Pork Butt Yield


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Platinum Member
Using a Piedmont Pan...

3 butts yielded only 46%.

Please note: the largest butt yielded the least PP.
Why? It was on the bottom cook rack and it dried out...compared to the other two.

If possible, when using a Piedmont pan switch the top and bottom meats mid-cook.

A previous cook also yielded about the same. Definitely not 50% yield.
 
4% is no big deal. You could lose that from one butt to another, just depending on the fat content. If it were 20%, I’d worry. Why would the meat on the bottom rack dry out faster? The bottom rack is the cooler of the two, heat rises. I did four shoulders Fri.-Sat. of which the 8.47 and 7.46 pounders were place on the top rack and were done about an hour before the 6.89 and 6.76 pounders on the bottom rack. I used a clay dish filled with sand, placed on the empty water pan.

I didn’t think to weigh the final product as I cut the end of my finger off and had to go the ER, but I was told the party and pork were great!
 
I generally only yield about 50%. Now that all depends on the fat content and if you maybe trimmed the butts before cooking.
 
I find yeild a little tricky too from one butt to the next. Amount of fat is tough to gauge, so how much is going to come out is equally tough. For my backyard purposes, I really could care less, there is always enough to go around. If I were doing it for business, I may pay closer attention, but not for my personal consumption.
 
I did 2 a couple of weeks ago. I trimmed both and vs. trimmed weight it was 60% yield, vs. untrimmed weight it was ~50%.
 
Chuck, hope the finger is ok.

The butts were bone-in and untrimmed.

The Pied Pan must allow more radiant heat to reach the bottom rack. I'm not the engineer but the meat was drier and it seems to always cook faster-for me.

I always assumed a 55% or better yield. The way I cook it's less than 50% for sure. Nor a big deal but important to folks who place a monetary value on their cooking.
 
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