Pork shoulder preference, pulled or chopped?

YEMTrey

I've cooked a many shoulders and have always pulled the pork with bear claws.  I'm leaning towards liking it chopped more lately.

There's a BBQ place locally that sets up a booth downtown and sells BBQ pork sandwiches during lunch.  The meat has been pulled, then they place it on a flat top to heat back up.  While doing so they squirt it with some sort of oil and use a pizza cutter to "chop" up the meat even more.

I'm thinking that using a pizza cutter might work better than chopping.  Any ideas on this?  And for those who chop, do you have a designated block and knife you use recommend?  Thanks!

tarheelmatt

Chop!

THEBuckeye

Bear-Clawed

tarheelmatt

Oh, and make sure you get plenty of white lean!  

tulocay

pulled

fence0407

Pulled :@)!

Cookbook_Chip

Pulled.  BUT, I love taking leftovers and crisping in a skillet for sammies!  Kinda like carnitas

fishlessman

hand pulled in big pieces, i really dont like it shredded much

tarheelmatt

For chopped, I generally have a nice thick wooden chopping block and two cleavers to chop.  

On most instances, I pull and then chop.  I just don't have a lot of room on my kitchen.  When out cooking, we chop with cleavers.  

Carolina Q

This is barbecue we're talkin' about. Of COURSE it's chopped! Just watch the first 30 seconds... 

https://player.vimeo.com/video/5103174

JRWhitee

Pulled for me, big pieces as well.....

badinfluence

I have to go with pulled also.

tarheelmatt

This is how you chop... Starts around 1:35

http://youtu.be/0DxZn-ySiyw

bodski

I usually do a combo pull and then chop if needed.

tazcrash

Pulled, going to have to try crisping in a skillet for leftovers. Thanks Chip

tarheelmatt

@Carolina Q and I are in the minority here I see... 

Carolina Q

I cringe whenever I hear anyone say KETCHUP when he's talking about Q sauce.  )

THEBuckeye

Chopped reminds me of processed mush BBQ. 

You know it when you see it.

tarheelmatt

Carolina Q said:

I cringe whenever I hear anyone say KETCHUP when he's talking about Q sauce.  )

Likewise when I just hear someone say East.. Only the best have a style after the city!  BOOM

fishlessman

from what i grew up with in new hampshire, true bbq is done on an open pit with logs, brought to an internal pulling temp, then sliced thin, so i guess thats more like chopped, but it looks more like a stack of thin sliced deli meat
all these metal smokers are new school and i guess no one down south knows how to run a 50 blade slicer

tazcrash

Living in NYC, I hated hearing people say they were having a BBQ, and then grilling burgers, and dogs, or a steak. 

I had to move 1600 miles to find people with the correct terminology!!! 

Carolina Q

tarheelmatt said:

Only the best have a style after the city!  BOOM

I stopped there once to try some of this "city style" barbecue. Asked 2-3 locals where Lexington Barbecue was. They had no idea what I was talking about. I've still never had any. But I would... even with ketchup. And that weird lookin' slaw. 

cottonseed

Pulled, big chunks.

If you want it chopped like the video, put the meat in a food processor or blender.

Seent it done before. works out good if thats your thing.

fishlessman

tazcrash said:

Living in NYC, I hated hearing people say they were having a BBQ, and then grilling burgers, and dogs, or a steak. 

I had to move 1600 miles to find people with the correct terminology!!! 

big difference between having a bbq and having bbq

tarheelmatt

Carolina Q said:

tarheelmatt said:

Only the best have a style after the city!  BOOM

I stopped there once to try some of this "city style" barbecue. Asked 2-3 locals where Lexington Barbecue was. They had no idea what I was talking about. I've still never had any. But I would... even with ketchup. And that weird lookin' slaw. 

Haha.. I actually like the east stuff.  Used to eat it a lot when I traveled to New Bern every week.  

GATraveller

I like every type of BBQ there is.  Doesn't matter if its from Texas, KC, SC, NC, GA, KY, VA, ME, Korea.....it's all good in its own way.  Nothing worse than someone telling you "that's not how REAL BBQ is made.....ya see where I come from....."

JRWhitee

I only put Ketchup on things I don't like!

tarheelmatt

GATraveller said:

I like every type of BBQ there is.  Doesn't matter if its from Texas, KC, SC, NC, GA, KY, VA, ME, Korea.....it's all good in its own way.  Nothing worse than someone telling you "that's not how REAL BBQ is made.....ya see where I come from....."

Guess the statement was directed towards me.  Honestly, I was speaking tongue and cheek.  I am proud of where I am from and that BBQ, but I do not discriminate either.  

badinfluence

I don't discriminate either. I don't care that ya all do bbq wrong and mine is right.

tarheelmatt

Is that a going to a BBQ or cooking BBQ?   :-c

tcampbell

Pulled