Loosely analogous in cooking treatment — both are heavily-worked shoulder-area cuts that need long, slow cooking to break down. Anatomically distinct: cupim is the zebu-specific hump muscle, Boston butt is the upper shoulder.
Translation takeaway
These are related cuts, but not perfect swaps. Use the table below to judge how close your local option is before buying.
Keep Boston butt and Cupim together in your notebook.
Names by country
| Country | Boston butt | Cupim |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Boston butt | — |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Pork shoulder | — |
| 🇫🇷France | Épaule de porc | — |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Paleta de cerdo | — |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | Paleta de cerdo | — |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Paleta de cerdo | — |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Pá de porco | Cupim |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | Paleta suína | Cupim |
| 🇮🇹Italy | Coppa di spalla | — |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Schweinekamm | — |