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Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 3:01 pm
by rick54
I know it's often said that the pork butt is the perfect sausage cut because it has a 80/20 meat to fat ratio. For leaner pork, I've used what is known as "cushion" meat, which I believe is the upper shoulder. Now yesterday I was in Sam's Club and they had fresh pork picnics. Where do these fall on the meat to fat ratio?

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 4:12 pm
by wheels
It's fine, I use it all the time.

Phil

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:52 am
by Dryamilehi
Is there more trimming involved with a picnic or is it the same as a butt?

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:13 pm
by wheels
I buy mine ready boned so it's just a case of skinning it and grinding it. I have a large powerful grinder so don't have to be quite as fussy when it comes to removing bits that would clog a smaller grinder. I'd say you'd probably have to trim a little more, but nothing major.

Phil

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:01 pm
by johngaltsmotor
Just a different kind of trimming. The Butt is the top of the shoulder while the picnic is like the upper arm. So with the Butt you'll have to carve out around the shoulder blade, while the picnic you'll have to trim out the ?arm bone?. I use both depending on what's available.
Given the choice I prefer the Butt just because they always come skinned unlike picnics.
(there was no respectable way to type the first part of that last line....)

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:34 pm
by vagreys
The American cut picnic tends to have more fat than the trimmed Boston Butt (or blade roast). While it depends on the pig as to how much fat is on a given picnic shoulder, particularly in the club stores, from trimming and separating lean from fat, the picnics I get here in Virginia have around 25% fat, more or less. There is a lot of tendon and connective tissue in the picnic shoulder that needs trimming out.

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 2:02 am
by DiggingDogFarm
Have to be very careful with definitions and be sure we're talking about the exact same thing......colloquial definitions vary a lot even here in America.
In this neck of the woods a pork butt (whole skinless bone-in pork shoulder blade roast) is a much better value sausage-wise than a bone-in picnic....there's a lot of skin, bone, connective tissue and extra work involved in a standard picnic.


~Martin

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:43 pm
by wheels
That's similar to buying shoulder as against collar/spare rib here. However, is that not reflected in the price?

Phil

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:55 pm
by DiggingDogFarm
Around here picnic is only 30 cents less per pound on average.....sometimes they're priced the same.




~Martin

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 7:46 pm
by wheels
In that case, i'd go for the Boston Butt.

Phil

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:03 pm
by vagreys
Picnics are as much as 80 cents a pound cheaper down here. I often use picnics for making barbeque, even though the yield is somewhat low.

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:46 pm
by wheels
Tom, when you say 80 cents cheaper, what's that 80 cents cheaper than?

I effect, what % less would you expect to pay for picnic?

(I apologise in advance, as my question, although related is somewhat off-topic; I ask, not for any other reason, other than to know the comparative ratios.)

Phil

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:32 pm
by johngaltsmotor
For comparison: in Ohio and Michigan I can get nice whole pork butts for 1.89/lb everyday from a local restaurant supply and on special I can sometimes pick up picnics for 1.19/lb. Granted that's factory raised so I normally limit that to sausage and go to friends who raise hogs for meat to cure (when possible).

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:32 pm
by wheels
Many thanks.

Phil

Re: Meat Cuts

PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 11:37 pm
by DiggingDogFarm
Until very recently and for the past few years (pork prices have jumped up a bit) pork butts were $1.29 at a regional grocery store called Wegman's.....picnics often sold for .99 cents a pound. Pork butts are currently $1.49 at Wegman's.




=Martin=