CarneAtlas

CarnitasvsPicnic shoulder

pork · Close equivalent

Picnic shoulder is the other traditional carnitas cut, often used alongside or instead of the butt.

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 CarnitasOpen Picnic shoulderSee substitutes
Raw Carnitas — Pork Leg cut
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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Raw Picnic shoulder — Pork Shoulder cut
Picnic shoulder
Pork · Shoulder

The picnic shoulder is the lower half of the pork shoulder, below the Boston butt. It includes the leg bone and more connective tissue than the butt, making it ideal for long…

HeadBladeArm ShoulderLoinLegRibsBellyHock
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Keep Carnitas and Picnic shoulder together in your notebook.

Names by country

CountryCarnitasPicnic shoulder
🇺🇸United StatesCarnitasPicnic shoulder
🇬🇧United Kingdom—Hand of pork
🇫🇷France—Palette de porc
🇪🇸Spain—Brazuelo
🇦🇷Argentina—Brazuelo de cerdo
🇲🇽MexicoCarnitasBrazuelo de cerdo
🇮🇹ItalyCarnitasSpalla di maiale
🇩🇪GermanyCarnitasVorderschinken

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