British BBQ Society Forums

Hi all,

What cut should i ask my butcher for for pulld pork?
Also is there a specific way it needs to be cut to get what im after?
Hope it's not a stupid question!

Thanks Andy

I think this is a great question and am looking forward to some of the other answers. I can say though that I called my butcher a couple of weeks ago to talk about this and fortunately he knew what pulled pork was and seemed to be suggesting that a pork shoulder would do the trick. Incidentally, he quoted me £3.45 per kilo for that cut. I dont know if thats a good price or not, but most people seem to be cooking around 4kg's which puts the price at about £14 which I didnt think was too bad.

I myself am new to all this, but thats what my butcher said, maybe it's wrong?

Okay firstly watch these videos, they were made by Toby for competition BBQ, but the processes hold firm for home prep. Your butcher should know what you mean if you ask for a full shoulder of pork, with the ribs removed. Toby's videos show you how to do that just in case.
However if you are just starting off smoking pork can I suggest cheaper smaller shoulder joints from the supermarkets to start with.
If you spend a while with a cup or two of coffee and the imbedded search engine on the forum you'll get most of the answers you need. Combine that with youtube and Robert becomes a close relative.

Link to videos

http://www.bbbqs.com/Forum/viewtopic.ph ... ers#p24910

Right all sorted.
Just been on to my butcher and he now understands what i want, a neck end pork shoulder.

Thanks

P.s. it's £1.98lb does that sound reasonable?

With my butcher I get by with just asking for a bone in pork shoulder with the rind off. He knows what I want. But don't be afraid of going in with a diagram. There are quite a few places on the internet which have diagrams of where cuts come from. I've never had a butcher offended by me taking one of those in.

I've already told my butcher that I want a tri-tip. He (understandably) doesn't know what this is and is fully expecting a picture to help him. There are some butchers out there that are little more than a sales outlet for pre cut meat but if you can find one who is happy either to cut up carcasses or order in specially they are worth taking the time with to explain what you want. My experience is that they tend to be quite interested in what you want and why you want it.

Thanks for the replys guys.

I will look for a few diags on the net and take the ones in for the cuts i want.

Thanks Andy

I don't have a link for it to hand but, for all it's faults Wikipedia has some good descriptions and diagrams of different US/UK & European cuts of meat.