Picnic Roast for Pulled Pork?

[Big_Jake]

Hey guys I went and bought a Swift "Pork Shoulder Butt" but I think it was mislabeled.
It has a huge ball joint type bone in it,maybe the shank bone?This would lead me to believe it's a picnic roast and not a Boston Butt?Or did they just do a bad job of cutting it?
Anyway if it is a picnic can I cook it like a butt and make pulled pork with it?

 

[Big Poppa]

Im not sure I think so but the picnic from my memory is more ham like....Wheres Hodedo when you need him?

 

[FLBentRider]

That sounds like a shank end of the pork shoulder, a picnic shoulder. A Pic would be great.

IMHO, the other (butt) end of the shoulder is better for pulled pork, but there are places that swear by the picnic.

I have smoked them for pulled pork, but it ended up being more like sliced pork. Still good, just a different texture.

 

[wneill20]

I have smoked several an pulled for sandwiches, treat just like a butt cook the same and pull. Let me know if you can tell the difference.

 

[TentHunter]

This question surfaces every now and then. It always makes for a good discussion.

I have smoked several an pulled for sandwiches, treat just like a butt cook the same and pull. Let me know if you can tell the difference.

I totally agree with Neil! I have cooked way too many Butts & picnic shoulders side by side to know that once they're pulled you cannot tell any difference. At a large cookout a couple years ago I asked several people to try some of each without telling which was which. Absolutely no one could tell, in fact a couple thought I was playing a trick.

The picnics, are often called a picnic ham because they resemble the ham (or rear leg). It's a great cut for making a ham (I just did a couple), however, just like the ham cut (rear leg), they're only "ham-like" if you cure them first.


The main difference, which you've already noticed, is the bone structure. Because of this the picnic will have a little more cartilage and will yield a little less meat than a butt end.


Here is a whole shoulder I bought from the butcher, cut in half. The butt & picnic are from the same front leg.

 

[Big_Jake]

Awesome thanks for the info man.I just wish they would have given what they said they were going to but oh well.It's on the smoker now and looking good.Btw here are two pics of the bone.As soon as I opened it up I knew something was strange.

 

[TentHunter]

If that's a single long bone going all the way through the roast, then it's a picnic. But the top pic looks like a blade bone, so you could very well have a butt that was cut a little low and included the top of the joint.

Either way, I don't think the outcome will be any different.

Can't wait to see it finished!



P.S. I'm getting ready to post the pics of the two picnic hams my friend & I just cured & smoked. So, you'll get to see a couple more pics of picnic cuts.

 

[Big_Jake]

No it's just on one side of the meat,kinda in the corner.So yeah maybe they just cut it funky.I will try and post pics of the finished product for sure.
And please post pics of your as you mentioned,I can't wait to check it out.

 

[Big_Jake]

Put her in the pan with foil about 2 hours ago.

 

[wneill20]

Looks good !

 

[Pappymn]

Pretty color!

 

[Big_Jake]

The finished product.

 

[TentHunter]

That looks fantastic Jake. You sure are making that MAK turn out some great food.

So what did you use for braising liquid? It looks good.


P.S. So that was a butt end after all.

 

[Big_Jake]

Thanks!I used the Slap Yo Daddy recipe that was posted in the "pulled pork internal temp" thread in the Mak section.That was the best pulled pork I have ever made.

 

[HoDeDo]

Sorry I missed this thread completely!! Looks good. And yes that is a butt roast. IT seems that they have been cutting it further back lately - I am assuming to bolster size and $$ -- but could just be poor butchering. We get 1 out of 10 that look like that. More facia and cartilage to deal with, but meat is fine.

Tent put up a great pic -- You can cook a picnic just like a butt roast. I typically score all the fat or even peel back some of the layers. If you want a picnic to look and taste exactly like your butt -- ask for it "BRT" = boned, rolled, & tied. I usually cook my picnic's in this fashion.... but you can cook whole, inject, etc. and turn out great product also.

Notice on his pic, that it has the skin in tact. Usually, unless you get a BRT, the picnic's and whole sholulders include that skin. Which I take off to cook, usually. IF you were presenting for an MBN type event you would likely leave the skin, and use it as part of your onsite presentation. I've seen people make patterns on it, render some of it into cracklin's, you name it....

Great looking butt!