Pork Shoulder vs. Pork Butt: How Are They Different?

Pork shoulder, also called picnic roast, is the primal cut that comes from a pig’s shoulder, above the forelegs. The National Pork Board calls it “the top portion of the front leg of the hog.” It’s typically broken down into two cuts: the top, or blade shoulder (aka Boston butt), and the lower arm shoulder (aka pork shoulder or picnic roast).

Meat from this hardworking region is dark in color due to oxygen-storing myoglobin, and tough due to lots of connective tissue. It’s also full of fat, and can be extremely flavorful if cooked properly: low and slow, which breaks down the collagen into gelatin and melts the fat. Because pork shoulder contains a lot of fat, it has a more pronounced pork flavor than leaner cuts, like pork chops.

Pork butt, also known as Boston butt or pork shoulder, is a cut of meat from the upper portion of a pig’s front shoulder. It’s a relatively inexpensive and forgiving hunk of meat that you’ll most often see served as pulled pork in barbecue restaurants. It is often sold with a bone-in and will have a fat cap located on the side of the cut.

The muscle in pork butt has a lot of connective tissue that needs to be broken down through slow cooking (like smoking or braising), but it’s also extremely fatty with lots of fat marbling, so it’s less prone to drying out, even at higher temperatures. Pork butt is often confused as being from the rear end of the pig, but the actual butt of the pig includes different cuts of meat like the pork sirloin or the ham hock which are just behind the pork loin.

Both the pork shoulder and pork butt cuts come from similar primal cuts on the shoulders of the pig. However, it’s good to know the differences in the flavor and texture of different cuts when choosing between them at the grocery store. Here are a few key differences between pork butt and pork shoulder.

• Fat content: Pork shoulder generally has less fat and may be tough or chewy, while pork butt has more intramuscular fat that yields a softer and more tender meat.
• Shape of the cut: Butchers will typically cut the pork shoulder in a triangular shape with its skin on. Pork butt will come in a rectangular-shaped piece of meat with a bone in and the skin off.
• Cooking methods: Many cooks will use pork butt to make pulled pork dishes that can be shredded after stewing or cooking it in a slow cooker to make dishes like the Mexican dish carnitas tacos. Pork shoulder is more commonly grilled or roasted to make pork with a nice crispy thin crust on the outside, like pork roast or crispy pork crackling.

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