In most of the United States, when ordering a barbecue sandwich, without specifying the type of meat you want, it is assumed you mean barbecue pork. Pork is king in most areas other than Texas where beef is prominent. I will discuss many of the cuts of pork but will concentrate the detail on cuts that are best suited for cooking on a smoker.
Most of you have probably heard the term ‘living high on the hog’ or ‘living the high life’ (before Miller Brewing took on the slogan) and may not have understood the meaning. Throughout history, food has always been associated with varying wealth classes. There are foods that are associated with prosperity such as caviar, truffles, lobster and champagne. There are also foods associated with those less fortunate such as pig’s feet or knuckles, chitlins (pig intestines), neck-bones,
brisket and stomachs. The terms ‘high life’ and ‘high on the hog’ refer to the fact that the best (choicest)cuts of meat come from the meat that is farthest from the feet. Typically the further away from the feet a muscle is located, the less work it does. Therefore meat tends to be the most tender closest to the back or the highest point of the animal.
So a person living the high life or living high on the hog would typically be eating the premium cuts of tenderloin, loin chops or baby back ribs.
The Anatomy of Pork
Pork is generally divided into four primal cuts: loin, shoulder, leg and belly. The loin is by far the most tender (and usually most expensive) part of the pig. Loin cuts include loin chop, butterfly chops, tenderloin, sirloin steaks, baby back ribs and the loin roast. In comparison to a cow, the loin chop is the equivalent of a t-bone steak.
Shoulder cuts contain the highest level of fat and often make the most flavorful and most economical cuts. Because of the fat content, shoulder cuts are typically best suited for slow cooking at low heat for long periods of time (can we say smoking). Shoulder cuts include the Butt (blade) roast, shoulder chops, stewing pork and picnic roast. Leg cuts are primarily the hind leg of the pig most often referred to as ham. This is another cut that is great for long slow cooking due to the fat content and tenderness of the meat. Finally, belly cuts are the underside of the pig including the side ribs (spareribs).
Bacon is the primary product resulting from this cut. It is very tasty but obviously extremely high in fat content.
Pork Shoulder
One of the most often asked questions that I receive about barbecue is, “What is a Boston butt?” The Boston butt has nothing to do with the rear of the pig. Boston butt refers to the top of the shoulder of the front legs of a pig. The term was developed during the Revolutionary War when the Boston butt portion of the pig was stored in barrels or casks called butts. The bottom half of the shoulder is referred to as the picnic shoulder or picnic ham. This term originated from those less fortunate that could not afford ham (the back leg of the pig) but could afford the bottom front shoulder and it would be cooked and shared at picnics.
Both of these cuts of pork cooked individually or together as a whole shoulder make excellent barbecue. Most competition barbecue teams cook Boston butts for their pulled pork entries.
Ribs
Another frequently asked question relating to barbecue is the difference between spare ribs and baby back ribs (also referred to as loin backs). Imagine a circle with the top of the circle being the back bone and the bottom of the circle being the sternum (also known as brisket). The baby back ribs run from just below the backbone (top) to the midpoint of the circle. Spare ribs continue from the midpoint all the way to the sternum. So each carcass supplies two racks (slabs) of baby backs and two racks of spares. Since baby back ribs come from the upper part of the pig near the tenderloin, they tend to be much more expensive than spare ribs which are lower on the pig so often deemed less valuable. What is interesting is that among competition barbecue cooks, it remains about a 50-50 split whether or not the team turns in baby backs or spares. Personally, due to the typical price difference, I actually prefer spare ribs when cooking at home.
Country style ribs deserve a mention as well although they are not truly ribs. Typically country style ribs are just a Boston butt cut into pieces similar in size to ribs for easy cooking or grilling.
For now I will leave the ham, chops, and the tenderloin to another story. Now that you have at least an introduction to the cuts of meat most often used for barbecue, let’s actually discuss cooking techniques.
Barbecue Pork
Barbecue pork is probably the most popular way that barbecue is served. In many areas including Alabama, simply ordering a barbecue sandwich will get you a pulled pork sandwich. Most restaurants are going to serve pulled or chopped pork from a butt or shoulder. North Carolina differs in that typically their pork is chopped fine and is made up of meat from the entire pig.
Probably one of the easiest types of barbecue to cook is barbecue pork. For simplicity, a Boston butt would be a good choice. The best sizes for smoking are typically butts in the seven to nine pound range with the bone still in. I have cooked butts with and without the bone and leaving it in seems to add additional flavor and moisture. The ideal temperature for cooking barbecue is between 225-250 degrees. Count on 60 to 90 minutes per pound at that temperature. I target purchasing eight pound butts that usually end up cooking for 10 or 11 hours.
Cooking
There are varying schools of thought on how to prepare a butt for smoking. One simple and effective way is to liberally apply your favorite rub and throw it onto your smoker (already to temp). Now I am about to reveal a big barbecue secret so please do not share this with anyone. The FDA states that pork needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. So in theory a butt is safe to eat at that temp. The secret for getting tender barbecue is to take the internal temperature to 195 degrees before taking off the smoker. There is a reaction that takes place during the higher temperature that renders out most of the fat (collagen). So the finished product has much more flavor and tenderness and since the fat has rendered, there is less fat and gristle to pick through when pulling the meat.
One thing to keep in mind is that often the meat will stall at a certain temperature for several hours (usually around 170-175). This is the time period when the fat is starting to render. Keep a close eye on it once the temperature starts climbing again because it usually moves quickly after getting through the stall period. I have successfully (accidently) allowed butts to reach 205 degrees without any issues. But, once you get much higher than that, the barbecue tends to get soggy (think overcooked pasta).
A controversial technique (to competition barbecue teams) to shorten the cooking time is to wrap the butt in aluminum foil. It is only controversial because some barbecue purists think it is not a pure way to cook. I use foil often. Once the butt reaches 165 degrees, no more smoke flavor can enter the meat. So by wrapping in foil, you will not be sacrificing any flavor once the temp has been attained. Wrapping in foil at 165 or so degrees seems to take about one to two hours off the total cook time. The only sacrifice is that a butt wrapped in foil will not get a crunchy bark (the outside meat where the rub is applied). Wrapping tends to leave a softer bark than cooking the whole time without foil.
Once the butt reached 195 degrees, pull it off and let it sit for 30-60 minutes and then start pulling. You can use two forks to pull, but you will be shocked at how tender the meat will be when following these directions. If you have several hours to wait before serving, drop the butt (wrapped in foil) into a dry cooler and typically you can hold proper FDA temps (> 140 degrees) or several hours and still serve hot.
— Kevin Moore
Kevin Moore is a barbecue hobbyist and has competed in several competitions in recent years. Kevin was the editor/publisher of Southern Cigar Lifestyle magazine and resides in Hoover, AL with his wife and three children. Kevin enjoys full bodied cigars such as La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero’s as well as Camacho and Perdomo cigars.
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