Pork butt question for the sausage makers?

[cptnding]

I have a different method when preparing a butt for grinding. First, I cut off the Coppa roast which is the money muscle and "tubes" which are smaller muscles, and trim it for smoking or curing. I prefer it shy of pullable to make very tender slices.
View attachment 701879
View attachment 701880
View attachment 701881
Now, I might have to buy a couple of extra butts, but having Coppa roasts makes up for it.
Next, I leave a little meat on the blade bones, season and flavor smoke them. And do a pressure finish.View attachment 701882
View attachment 701883
View attachment 701884


Bingo.

Thanks for all the info and pics really help. I've taken out the coppa several times for bacon but mine didn't near as pretty lol. I need to try smoking one and cutting steaks out of it like D Dave in AZ mentioned.

 

[cptnding]

I'm new and have only used my KA grinder until I commit to a counter top ginder. I just 1-2" cubed my butt and removed any nefarious tendons or stringy stuff. 1st grind went ok. sausage was on point. did a couple of beef chucks with same approach. smash burgers were good too.
Now to commit to a grinder (that I can afford) so I don't toast my new KA mixer.

I'm new to grinding myself. Started out with the KA grinder and after a few times got a LEM #8 a few months ago. BIG difference. I can't feed that thing fast enough. Good luck with which ever grinder you decide on. I don't think you will regret it.
Grinding my own beef has been worth it alone. The difference was surprising.

 

[cptnding]

Anyone know if the gland is removed from boneless butts? I am pretty happy with GFS (Swift) boneless of late.

Saw in a post a while back that it is:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/wait-what-theres-a-gland-in-my-butt.325712/#post-2497070

 

[cptnding]

Me and many others are a PM away should you need any help. We are all glad to help someone starting out.

Thanks Doug. I appreciate it. I'm moving in the right direction just slowly lol.
Your breakfast sausage recipe is what I've been using for months to make bulk. Just some slight alterations with a bit of garlic and a lot more sage. Good stuff!

 

[DougE]

Thanks Doug. I appreciate it. I'm moving in the right direction just slowly lol.
Your breakfast sausage recipe is what I've been using for months to make bulk. Just some slight alterations with a bit of garlic and a lot more sage. Good stuff!

Glad you're liking it and running with it to customize it for yourself. That's why we all do this.

 

[Dave in AZ]

Glad you're liking it and running with it to customize it for yourself. That's why we all do this.

Doug, point me to your recipe pls, I have 2kg of ground butt and I'd like to try a different breakfast sausage from my Jimmy Dean clone. Thanks!

 

[cptnding]

Doug, point me to your recipe pls, I have 2kg of ground butt and I'd like to try a different breakfast sausage from my Jimmy Dean clone. Thanks!

This was the one I started with Dave:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/douges-breakfast-sausage.321075/

 

[Dave in AZ]

This was the one I started with Dave:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/douges-breakfast-sausage.321075/

Thx!

 

[chopsaw]

Do you cook them low and slow or treat them like beef?

Just wondering if they are still too tough at 140 or so?

I do them all kinds of ways . I did these on the SmokeFire . Started out around 200 , then bumped the temps up , and sauced at the end .

140 would be safe to eat , but these need to be up around 185 / 195 to render the fat and connective tissues . Loin or loin chops = 140 . You know that part .

The hand cut ones on the bottom were about 1 1/2 inches . Top 2 are store bought , but nice center cut bone in steaks .


Hand cut got some Lillie's Carolina Gold . Mustard based sauce .

Top 2 got Kinders Brown sugar and Hickory .


I have grilled them hot and fast , and they are good like that as well . No sauce , and eats like a steak . I go by tenderness . Poke test with a finger or the bend test with some tongs . This is a different cook .

 

[fxsales1959]

Most bang for your buck . I love it . I've cured them , then smoked and used in a pot of beans .

Whole front leg . Ham , sausage and some bacon .

I bought this at GFS when other stuff was out of stock . They don't normally have them , so I figure they were putting out what they could get . This was a at least 3 months ago . Maybe more . 99 cents a pound . Cleaned it up and boned it out . Tied up part of the picnic end and did Dave's...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

beans... great idea. my last one i just gave to mama to toss.

