Why is the pork shoulder called Boston Butt??

The Colonel

I posed this question to my leadership class when discussing folklore. Here is one of the replies--fact or fiction??
In 1839 in the city of Boston, Ralph Butt was resident chef in the well-respected restaurant, "The Boarshead". He became famous in the region for his culinary abilities with different cuts of pork. The upper cut of Boston Society flocked to "The Boarshead" to be seen and to partake in Chef Butt's culinary delights. His speciality was pork shoulder which was prepared in his own special way. Reservations were booked months in advance and the order of the evening was Chef Butt's fabulous pork shoulder, which became known as BOSTON BUTT.[p]Fact or fiction? In either case it is an excellent story of how something came to pass and is another example of the unique folklore of our great nation.
yours in the egg--The Colonel

Earl

The Colonel,[p] Mike; great to see you back,you'v been gone to long my friend. It don't mater if the story is true or not, shoulder or butt done on the Egg is good, no mater who cooks it.[p]
Earl

JimW

The Colonel,
Nice to hear from you again. I am told that pork shoulders used to be stored and shipped in the Boston area in wooden containers called 'butts', hence the name.
JimW

sprinter

The Colonel,[p]Not sure if I can remember the whole story but it disagrees with the prior post in how it was named. I have NO IDEA why its named what it is but here's what I heard/read. I actually posted a link to this article in the past but checking the archives gave no hint of where it is. May still be there but I cant find it now.[p]When meat was being packed and shipped in the early sailing ship days, it was packed into wooden crates, called a BUTT, for shipment. The roasts that were shipped from the Boston area in these crates had a unique cut to them, different from all of the other meat that was packed in the crates. These crates were more desireable apparently and when the crates came into the docks, the "Boston Butts" were separated from the rest of the "normal cut" meat.[p]So, the name comes not from the cut of meat itself, but what it was shipped IN, a Butt that originated in Boston. I have also heard that the Boston Butt is called that everywhere EXCEPT Boston, not sure about that today but it was apparently true in the past.[p]More fodder for the mill. Interesting if nothing else.[p]Troy

sprinter

JimW,[p]You posted whilst I writed. Same general story, glad to see that mine has SOME credibility.[p]Troy

Cornfed

The Colonel,[p]Great to hear from you! Can't answer your question, but I can add another one:[p]I've been told that the toilet has the nickname "John" since it was invented by someone named John Crapper (explaining another etymology, to be sure). I did not make this up, and I am sure I'm exposing my ignorance by not knowing if this is true, but it's been a long week and it's only Wednesday so I figured, "what the hay?"[p]Cornfed

Nature Boy

Howdy Colonel!! Nice to hear from you again. And a great story. We still gotta figure out why they call a cut up Boston Butt "Country Style Ribs"?? That one still has me baffled. See you in April????[p]Hope you and Dee are well!
NB

JJ

Cornfed,
You speak the truth.

YB

The Colonel,
You Sir have been missed,welcome back.[p]Larry

Cornfed

JJ,[p]Very interesting. I've always wondered about that one. I thought it made sense but thought it might be too funny to be true.[p]Wings for me tonight. I'm going to try a quick buffalo wing sauce consisting simply of butter, garlic, champagne vinegar, crystal Louisiana hot sauce, and some flour.[p]Cornfed

GaDawg

The Colonel,
My simple rule of thumb... a boston butt is 1/2 of a
pig's shoulder, a fresh ham is 1/2 of a pig's ass. I
don't have a clue why this makes sense to me but it does.
Chuck