. Pretty tasty with a Franks red hot/ACV/salt mixture on it, Carolina style.
 

    Cerebral Goo

    points: 10
    Carolina style points!!! The chop and the vinegar sauce doesn't get the credit it deserves. Not to mention the whole hog cooking style vs parts
Okay smokers…..I gotta kwestshun for y’allslamamajammaz. Which cut do yous use when making pullt park? There is kwite the selecshun to chous from on that there swinemal.

I have done smoky pork hamburgers thrice times on the Kang now. The first was a pork butt or Boston butt….if there is a difference? It was some kinda butt. It was quite phatty and I hadda do lots of work to make sure that dint end up in the meat pile.

The last pair of times I did pork shoulder and it was better in every way. Maybe on a kettle you’d be better with a butt, but on the Kamado, it’s pork shoulder all the way. MUCH less waste, and a lot easier to separate the weirdos. The Kamado keeps the moisture in so well, you don’t even need to use a water pan, although I’m still gonna get one, because it makes cleanup that much easier…and it keeps my ceramic diffuser that much nicer.

I really want to know what y’all’s thoughts on the matter are. Let a brotha in on your secret…lol

In other news, I got an email from Grilla that my Grill Grates are finally shipping!! It’s been so long, I almost forgot. Hot damn, I can’t wait to let her glow.
Butt and shoulder are the same cut around here :shrug: I'll usually take whichever one I can get that has the bone in it
 
Butt and shoulder are the same cut around here :shrug: I'll usually take whichever one I can get that has the bone in it
The butt is part of the shoulder. The butt is the top part of the shoulder, which is why you find the “horn” or “money muscle” of the tenderloin within. It’s a horn shaped piece of the end of the loin that is great to separate out after cooking and slicing.

The shoulder roast is the lower portion, just above the shank. It’s a bit leaner and more suitable for pulling. It’s also usually got a nice fat cap that renders nicely. :d5:
 
The butt is a piece of the shoulder also called CT or the collar, the best part of the shoulder and contains the Money muscle Like a fatty tenderloin, which is what they turn in for the competition, the best part of the shoulder. I also like the picnic portion (leg, smaller ham front leg) which has less fat and more connective tissue, (more gelatin) It needs to be injected because it is less fatty. The whole shoulder might be better depending on how hot you go. Sometimes things are not cut or labeled right so keep that in mind as well, differeent names across the country or cut differently/
You should cover the ceramic place setter with aluminum foil, for easy cleanup. I have beef heel and beef cheek to smoke this weekend. I might even pick up half a pig head. There is a restaurant in Chicago that serves them smoked-in hay.
 
I'm familiar with the different muscles just from cooking a bunch of them over the years. I'll try to grab some pictures from the butcher and grocery store to show how it's sold around here. Pretty much anything that's not a chop or loin is called butt or Boston butt here. Probably anything over like 3lbs basically. Can never ever tell somebody to just grab one from the store. If I just told the women to grab a butt from the store she could come home with anything from half a ham to a rolled and tied piece of dark meat :face: Not bbq country here, white meat dominates unfortunately
 
Doc this is how I use the cuts of pork

2022-09-01_20-23-43.jpg


When you by a butt look for one with the fattest cap possible even if you are not going to use it now. Trim it off, cube it up and throw in the freezer until you want to make sausage. Pork back fat make the best pork sausage but it is hard to come by here. The fat off the top of the but cut is as close as I can get. We make a lot of chili verde in the winter.
 
Doc this is how I use the cuts of pork

View attachment 1508738

When you by a butt look for one with the fattest cap possible even if you are not going to use it now. Trim it off, cube it up and throw in the freezer until you want to make sausage. Pork back fat make the best pork sausage but it is hard to come by here. The fat off the top of the but cut is as close as I can get. We make a lot of chili verde in the winter.
I can find several places that would tell you that is wrong. Every area and every butchery has different names. The Ct, Boston, or collar is only the top half of that upper piece, usaully the CT or collar is the very top and forward with the Boston butt just below , but there is a lot of variances. The bottom piece that is shown is the picnic portion. I go to the pork processing plant to buy stuff as well as elsewhere. At the processing plant they have bins filled with bostons and shoulder as well as CTs, you get to pick from 20-30 pieces sometimes. The Mexican place I go does not even have names in English until they print out the label. The bottom is always the picnic or picnic ham around here for the most part but one place calls it the shoulder roast. The upper 1/2 of the butt what we would call the shoulder is trimmed differently depending where you buy them, probably 3 to 8 pounds. I watch and read and watch a lot of videos on the butchering and actually they would call the whole thing the shoulder, then they break it down. I started watching the videos because a lot of steaks are miscut or totally labeled wrong and was trying to figure out what they were supposed to be. I agree with not throwing out the fat. I would trim it put it in a pan and make some smoked lard while smoking the rest.I am lucky living in the Chicago burbs because it is definitely a p[ace to buy meat. Remember the whole damn pig is delicious.
 
Well I sure wouldn't use that drawing to butcher a pig but the arrows do point to the aera where the cuts come from which is all I am trying to point out.
 
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