Finally got my hands on a butt!

[azamuner73]

Haha,

It's really hard to get pork butt where I live as the stores don't stock and sell it normally.  I had to get it ordered in for me as the last few times they got some in, it was always taken by the meat shop for sausage or the deli to cook for sandwiches.  I was finally able to get one before they were gone.

When I saw it, I was thinking, "13 lbs?  Why is it so huge?" and also, "That doesn't look like the butts I see on here."  What I ended up getting, if I am correct, is not only the shoulder butt but also the arm picnic shoulder.  They sell it all as one piece.  So for $3.99 a lb my wallet is now $53 bucks lighter.

I plan on trying to figure out what to do next.....when to smoke and what time it should be done, etc.  It has to align with my work schedule.

I will post a pic when I get home as I might have a question or 2 about how to tackle this beast.  Hopefully I can remember how to log into photobucket and how to link a photo here.

[wyoduke]

If it was me I would rub it and let it rest in Saran wrap over night and put it in the smoker early and let it go all night get a plan for an early start to get it done by morning  ;D

[azamuner73]

I just remembered that the wife is off friday so I can get it started before I head off to work and then have her change the water after the smoke.  The rest I'm sure I can walk her through (possible tweaking of cab temp)

I did remember how to get into photobucket so I think I will snap some pics of it tonight and a few more after I get some rub on it.

I'm also going to post a pic because I want to get some idea on how I should go about smoking this behemoth.  I'm guessing I should separate the arm picnic shoulder so I can get it to fit on the trays. 

Pics to come.

[squirtthecat]

Yeah, you'll have to whack it in half..

Unless you want to stand it on end.   ;)

[KyNola]

If it is a whole shoulder, is the skin still on it?  If so I would remove that and trim some of the fat away prior to applying your rub.  Otherwise, the rub is never going to reach the meat through the skin.

[azamuner73]

If it is a whole shoulder, is the skin still on it?  If so I would remove that and trim some of the fat away prior to applying your rub.  Otherwise, the rub is never going to reach the meat through the skin.

IIRC the skin has been removed but there is a good layer of fat on it.  I was wondering if I needed to trim any.  I think after I get a few pics up, you guys can let me know the best course of action.

I asked him to remove the gland(s) so hopefully they are off.

I'm pretty stoked.

[3rensho]

Personally I'd take the picnic part off and make a ham out of it and use the butt part for pulled pork.

[Habanero Smoker]

I agree with 3rensho. Separate the butt from the picnic. The first time you do this you will make sort of a hack job out of it, because the not that easy to find the joint when you first start cutting. But once you find the joint it is easy to separate the two.

[azamuner73]

The night got away from me and I forgot to take some pics.  I will do that when I get home today.

[azamuner73]

It's a boneless shoulder/butt so it's been hacked a little already.  I'm not sure how to distinguish which part is which atm.
Also I am wondering if I leave all of the fat on it.

[stxhunter]

That looks real nice!  There are plenty of pork butts at my local super market and it usually runs around $1.79 per lb.  If you've never done a butt you will be happy with the end product, don't worry about the price.

[stxhunter]

As for the fat I would trim only the thickest parts down.  Leave a decent layer of fat on it, just not too much excess.  Place the fat over the butt while smoking.  Some of the fatty parts you cut off may have meat on them. When your butt is done pick at the fatty parts, the meat inside them will be very tasty!

[Habanero Smoker]

I've never come across a whole boneless shoulder, so it's hard to tell from your photos. The last one I separated was about around the cut line I drew in the below photo. You should be able to see where the muscles separated. There should either be a fat vein, or a layer of silver skin between the muscles separating the butt from the picnic.



It already looks pretty well trimmed, but as stxhunter pointed out, the surface fact that may be more then 1/4" thick can be trimmed. If you separate them, that picnic looks like it would make a great roast; after it is tied up.

If it did have skin, and you wanted to leave it on, you could have crosshatched the skin down to the meat, and when you apply the rub, and work the rub into the crosshatched areas.

[azamuner73]

So north of the blue line is the butt section...correct?  I'm guessing the section that is cut out is where that blade shaped bone was.
So everything south of the blue line is the picnic section?

I really appreciate the help guys.  I'm going to put the rub on today after work, saran wrap it and prep it for the smoker tomorrow morning.

I do have more pics from different angles (still on the camera IIRC) that I could post later if that helps.

[OU812]

So north of the blue line is the butt section...correct?  I'm guessing the section that is cut out is where that blade shaped bone was.
So everything south of the blue line is the picnic section?

You got it.