Bone-in v Boneless

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FreshGround

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jan 13, 2022
89
101
Is there a good rule of thumb to compare the price of a bone-in pork shoulder to the price of a boneless butt? Or a way of estimating how much of a large (10 lb. +) bone-in shoulder roast is the bone?

I'm relatively new at buying these cuts and with the way prices are, I want to make sure I'm getting good value.

Thanks.
 
No telling how much of the meat is cut away with the bone by a paid cutter. When I watch YouTube videos of folks deboning a shoulder/butt, they leave WAAAY more meat on the bone than I do.

The difference in price between bone-in (lower)and boneless (higher) is wages for the cutter. Nothing wrong with that at all, except they keep the bone I roast to make stock and flavor soups.
 
Bone is usually about 10% of the weight but also whatever meat they take with it. Around here the boneless run about a dollar per pound more, not worth it to me. Plus a boneless butt should be treated almost like one that is injected from a food safety point of view. That part where the bone was should not be considered sterile like a sold butt or other piece of meat, so the 40F to 140F in 4 hours or less is much more critical.
 
I like cooking with the bone. I think it adds flavor plus the dog likes chewing it after. Not sure what the bone weighs. I will say when I cook for a large group I buy a case of boneless.
 
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For some reason my head went to making sausage instead of pulled pork. Heck, if making pulled pork, bone-in all day for flavor and wiggle indicator.

Your head did good, as I will be buying it to grind for various sausages.

Thanks to all for your responses. I think I have a reasonable handle on this now.
 
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