Help: "Pork Shoulder Blade Roast" and "picnic half'

[jpinmaryland]

I tried cooking these a couple of times, using the recipe for boston butt or pork shoulder where we cook it low and slow, about 250 degrees for quite a long time. The first time I did this I had a boston butt was excellent just like the picture in that thread here. It was perfect pulled pork, fork tender.

Now I picked up these pork cuts labeled "pork shoulder blade roast" and "picnic half". I cant remember which ones I made but on two occasions the boston butt recipe did not seem to work. They came out tough. I could cut them with a knife and they were okay but not like the first time.

I was wondering are these different cuts of meat and should I cook them differently to get that pulled pork feeling? Or is my supermarket playing games with the labels? Or maybe I am doing something wrong? I know I turned up the heat a little at first for maybe 45 min. then took back to 250...

I dunno, what are these types of cuts and how should I try to cook them?

 

[Andy M.]

There was probably nothing wrong with the meat.

If the meat was tough, you probably didn't cook it long enough. If you have a meat thermometer, cook the meat to an internal temperature of around 195F - 200F.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Pork Shoulder Blade Roast (AKA Boston Butt), and a few other names are all part and parcel the same cut of pork...The top portion of a pork shoulder.
The "Picnic Half" is the lower portion of a pork shoulder...The Boston Butt, and Picnic together make up the pork shoulder....Both are excellent using the various slow, low temperature, long cooking methods....

I agree with Andy...You may have not cooked the roast to a pullable stage...Around 180* the meat is sliceable....185* Sliceable, and somewhat pullable...190*- 195* The meat is very pullable. Like Andy suggested, a thermometer would prove very valuable.

Enjoy!

 

[kitchenelf]

Ditto to what both of these gentlemen have said. I try to reach no less than 195 F. 210 was my goal one time but all I could get to was 205 and it was like cutting butter...heaven! I did that in my oven one Christmas Eve.

 

[jpinmaryland]

okay, we'll just do it longer. Probably only or 4 hours those times and the thermometer was broke or the battery dead..thanks.

 

[kitchenelf]

I would say you probably have to double that. The Boston Butt I did the time above I think weighted about 17 lbs. I cooked it for 20 hours.