# Pork butt vs. Pork butt shoulder



## jokensmoken (Apr 1, 2019)

Hey folks,
Lately I've noticed what appears to be pork butt roasts marked as "pork butt shoulder roast".
I know both are cut from the same area of a pig and I know there is a definite difference.  These certainly look like every butt I've ever smoked but I've just never done a "shoulder roast" and am not sure I could visually tell the difference...
I bought a couple a while back and I noticed a couple differences...
The first was they took considerably  longer to smoke than I'm used to and they seemed a bit tougher (IT over 200°F...very probe tender,,,bone slid out freely) and had a bit more gristle.
Can anyone tell me if this is simply new packaging and if these "butt shoulder roasts" are butts or shoulders and how I can visually tell the difference...
IE...I've seen them packaged/marked this way mostly at Krogers.
Any insight would be appreciated.


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## Misplaced Nebraskan (Apr 1, 2019)

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/1214-the-difference-between-pork-butt-and-pork-shoulder

Always thought they were interchangeable.  had to look for myself. Now I know.  Guess I'm a butt man more than shoulder


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## HalfSmoked (Apr 1, 2019)

Yell I like butts that is pork butts.  
If your bone did not come out clean you needed to have cook longer sometimes I go as high as 210. A lot of boston butts are boneless.

Warren


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## HalfSmoked (Apr 2, 2019)

Winterrider and Watchit Thanks for the likes they are greatly appreciated.

Warren


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## jokensmoken (Apr 2, 2019)

Misplaced Nebraskan said:


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Thanks much...clears it right up.  Must be new packaging/marketing because the.ones I bought are definetly butts...


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## jokensmoken (Apr 2, 2019)

HalfSmoked said:


> Yell I like butts that is pork butts.
> If your bone did not come out clean you needed to have cook longer sometimes I go as high as 210. A lot of boston butts are boneless.
> 
> Warren


I always go by probe tenderness and bone wiggle to check for doneness...IT is simply a guideline


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## PolishDeli (Apr 20, 2019)

I use both of these cuts for sausages pretty interchangeably, though the shoulder has a bit more fat.  When cutting them up, I separate the meat into fatty and lean portions, (since i can control fat content this way, and also I use different sized grinding plates depending on whether its fatty vs lean).The picture gives a comparison

After the removing the bones (and skin from the shoulder) the breakdown is as follows:

Boston Butt:  
53% Lean 
47% Fatty

Shoulder:
42% Lean
58% Fatty


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## gixxerfrk (Apr 20, 2019)

Interesting thread. Definitely learned something.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 20, 2019)

Misplaced Nebraskan said:


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I've tried many times to explain exactly what "Misplaced" posted above.
Awesome Explanation!!

Bear


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## indaswamp (Apr 20, 2019)

Yep....misplaced Nebraskan with a well placed post. Bullseye, nailed it....

Typical boston butts run 20~25% fat.
The shoulder has a higher bone to meat ratio.


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## jokensmoken (May 2, 2019)

I understand the differences in the cuts concerning bone and fat content...
It is the ability to VISUALLY tell them appart when purchasing them that I'm interested in.
I've never had the two cuts side by side (that I know of) and am curious if VISUALLY the two could be confused for each other.
If it looks like a butt roast, is it a butt roast, or could it possibly be a shoulder roast.
AND is there some difference in a butt (like the ones I've seen at Krogers) that are packaged as a "shoulder Boston butt" and a regular old boston butt.  These "shoulder boston butts" look like every other butt I've smoked but the end results seem slightly different.
The picture explained it perfectly.


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## Bearcarver (May 2, 2019)

jokensmoken said:


> I understand the differences in the cuts concerning bone and fat content...
> It is the ability to VISUALLY tell them appart when purchasing them that I'm interested in.
> I've never had the two cuts side by side (that I know of) and am curious if VISUALLY the two could be confused for each other.
> If it looks like a butt roast, is it a butt roast, or could it possibly be a shoulder roast.




You do have to know a little about them to be able to tell them apart.
And there is usually a big difference between the Smoking & possibly the eating.


Bear


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## jokensmoken (May 2, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> You do have to know a little about them to be able to tell them apart.
> And there is usually a big difference between the Smoking & possibly the eating.
> Thanks bear...I've smoked hundreds (maybe a thousand) of pounds of butts...until recently I always purchased them from a local butcher and was confident that i was getting what i asked for...
> The butcher is now retired and his shop closed and I'm forced to purchase from a chain retailer...since then I've noticed a definite difference in the finished product. .
> ...


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