I'm going to do my first pulled pork for our Super Bowl party. The wife went to the local butcher, usually pretty dependable, and said she wanted a pork butt for pulled pork. The cut of meat she brought home is roughly rectangular shaped, held together with butchers twine, no fat cap, no skin. How do I tell if this is a Boston Butt or Picnic Shoulder?? I'm suspicious because there's no fat cap at all.
Thanks!
Howdy PulledPork! Welcome. Sounds like a Boston Butt to me. If it is tied then it may be boneless. It would be my preference for pulled pork.... Enjoy!
~Nick
Thanks Nick. Makes me feel better about this cut of meat, but what about no fat cap? I've seen a lot of references to the fat cap being important to keep things from drying out and adding flavor.
OK, I've done a bit more research, and I'm pretty convinced I've got a Boston Butt here after reading FLBentRider's "Butt Time" post, http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=8942.0 (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=8942.0). My wife said the butcher did a bit of trimming, which is probably why there is not much fat cap left, but there is a little left. That's my fault, as I should have given better instructions regarding leaving the fat in place. Thanks for the help!
Well I've always been a big fan of the boston butt! :o Used to make a lot of carnitas with it long before I started smoking. Great piece of meat in my opinion. Even without the fat cap there is a lot of good pork fat within the butt cut. ;D Sorry Oprah.... :-[