 

[Up_In_Smoke]

Weird glands in pork butts?
I could have done without that little tidbit of information.

Sounds like I am sticking with pork loin and tenderloin in the future...

 

[Dave in AZ]

Weird glands in pork butts?
I could have done without that little tidbit of information.

Sounds like I am sticking with pork loin and tenderloin in the future...

Lol... we should just stop calling them "butts" and just call them by correct name, shoulders. (You probably know, butt refers to the barrel size called a "butt" they used to be packed in... joke was still funny!)

 

[Up_In_Smoke]

Lol... we should just stop calling them "butts" and just call them by correct name, shoulders. (You probably know, butt refers to the barrel size called a "butt" they used to be packed in... joke was still funny!)

Weird glands in pork butts?
I could have done without that little tidbit of information.

Sounds like I am sticking with pork loin and tenderloin in the future...

Yeah, I know why we call them butts.
It's this gland thing I'm creeping out about.

(I still have no idea how to do multiple quotes)

 

[SmokinEdge]

Yeah, I know why we call them butts.
It's this gland thing I'm creeping out about.

(I still have no idea how to do multiple quotes)

Don’t get crazy about it. The thing here got started by a post from “Pops” a long while ago. His dad was a butcher. The real “gland” that most worry about is on an untrimmed shoulder butt. However most every whole butt from the grocery store is trimmed. On the clod side of the butt out towards the edge there can be what I will call a fat cyst that is buried in the fat inside that leading outside edge. They are small if at all there and are pea sized.

Take a look at post #8 in this thread.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/price-nomenclature-check.110379/

That is what Pops was referring to. But I’ve slaughtered and butchered many farm animals in my life, from the smallest like goats/lamb to the largest like beef, and of course hogs. Fat cysts are very common throughout the carcass. If you see them you obviously trim them off but I’ve done many roasts and pork belly that once sliced contained a cyst. They can be random. Trim if you like but they are harmless otherwise.

When I was learning as a kid to butcher, my Dad would point them out and mention they were a good sign as they only grow in fat and were a sign of a well fed or finished animal.

 

[Up_In_Smoke]

Thanks for the info.
I'll still pass on the bone-in shoulder/roasts from here on out.

 

[DougE]

Doug, point me to your recipe pls, I have 2kg of ground butt and I'd like to try a different breakfast sausage from my Jimmy Dean clone. Thanks!

cptnding hooked ya up. The base for it was JC in GB 's Nuremberg brat recipe, tweaked a little and with sage added.

If you haven't made his Nuremberg brat recipe, you need to. It's fantastic! I also realized it would make a nice breakfast sausage with some sage added in, so I played around with it a bit to get what I wanted it to be as a breakfast sausage.

 

[DougE]

Thanks for the info.
I'll still pass on the bone-in shoulder/roasts from here on out.

There is no reason to, but okay. I have never bought a whole boneless shoulder as long as I been at this.

 

[DougE]

Lol... we should just stop calling them "butts" and just call them by correct name, shoulders. (You probably know, butt refers to the barrel size called a "butt" they used to be packed in... joke was still funny!)

Yeah, we know all that. The upper part we call the butt is actually a shoulder and the leg portion is referred to as a picnic ham. "Butt" has mostly become synonymous with the shoulder portion of the front leg.

As an aside, years ago, this guy I worked with had been BBQing on the weekend and came in on Monday and let us know that the butchers at Kroger had left part of the butthole on his pork butt. I was, like, ummm, must of been a severely deformed hog cause your butt came off the front end.

 

[DougE]

Doug, point me to your recipe pls, I have 2kg of ground butt and I'd like to try a different breakfast sausage from my Jimmy Dean clone. Thanks!

Give this one a look too, D Dave in AZ

It's a delicious breakfast sausage.

More Cumberland sausage

This Cumberland sausage is so good. Another 5# going down. The fresh minced sage with the little mace hit is pure magic.

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[okie sawbones]

I get the sentiment, but whenever I try to minimize fat it ends up impacting the taste.

I overemphasized the hand-diced lean on my last chorizo, which unintentionally took the fat ratio a bit too low. It held together fine, but didn't taste nearly as good as normal. So IMO, we should have more fat than the minimum necessary to hold it all together.

Agree 100%. I shoot for 30% fat. Fat is flavor.