Picnic vs. Butt


 
J

Joe. P

TVWBB Member
Hi all
The only cut I can find around my way is the Picnic . Now they do come out good .But I’m wondering how much better it would be if I could actually get a Butt .?
-Joe
 
There are some folks here that dog the picnic, saying that it can come out hammy. I haven't had that experience -- in fact, when I've done butts and picnics in the same cook, they come out almost the same.
 
Where are you, Joe?

In a few places I've been asking for 'butt' got me nothing, asking for 'shoulder' or 'whole shoulder' got me my meat.
 
A bone-in butt is my choice and always available down here. I have done a picnic or so when I found an irresistable sale. My conclusion was they were a little less moist than the butts, but not dry. Still very good.

Paul
 
I’m outside Philly Pa
“have to update my profile”
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I go to a Shop Rite supermarket where they pack up their own Picnics and they say "Shoulder/Picnic "on the label .... Bone in skin on and a good price always

anyway
I’ve asked for Butts but maybe I need to ask for the whole shoulder or ( Part above the Picnic)

Tony:
Ill pull them just like Butts .. But then again I’ve never cooked a real Butt
 
I did a picnic a few weeks ago when I couldn't get my hands on a butt. My observations:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Remove the skin, otherwise that's a whole bunch of area which won't get any bark. Realize that this can be a significant amount of weight which may make a "sale" price look less attractive.
<LI>The bone is bigger in a picnic which leads to more waste, less yield.
<LI>The picnic was drier than most butts I have done, but not by much.
<LI>The strands of meat were longer in the picnic than the butt which gave the end result a slightly different texture.
<LI>Flavor differences were not detectable to me.
[/list]

Bottom line: The classic first choice is always a pork butt, but a picnic worked just fine for me. I would do it again, especially if the option was no pork at all.
 
Originally posted by Tony Hunter:
Do you pull picnics like butts? I thought a picnic was a "ham" meat. Pardon my ignorance on this.
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Yes, they pull just like butts... it is from the same part of the animal. The picnic and the butt together are the whole pork shoulder. The picnic part is the lower part of the shoulder, and includes the joint of the shoulder. So when you smoke it, you pull out this big-ole ball n' socket bone that looks cool.

Like Tony said, that bone results in slightly less yield than just a butt, but still great.
 
I'm seeing the same thing here in northern bergen county NJ. No butts only the picnic. I hit 4 shop rites a pathmark some other A&P type of place in Dumont and in the last place I went to a food Basics, I was faced with no pork or picnic question. I found an 11.86lb picnic at .89/lbs. This is going to be my first go at the WSM this weekend. Should be fun!
 
Originally posted by Claude:
I'm seeing the same thing here in northern bergen county NJ. No butts only the picnic. I hit 4 shop rites a pathmark some other A&P type of place in Dumont and in the last place I went to a food Basics, I was faced with no pork or picnic question. I found an 11.86lb picnic at .89/lbs. This is going to be my first go at the WSM this weekend. Should be fun!
Click to expand...

We have butts here, but they're pretty pricey...$2.48/lb this week. So I bought an 8.5 lb picnic and just removed the skin and rubbed it. Used mustard for the first time!

Claude, we'll have to compare results! Mine's a little smaller than yours, but i'm sure the texture will be similar.

Good luck with your first cook!!!
 
Originally posted by Joe. P:
I’m outside Philly Pa
“have to update my profile”
icon_smile.gif


I go to a Shop Rite supermarket where they pack up their own Picnics and they say "Shoulder/Picnic "on the label .... Bone in skin on and a good price always

anyway
I’ve asked for Butts but maybe I need to ask for the whole shoulder or ( Part above the Picnic)

Tony:
Ill pull them just like Butts .. But then again I’ve never cooked a real Butt
Click to expand...
I was at the BJ'S in Downingtown last Sat while at Wegmans and they had 2 Butts in a Cryovac pack for $1.39 lb. If your a member of BJ'S or know somebody who is it's a great place to buy your meat there. Spares are $1.99 lb 2 racks in cryovac and Baby Backs are $3.69 lb 3 racks in cryovac. The only thing i do not buy there on a regular basis is their Brisket Flats for $2.99 lb. I go to Super WalMart and get full packers for $1.28 lb most of the time. I did just pick up a flat at BJ'S it's 7.63 lbs and a beauty. Also BJ'S does not sell enhanced meat so that's a bonus also. HTH
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I just bought what I thought was a bone-in butt at Whole Foods on 59th Street (read-overpayed), but I now think I got picnic - I had to cut off the skin, there seem to be several bones floating around, and I can't for the life of me find a false cap. After a 30 minute wrestling match I won by tko.
 
