Meat Cuts

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Meat Cuts

Postby rick54 » Sun Jan 19, 2014 3:01 pm

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?
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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby wheels » Sun Jan 19, 2014 4:12 pm

It's fine, I use it all the time.

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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby Dryamilehi » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:52 am

Is there more trimming involved with a picnic or is it the same as a butt?
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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby wheels » Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:13 pm

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.

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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby johngaltsmotor » Tue Jan 21, 2014 6:01 pm

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.
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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby vagreys » Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:34 pm

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.
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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby DiggingDogFarm » Wed Jan 22, 2014 2:02 am

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.


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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby wheels » Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:43 pm

That's similar to buying shoulder as against collar/spare rib here. However, is that not reflected in the price?

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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby DiggingDogFarm » Wed Jan 22, 2014 6:55 pm

Around here picnic is only 30 cents less per pound on average.....sometimes they're priced the same.




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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby wheels » Wed Jan 22, 2014 7:46 pm

In that case, i'd go for the Boston Butt.

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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby vagreys » Wed Jan 22, 2014 9:03 pm

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.
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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby wheels » Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:46 pm

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.)

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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby johngaltsmotor » Thu Jan 23, 2014 12:32 pm

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).
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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby wheels » Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:32 pm

Many thanks.

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Re: Meat Cuts

Postby DiggingDogFarm » Thu Jan 23, 2014 11:37 pm

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.




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