Breaking Down a Pork Butt (buckboard bacon update)


 

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
It seems like most of us do one of two things with a pork butt: barbecue it whole, or grind the entire thing. I haven't been satisfied with either of those options, and since I typically grind a couple butts a month, I started experimenting with how I break butts down.

Here's how I'm currently breaking down butts:

Step 1: Locate and remove Under Blade ( Serraus ventralis)

Turn the butt, fat cap down, so that the "T" end of the blade bone is facing you. Identify the large muscle with a trapezoid shape, sitting on top of the blade.
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Follow the natural seams and work the muscle out.
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Once removed, square it so you have a nicely marbled block of pork. You'll want to thinly slice this, against the grain, but I freeze it this way to make thin slicing easier.
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Step 2: Money Muscle

Keeping the orientation the same, slice off the money muscle. Make the cut at the end of the blade bone.
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I trim it up into a cylinder, as this will be roasted whole.
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Step 3: Buckboard Bacon

I have not tried this before, but I knew I could get a cut from the butt that would be similar to belly. I'll report back with my result.

Work the blade bone out.
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With bone out, square up your piece of bacon. I also trimmed it to an even thickness.
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Step 4: Ground Pork

Some notes on grinding. Cut the pork into strips as this makes it easier to feed the grinder. The strips self-feed and you'll do a lot less pushing.

Watch out for lymph nodes. I read that they should be removed. I don't know how important that is flavor-wise, but they are easy to find and cut out prior to grinding. Look for off color nodules in the sliced pork.
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I also remove any blood clots, and excess fat (IMO straight ground butt has a little too much fat).

Out of a 10 lb butt, I yielded 4 lbs of ground along with the other cuts
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Cooking the under blade. As I mentioned above, I slice this thin and cook it quickly. I prefer it over loin which is considerably leaner. My favorite preparation is a Vietnamese dish where the slices are marinated and grilled and served over a noodle salad
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Cooking the money muscle. I love cooking these sous vide (and then deep frying), or simply roasting them in the oven. They certainly could be barbecued as a mini pork butt, it is the best part of the butt after all.

Here's a shot of one the had been seasoned with salt and sugar, cooked sv (175* for 12 hours until tender), deep fried, then a honey sherry glaze was baked on.
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Cooking the blade bone. I save all the bones and once I have accumulated 8 or so in the freezer, I'll make a large batch of stock. Roast the bones until deeply brown, put them in a stock pot, cover with water, and simmer for as long as you can. I usually add a chicken carcass too. In addition to pork/chicken broth, you can see bits of roasted money muscle in this bowl.
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buckboard bacon results
 
What a waste of potential pork steaks.
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Great post Jeff!
I'm anxious to see how your butt bacon turns out.
 
Great tutorial Jeff, but a little late for me. I am going to be smoking some Butt Bacon tonight after work. Next time I will use this post to disassemble my Butt.
 
Thanks for the tutorial Jeff! You should really consider making a video....

Saved to my technique file.
 
Thanks everybody! I was trying to explain this to a couple of people and they wanted more explanation, so I shot the pics.

I look forward to seeing some posts from you guys, showing me how you use these little pork nuggets.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Well done as usual Mr. B. I like a coppa though out of that money muscle cut (first photo in step 2) Wink </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dave, I've done that before, and you're exactly correct that the mm makes great coppa. My home curing was/is pretty basic, and I've tried many different things. Now that I know what I can do and what to expect, I've backed off a little. I'm waiting to luck into a fridge so I can make a proper chamber and get into some real dry curing.

Thanks for contributing an additional idea.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Step 3: Buckboard Bacon

I have not tried this before, but I knew I could get a cut from the butt that would be similar to belly. I'll report back with my result. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Looking forward to this.
 
Really fascinating Jeff. The butt is made up of several muscles, so it makes sense to cut it up accordingly. I've never seen anyone do that, so thanks for the tutorial. Very cool.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The butt is made up of several muscles, so it makes sense to cut it up accordingly. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I suppose at some point, I'll end up cooking a pig whole. But you can imagine I won't do it being 100% ok with the idea. As it spins around, I'll see chops over cooking, belly that needs curing and smoking, hams, ribs, jowls, sausage all turning into pulled pork.
 

 

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