Originally posted by Bryan S:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Joe. P:
I’m outside Philly Pa
“have to update my profile”
icon_smile.gif


I go to a Shop Rite supermarket where they pack up their own Picnics and they say "Shoulder/Picnic "on the label .... Bone in skin on and a good price always

anyway
I’ve asked for Butts but maybe I need to ask for the whole shoulder or ( Part above the Picnic)

Tony:
Ill pull them just like Butts .. But then again I’ve never cooked a real Butt
Click to expand...
I was at the BJ'S in Downingtown last Sat while at Wegmans and they had 2 Butts in a Cryovac pack for $1.39 lb. If your a member of BJ'S or know somebody who is it's a great place to buy your meat there. Spares are $1.99 lb 2 racks in cryovac and Baby Backs are $3.69 lb 3 racks in cryovac. The only thing i do not buy there on a regular basis is their Brisket Flats for $2.99 lb. I go to Super WalMart and get full packers for $1.28 lb most of the time. I did just pick up a flat at BJ'S it's 7.63 lbs and a beauty. Also BJ'S does not sell enhanced meat so that's a bonus also. HTH
icon_smile.gif
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What is BJ's?

Baby backs are going for $5.98/lb here now, $2.99 for packers, and (I think) $1.69 for spares. Butts are $2.48, picnics are $1.38.
 
Originally posted by Phil R.:

What is BJ's?

Baby backs are going for $5.98/lb here now, $2.99 for packers, and (I think) $1.69 for spares. Butts are $2.48, picnics are $1.38.
Click to expand...
BJ'S is a wharehouse club like Sams and Costco. You can go to their website and check if they're in your area. Their meat prices and the quality of their meat is great.
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Originally posted by Jeff Fried:
I just bought what I thought was a bone-in butt at Whole Foods on 59th Street (read-overpayed).
Click to expand...
Jeff - 59th in manhattan? Is that the new one in Columbus Circle? Whole foods generally is overpriced... however, they should have knowledgable butchers who can cut a butt for you. Heaven knows you pay them enough for it.

If you found a big ole layer of skin, and the whole thing had a triangular kind of shape, it was definitely a picnic.

If you want super cheap picnics in the city, go to some of the markets on the upper upper west side, like near harlem. Fairway may, but all the latin-based markets sell picnics - usually for $.99/lb.

good luck. Picnics work out really well.
 
I do Picnics most of the time, and find that I pull them off sooner than I would a butt. I start checking at 190, and they usually pass the test around 195-197. Any longer and I feel they get to dry. I also leave them rest at least 2 hours.
 
Adam - yes in the AOL building. It was triangular - I assume I can smoke it same as a butt. It was relatively expensive for this cut I think....but dirt cheap compared to the baby backs I bought for tomorrow.

BTW - what internal temp am I shooting for with the picnic? 185?
 
yeah, shoot for 195, but... start check it about 5-7 degrees before that. good thing with a picnic is that massive bone. When it is done, it will pull right out with no resistance, clean as a whistle. If it comes out like that at 190, pull it and rest it. No need to wait for 195.

Part of the picnic is slightly leaner than the other part (and the rest of the butt). So, you just want to make sure you don't oversmoke.

all that said, 195 is pretty safe.

Curious... how much did you pay for the picnic?
 
I have pulled some that passed the pull/poke test at 190, but I still make sure to leave them rest for 2 hours min. Let some more fat render.

Adam, I pay as low as $.89 a # for mine. Most times, I can find them for $.99. What a bargain in my book. I have seen Boston Butts for $1.29 around here also.
 
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