Summer is made for pulled pork and at Spragg’s Meat Shop, we can make that happen. We recommend using a pork shoulder roast, also known as a Boston Butt. A few other names that you might hear it called is a picnic roast or blade roast. Depending on where you are from or what recipe you are reading the pork shoulder can have all these names. Keep on reading to find out more about the pork shoulder roast!
Why a pork shoulder for pulled pork?
The pork shoulder roast comes in many different sizes, bone in or boneless and is perfect for pulled pork. There is beautiful marbling throughout the roast that melts as you cook it. This leaves for a very juicy roast that falls apart and gives you the classic pulled pork look. The shoulder roast also has great flavor on its own and the meat in it has a great ability to absorb flavor. This means, whatever you put on it while cooking will go throughout the meat and every bite will be delicious. No matter if you cook it in the smoker, slow cooker or in the oven you will end up with a great meal. If you decide to get a larger pork shoulder, the pulled pork can be put on sandwiches, nachos, pizza or anything else you can think of!
Why does the pork shoulder have so many names?
While pork shoulder is the official name for this cut, it is also very commonly called the Boston butt. Why is this? Well, in New England (especially Boston) during the colonial times, meat had to be transported in barrels. These barrels were called “butts”. The butchers on this time started calling the cut Boston Butt and it stuck. Sometimes the pork shoulder is also called a picnic roast. Normally, when it is called a picnic, it is referring to the lower part of the shoulder. The picnic roast will also be leaner than a typical pork shoulder but still falls apart when making pulled pork. Sometimes a pork shoulder is also called a blade roast, this is referring to the top part of the shoulder connected to the shoulder blade. This cut is closer to the loin (where pork chops come from) but is very marbled. Since there are so many different names for this cut depending on where you come from or butcher specific, at Spragg’s Meat Shop we decided to keep it simple and just call it a pork shoulder.
Need some pulled pork ideas?
There is no one way to make pulled pork so we have come up with 3 different recipes for you to try. The classic pulled pork, sweet n’ spicy and soy-ginger pulled pork recipes are all on our website. If you can’t pick which recipe to make, how about making all three! For the month of July, all of the Spragg’s Meat Shop shoulder roasts are 10% off.
Whether you're new to pulled pork or a seasoned pro, our pork shoulder roasts are the perfect place to start. Visit Spragg’s Meat Shop this month and enjoy 10% off and don’t forget to check out our recipes for inspiration!