Cutting Up Pork Butts

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I have 2 pork butts to cut up. I am wanting about 6 lbs for breakfast sausage. Maybe one thick pork steak and also some for pulled pork. Would the bone side be better to save for pulled pork?

 

[chopsaw]

Using 2 is the way I do it , if I want steaks and sausage .
Take your steaks from the boneless end of the one that looks the best for steaks .


Then you can save the section with the bone for pulled pork , and use the other for sausage.

In this case I deboned it , rolled and tied . Used it for PP .

The trim in the pic above went to Bockwurst .

You should get 6 lbs. of sausage , PP and steaks from 2 butts .

 

[mneeley490]

Huh. I've never seen it done that way before. Interesting. I wonder if it could be cured in this fashion like a pancetta?

 

[chopsaw]

I wonder if it could be cured in this fashion like a pancetta?

Mike , that's the second one I did . The original idea was what you said .
It ended up more like bacon because it was smoked / cooked . It's good that way though .

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Using 2 is the way I do it , if I want steaks and sausage .
Take your steaks from the boneless end of the one that looks the best for steaks .

Perfect. I going to try your method on steaks again. I think I just need thicker ones than I used before. Yours always look so good.

 

[chopsaw]

need thicker ones than I used before.

Yeah , the ones I do are thick . I cut them around 1 1/4 .

That picture above has 4 steaks . 2 have the bone in them . Last time I'll do that , but had to try it .

So this is more like what I get if doing just the boneless section .
You can see a slit in the one on the right . That was the start of the
bone . So 3 thick boneless steaks , and that tray went for sausage .

 

[realdocBBQ]

I do my pulled pork in large chunks, ~1lb or so each. More bark, more rub, more smoke, cooks faster. Win/win. I have found no downsides to it.

I supposed ONE potential downside is if you are addicted to the black meteorite bark, you're going to get THAT without drying out the smaller chunks.

But other than that? Absolutely phenomenal.

 

[zwiller]

I do my pulled pork in large chunks, ~1lb or so each. More bark, more rub, more smoke, cooks faster. Win/win. I have found no downsides to it.

That's how jerk pork is done and need to try it. I normally halve the butt for same reasons.

@BrianGSDTexoma Just ran some pork steaks I cut from the larger end of a whole pork loin and liked it more than pork butt.

 

[realdocBBQ]

That's how jerk pork is done and need to try it. I normally halve the butt for same reasons.

@BrianGSDTexoma Just ran some pork steaks I cut from the larger end of a whole pork loin and liked it more than pork butt.

I do birria that way as well - the pic above is actually me doing chunks that are about to go in the crockpot for birria. If you haven't tried birria-style pork, you are missing out, let me tell you.

Did these on the Fireboard Ring. Better bark than I had expected from a Weber kettle!

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

If you haven't tried birria-style pork, you are missing out, let me tell you.

With beef so high thinking about trying this. Do you do the same as beef? I use dried chile's in my beef and wonder if should just use same recipe for pork?

 

[realdocBBQ]

With beef so high thinking about trying this. Do you do the same as beef? I use dried chile's in my beef and wonder if should just use same recipe for pork?

I make a birria sauce just like for beef - dried chiles (guajillo, ancho, maybe an arbol or two), toast them, then throw in a blender with garlic, onion, cumin, S&P, chicken broth and such. Pour this slurry into a crockpot with some large chunks of carrot, more large onion chunks, a couple bay leaves, Mexican oregano, some whole stewed tomatoes, a sachet with a stick of cinnamon and a couple of cloves, some whole peppercorns. Stew that for a while.

Take a pork butt, cut it into 12-16oz chunks, season as I normally would with a Southwest-leaning rub & salt, smoke it on my smoker for a few hours to get a nice bark, usually to 150-170 temp, about 2-3 hours. Then I pull them and throw them in the crockpot and simmer for a few more hours with the sauce and veggies. Shred in or out of the sauce and use for tacos, enchiladas, nachos... tortas, taquitos, whatever.

I actually like the pork in this recipe BETTER than beef, personally. The rich fattiness of the pork butt lends itself to a smooth unctuous texture and it is just flat heavenly.

 

[realdocBBQ]

Some pics of above - birria PORK! :D

So unbelievably good - highly, HIGHLY recommended!