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 connective tissue that renders down during long, slow cooking to produce meltingly tender, flavorful pulled pork. It is the most popular cut for American-style barbecue pulled pork.
| Country | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Boston buttprimary | The term 'butt' refers to the barrels (butts) in which colonial New England butchers packed the cut |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Pork shoulder | |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Paleta de cerdo | |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | Paleta de cerdo | |
| 🇫🇷France | Épaule de porc | |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Paleta de cerdo | |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | Pá de porco | |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | Paleta suína |
Both are from the shoulder and suited to long, slow cooking, but the butt is fattier and more forgiving while the picnic includes the leg bone and has a stronger flavour.
Both are well-marbled shoulder-area cuts suited to slow cooking, but pork neck is even more marbled and more forgiving when grilled as steaks than the Boston butt.