Picnic Shoulder versus Pork Butt
- Thread starter stomp
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Octavius Brine
Well-Known Member
Looks great stomp!
My preference is the picnic for pulled pork- mainly because of the price. There are more sinewy bits and silver skin in the mix, but when cooked so tender for pulled pork it makes no difference to me. Around here shoulders or Boston butts cost more, even double the price of picnics.
For sausage making or other uses, the shoulder will give you more big chunks of higher class meat. Sometimes you need that, other times you’re just going to grind it all finely anyhow…
As for fat content- I find it pretty variable. I was digging through the picnic shoulders at No Frills ($1.49/lb) this week looking for a fatty one, and it varies from like the slightest layer of fat under the skin to 1” thick. There were clearly multiple suppliers.
For pulled pork my gall bladder prefers a lean one
My preference is the picnic for pulled pork- mainly because of the price. There are more sinewy bits and silver skin in the mix, but when cooked so tender for pulled pork it makes no difference to me. Around here shoulders or Boston butts cost more, even double the price of picnics.
For sausage making or other uses, the shoulder will give you more big chunks of higher class meat. Sometimes you need that, other times you’re just going to grind it all finely anyhow…
As for fat content- I find it pretty variable. I was digging through the picnic shoulders at No Frills ($1.49/lb) this week looking for a fatty one, and it varies from like the slightest layer of fat under the skin to 1” thick. There were clearly multiple suppliers.
For pulled pork my gall bladder prefers a lean one
Thanks @Octavius Brine . Mrs. Stomp bought 2 at that No Frills special price. This was our first smoked picnic shoulder after having smoked a butt. We have another picnic shoulder bought at that great price and going in the freezer for our next pulled pork event.
Octavius Brine
Well-Known Member
Nice one Stomp. The ones I saw in the plain baggies were the nicer looking fatty ones. There were also lean ones in Maple Leaf brand bags.
Great price especially for the fatty ones for those of you planning deer or goose sausage!
Great price especially for the fatty ones for those of you planning deer or goose sausage!
Hey @rmsteve , I was following the Traeger Pulled Pork recipe. The picnic shoulder was straight on the grill, fat side up and unwrapped until it reached around 170 degrees. Instead of an aluminum foil boat, I used a pan, added 2 cups of apple cider, covered tightly with tinfoil, and back in the smoker until it was around 205 degrees. I've poked the bottom out of enough tin foil boats when checking for doneness...
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spincast
Well-Known Member
Lots of recipes for shoulder, including a slow cooker garlic recipe over German noodles https://platedcravings.com/authentic-easy-german-spaetzle-recipe/, but most recent favorite is Mexican slow smoked https://twosleevers.com/slow-smoked-mexican-style-pork-shoulder-tacos/
And o course shoulder makes the BEST carnitas. Har to wrong with it, especially when it goes on sale
And o course shoulder makes the BEST carnitas. Har to wrong with it, especially when it goes on sale
Thanks!
I will have to check this last day of the sale out @stomp at a No Frills near me here in London,and thanks for the info.
Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
My brother the butcher explained the difference between a Shoulder and a Butt is the fat content is approx. the same but with the Shoulder it's more inside and on the Butt it's on the outside. So I guess you could peel off the fat on the Butt and make a leaner Pulled Pork ?