CarneAtlas

Boston butt

Pork · Shoulder
RoastBraiseSmoke
Also called
🇬🇧Pork shoulder🇲🇽🇦🇷🇪🇸Paleta de cerdo🇫🇷Épaule de porc🇵🇹Pá de porco🇧🇷Paleta suína🇮🇹Coppa di spalla🇩🇪Schweinekamm🇦🇷Bondiola🇲🇽Carnitas
Raw Boston butt — Pork Shoulder cut

Mark Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — Boston butt , boneless, tied.jpg

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.

Names by country

CountryNameNotes
🇺🇸United StatesBoston buttprimaryThe term 'butt' refers to the barrels (butts) in which colonial New England butchers packed the cut
🇬🇧United KingdomPork shoulder
🇲🇽MexicoPaleta de cerdo
🇦🇷ArgentinaPaleta de cerdo
🇫🇷FranceÉpaule de porc
🇪🇸SpainPaleta de cerdo
🇵🇹PortugalPá de porco
🇧🇷BrazilPaleta suína
🇮🇹ItalyCoppa di spallaSame muscle group used for cured 'capocollo'/'coppa'; sold fresh as 'coppa di spalla' or simply 'spalla di maiale parte alta'.
🇩🇪GermanySchweinekamm
What to ask for
Shopping outside the tradition Boston butt comes from?

Similar cuts

→ See all Boston butt substitutes by country
HeadBladeArm ShoulderLoinLegRibsBellyHock

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Classic recipe

Pulled Pork (Smoked Boston Butt)15 hr

Pulled pork is the American South's greatest contribution to barbecue — a whole Boston butt smoked for 12–16 hours until…

Get this cut right

Unbranded charcoal smoker prepared for barbecue

$$$ · brisket, ribs, pork shoulder, and long smoke cooks

Take a pork butt to pull-apart over ten hours

Low-and-slow barbecue where stable heat matters more than speed.

Weber Smokey Mountain 18-Inch Charcoal Smoker

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More Shoulder cuts

Picnic shoulder

Picnic shoulder

Pork neck

Pork neck

Country-style ribs

Country-style ribs

Bondiola

Bondiola

All Shoulder cuts →

Sources