Choosing a Pork Butt

Avoid those that have water added. It will say so on the label.

I would try to avoid anything that has anything added to it whether it is solution or water, but in many places these are hard to avoid.

twlangan said:

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twlangan said:

Avoid those that have water added. It will say so on the label.

No experience with them personally. I just don't like paying for water. I only mention this because I was ignorant to the fact that some processors add water and learned that fact on this forum before diving into pork butts myself.

sounds good and totally agree.  biggest reason i buy these butts is its the best cost effective option for me.  they go on managers special every so often and i'll buy 5 or 6 of them and just toss them in the deep freeze. usually like a dollar a pound. 

Nothing wrong with a pork butt from Walmart. They are just as good as the ones from Kroger or Sam'sClub. Any of the cryo vac'd meat comes from a 3rd party.

Make sure it has a fat cap on it if possible, which it should unless you buy one completely cleaned by a butcher. The fat renders and helps keep her moist. Also, make sure you get bone-in.

I made the mistake of getting a cleaned one - fully trimmed and boneless- one time and it was not too good. Dried out easily.

The reason I get bone-in is it is just one more indicator of the butt being done. When you hit your desired IT and the bone pulls out clean, it is done.

I check for marbling. Fat = flavor. Too much and you're not getting as much meat for your money. Too little and the meat may be slightly drier and not quite as flavorful. I look for even marbling through the meat and a nice fat cap.

I also agree with the other posters, squishy is good.

For many years my meat and poultry supplier was Sam's Club or the local big box chain store.  About a year ago they opened up a small butcher shop that prized itself on selling "local products".  The wife was in there and bought a whole chicken one day for dinner.  As i preped it for spatchcocking, i noticed it was small and bone white, not yellow like Sam's or the big box store's??  The taste was so much better than what we were used to, i sent her back the next day to buy two more!!  Again, a major improvement in the end result!  Suddenly we were sick of eating "test chicken" every other day, i picked up a pork butt.  Grown locally, never frozen and cut much different than what i was used to.  Almost looked like it was cut in half?  But had a bone in it.  Again the results were a major improvement.  The cost of the chicken, at that time was about twenty eight cents a pound more than the big box store, but i have very little waste -- no big flaps of fat and undressed skin to cut away!!  I pay a little more, for a better product and at the same time support my local community's farmers, but the difference is worth it to me.  

I go local or Costco. I actually prefer the boneless so I'm not paying for something I can't eat. It doesn't stop me from getting bone-in when available.