Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Pork shoulder questions

Options
MrWilliams
MrWilliams Posts: 112
in EggHead Forum
I’ve cooked about 5 pork shoulders.  One of the stores I buy them at ties them and one doesn’t.  I like the ones that are tied (if that’s what it’s called) as they seem to hold shape better – no thin end.  When I pull the shoulder apart I throw the fat cap away and lose the nice bark that’s on it.  Here are my questions:
1. Do people normally have the shoulder tied?
2. Do people normally trim all the fat cap off before cooking?
3. If the answer to number two is yes then is it reasonable to ask the butcher to trim and tie it for me?
4. On my last cook I was getting a range of temperatures from 180 to 220 (approximately) depending on probe location.  Is this normal?
XL BGE & Mini - CT USA
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • MelSharples
    MelSharples Posts: 260
    Options

    1. I've never cooked one tied before. Not sure it is needed as pork shoulder is very forgiving.

    2. Trim it down to about a 1/4 inch thick, you need that fat! At a 1/4 inch most will deliciously melt into the meat...nom nom.

    3. Sure, if you're into that sort of thing, but I don't personally believe it is necessary.

    4. I assume it was bone in? Depending on where the probe was in relation to the bone can affect the temp reading.

    LBGE 2015 - Atlanta
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    Options
    I always get a boston butt. Second choice would be a picnic roast. You are likely getting a roast from the shoulder. Im sure it would work, but i would get a Boston Butt for the best results.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    edited February 2015
    Options
    I've never seen a shoulder tied up but if you want it that way go ahead and ask the butcher....all he can say is no.  I always remove the skin and cut fat cap down to 1/4".  

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pescadorzih
    pescadorzih Posts: 926
    Options
    You appear to be getting the picnic end of the shoulder that has been deboned and is then tied together. As mentioned by others, get a boston butt. I also trim the fat cap to 1/8"-1/4".
    SE PA
    XL, Lg, Mini max and OKJ offset
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MrWilliams
    MrWilliams Posts: 112
    Options
    MelSharples - yes they have all been bone in.

    I have to say I am confused by the terminology regarding pork shoulder / butt / boston butt...

    My local market has what the are calling "Pork Shoulder/Picnic" this week for $1.49 per pound.  Not sure if this is two different cuts or not?  Did some reading on the web and its no clearer now.
    XL BGE & Mini - CT USA
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    Options
    google it. they are all from the shoulder, just different areas.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    edited February 2015
    Options
    MrWilliams said:

    MelSharples - yes they have all been bone in.


    I have to say I am confused by the terminology regarding pork shoulder / butt / boston butt...

    My local market has what the are calling "Pork Shoulder/Picnic" this week for $1.49 per pound.  Not sure if this is two different cuts or not?  Did some reading on the web and its no clearer now.
    The pork shoulder is comprised of 2 major cuts. The upper portion is called a Boston butt, from the name of the kind of small barrel they used to be shipped in. The lower portion is called the picnic, don't know why.

    Both portions have bones in them. I don't know that I've ever seen a picnic de-boned, butts often are. De-boned and tied tends to make most cuts cook a bit more evenly. A well cooked piece of shoulder that is ready for pulling does have a tendency to fall apart under its own weight, so I suppose tying them might be helps full.

    Try not to throw the bark away w. the fat. That's where the best flavor is, and it needs to be mixed in with the meat for best taste.

    I don't bother cutting the fat off. As it renders, it lubricates the meat. If there are gobs left at the end, I pull those out. FWIW, pork fat got a bad rap over the last 50 years. Current studies indicate that its better for one than butter, can be more flavorful, and is generally excellent for cooking.

    Varied temp readings are usual. The meat, connective tissue, fat all conduct heat differently. Many people let the shoulder portion sit wrapped in foil for awhile to let the temperature differences even out.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    Options
    Pork Shoulder, Boston Butt, Pork Butt are all used for the same cut. On this forum, it is usually called pork butt. Depends on where you are and what you have learned to call it and what the retailer likes to use. Of course, Pork Shoulder can refer to the whole shoulder of the pig or the shoulder roast cut (butt).  The picnic portion is the lower portion of a whole shoulder (not the butt). Lots of confusion with the naming.  You will find that a lot of the folks here cook bone-in pork butts. Locally, I mostly find boned butts. I usually tie a boned butt. Bone-in hold together nicely without being tied. Leaving the fat cap or trimming it is often debated. I usually trim it down (but not completely off)  because I like the additional bark that is formed. 
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MrWilliams
    MrWilliams Posts: 112
    Options
    Thank you all - very much conflicting information on the interweb regarding this subject.  Sounds like people prefer the butt to the picnic cut.  And the prefer bone in.  At $1.49 per pound I think I'll give the picnic cut a shot this weekend...

    Thanks again for the anatomy lesson!!
    XL BGE & Mini - CT USA
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokinpig
    Smokinpig Posts: 739
    Options
    Picnics are good. I tend to find them leaner than a butt and they they cook the same way.

    LBGE Atlanta, GA


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    Options
    Here is another take on the naming:

    pork shoulder = pork shoulder butt = pork blade shoulder=Boston butt = Boston roast = pork butt roast = pork shoulder Boston butt = Boston-style shoulder = Boston shoulder = Boston-style butt = fresh pork butt.
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories