Pork Shoulder: What's the Difference?

wpendlegg

I've noticed when buying Pork Butts that they all have different names slapped on the label. I have seen Picnic Roasts, Boston Butts, and Shoulder Roasts. And I've seem some combination of these 4-5 buzz words paired together as well.

I'm thinking that these are all the same piece of meat with some variations in the cut but I could be wrong. 

Does anyone know the difference?

SGH

They are one and the same. No difference my friend in the butt cuts. Just different nomenclature.

SGH

Except for the picnic ham.It comes from the lower end. Other names for the picnic are-
Picnic ham.
Pork Picnic.
Pork Fore leg .
Pork Picnic ham.
Picnic of Pork.

SGH

The butt is called by many names. Here are a few.
Boston Butt.
Pork Shoulder roast.
Pork Blade roast.
Pork Butt roast.
Shoulder Butt.
Shoulder Blade Roast.
Pork Roast of shoulder.
Boston Blade Roast.
Different areas use different names. They are all the same except the picnic which is attached to the butt but lower in location. Tastes more like ham.

KenfromMI

SGH , I've heard the flavor is different but never made one. Have you ever actually made a picnic?

SGH

Absolutely my friend. I have cooked just the picnic as well as whole shoulder which is the butt and picnic still attached. The picnic has more of a ham like taste. Hence the name picnic ham.

SGH

@KenfromMI‌
When cooking just the picnic I usually do not cook it to pull but rather to slice. Depending on you tolerance for doneness I like to stop them around 170 internal for slicing. Turns out incredible my friend .

KenfromMI

I wasn't sure if the more of a ham flavor was an exaggeration passed on through the years LOL

DMW

I do picnic for pulling all the time. I like both. If guests are saucing (themselves or the meat) they'll probably never know the difference.

KenfromMI

I'm thinking Buckboard Bacon. 

SGH

@DMW‌
I like them both ways myself. My wife prefers the picnics sliced so guess which way I usually have to cook them. But I agree they are outstanding either way my friend.

wpendlegg

This is what I found: http://localfoods.about.com/od/porkrecipes/qt/Picnic-Shoulder.htm

@SGH, this writer has a different take on the subject -- picnic roasts and butts are all from the same piece of meat, just different parts. Picnic is lower shoulder (good for slicing) and butts are upper shoulder (more meaty and marbling; good for pulling).

I'm no butcher so regardless of where it's actually from I'll just take the above to note. Seems consistent with what others are saying.

SGH

@wpendlegg‌
Brother maybe I'm misreading my post but that is exactly what I said. A whole shoulder consists of two parts. The butt and the picnic ham. The butt being the upper part and the picnic being the lower part. The whole unseperated shoulder is a primal cut. The individual butt and picnic are subprimals. Hey I am old but I don't see my error. I will keep reading through it but again I don't see the typo. If I did mistype something is was not intentional but I do not see it my friend. Also if the misunderstanding was slicing the picnic that's just the way my wife prefers them. They certainly can be cooked to pull. When cooking the whole shoulder I always take it to pull temp. If you will point out my error I will gladly correct it my friend. Thanks in advance.

Zmokin

SGH said:

They are one and the same. No difference my friend in the butt cuts. Just different nomenclature.

Yeah,but what I want to know is who is the idiot that didn't know the difference between the head and the pig's behind. Where in the heck do you end up calling the front shoulder on the pig his Butt. Was it a butcher in Boston a long time ago that obviously had his own head up his own arse that left us with this nomenclature or what? :(

SGH

They got the name from the cask that they were packed in. The casks were called buttes and the main packers were in Boston so the term Boston Butt just kind of stuck .

Nanook

Never a day goes by that I don't learn something.....

KenfromMI

Off Topic but on a similar note..........The Boston Cooler was invented at an ice cream shop on Boston Street in Detroit and has nothing to do with Boston at all  LOL