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Boston buttvsCarnitas

pork · Close equivalent

These cuts are closely equivalent — the same or nearly identical cut across different butchery traditions.

Boston butt is the classic carnitas cut — the fat content is what lets it confit in lard without drying.

Translation takeaway

These are near equivalents in the way butchers and cooks use them. If you can source either one, you're very close to the same result.

Open Boston buttOpen CarnitasSee substitutes
Keep this comparisonSave Boston butt and Carnitas together for shopping, cooking notes, and future reference.
Boston butt
Pork · Shoulder

Boston butt is the upper part of the pork shoulder, above the picnic. Despite the misleading name it comes from the shoulder, not the rear. It has generous fat content and…

HeadBladeArm ShoulderLoinLegRibsBellyHock
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Carnitas
Pork · Leg

Carnitas is a Mexican preparation of pork in which large pieces of pork — typically shoulder and leg — are slowly braised or simmered in lard or their own fat until tender, then…

HeadBladeArm ShoulderLoinLegRibsBellyHock
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Names by country

CountryBoston buttCarnitas
🇺🇸United StatesBoston buttCarnitas
🇬🇧United KingdomPork shoulder
🇫🇷FranceÉpaule de porc
🇪🇸SpainPaleta de cerdo
🇦🇷ArgentinaPaleta de cerdo
🇲🇽MexicoPaleta de cerdoCarnitas
🇵🇹PortugalPá de porco
🇧🇷BrazilPaleta suína
🇮🇹ItalyCoppa di spallaCarnitas
🇩🇪GermanySchweinekammCarnitas

Cook either one well

$$ · braised beef, lamb neck, pot roasts, and stews

Turn a tough cut tender in one pot

Browning meat on the stovetop, then braising it slowly in the oven.

Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven

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