What to tell the butcher?

[josh18t]

I want to order a pork butt and 3 slabs of spareribs from the butcher but after asking a few they vary massively in price, so I don't know if they are all understanding what I want.

What is the best way to describe what I want to the butcher?

So far I've said I want the the neck end of the pork shoulder (un-trimmed) with the bone in, and around 6-8 pounds in weight. For the ribs I've generally just said I want them untrimmed and to make sure they are meaty ribs and kept as a slab.

Is this correct as one butcher has told me that the ribs would be around £6 a slab, and the other has said £6 for all 3 slabs. With the shoulder one has told me that 6-8 pounds would be a whole shoulder, and the other just said it would be around £16.

Any help or advice would be great.

[Swindon_Ed]

The more expensive prices that you've been quoted are simillar to what i pay with my organic butcher.

I've alsol bought the cheap ribs from a butcher here, which i found didn't have enough meat or fat on them so they didn't have great taste and were dry. I also found out a few weeks later that they'd come straight from Booker and were the cheapest ones they did.

With the neck end shoulder you should be fine with that i always get good pulled pork with that. Just ask for the pork shoulder without the skin on as it'll just get in the way of the rub in the meat and it won't get crisp whilst your smoking. If you want crackling, just cook it seperatly.

do you know if there is any noticable difference like what i've discussed between the two butchers?

[Steve]

£6 for three racks of ribs sounds too cheap, I've seen racks of ribs that cheap in the chinese supermarket but they're very thin. Conversely £6 per slab is on the pricey side, you really need to see them to tell if they are right.

On the shoulder front, £16 sounds very reasonable for 6-8lbs. The butts I get top out at about 6lbs but last time I bought a whole shoulder I'm sure it was more than 8lbs. Don't get too pre-occupied with finding a "Boston Butt" if you ask for neck end or bone-in shoulder you should get a piece that's good for PP.

There's a thread on here somewhere with a picture of the exact Boston Butt cut, I posted it ages ago.

[josh18t]

Well there are a few others that I can try as well but the more expensive one is attached to my local farm shop so I guess it would be organic. My previous experience with them is very good, and he told me that he would leave more of the belly on ribs than he normally does.

The other butcher is ok but I would imagine that they don't always buy in there meat from local suppliers etc. I went to macro earlier and they had ribs with the belly still on (around £8) but obviously I don't need all the belly, and the quality wont be as high.

I will be trimming the cuts myself but I've just told them untrimmed to be on the safe side.

Would you say it was better to bite the bullet and get everything from the organic butcher, or just get the ribs from the organic butcher and the shoulder from elsewhere?

[Steve]

If you have a local Booker, they sell frozen meaty ribs which are about £25 per box (6-7 racks). They're usually pretty good. Need a little trimming but meaty enough.

If you're new to smoking and/or testing your new smoker you might be better served not going all out on expensive organic meat. It's your call, whatever you feel happy with.

[Swindon_Ed]

You might better off With the one that's attached to your farm shop as I like the fact with my butcher that they can tell me the exact breed of pig or cow that they are butchering for me.

Like I know all the pork they use is old spot cross so it has a good fat content without being too fatty.

I find the ribs I get from my butcher are the best off all the ones I've tried but they are the most expensive.

[Swindon_Ed]

Steve's point is a good one to remember as I've ruined many a piece of meat when I first started and was glad to be using a cheap supermarket bit rather than a butcher bit of meat

[Steve]

Anyone who's been around the circuit for a while will know I'm an evangelist for good meat. 99% of my meat comes from one butcher who I've been dealing with for many years. I'm not so particular to buy only a single breed, I can understand why one would for consistency but I'm fortunate that my butcher knows exactly what I'm looking for with everything now. We're at a point where he calls me when he gets something special in

But I'm also in a position now where even when I f**k something up it's always still ok. When I bought my first Traeger a few months back tough, I did a couple of cooks on cheap meat just to get used to the cooker. It's always worth taking this path IMHO.

Your drum smoker is likely to need some tweaking and might misbehave until you've perfected it with baffles and tuning plates. so what Ed and i are saying is might make more sense to use some "training" meat

[josh18t]

I have got a couple of booker's near me but don't have a card. Have just seen online that I can print off a temporary card so It mite be worth me popping in and having a look at what they have.

I would be gutted if I wasted a great piece of meat on my first go, so think I will have a trial on some cheaper cuts and then get the good stuff.

Is it worth getting a small boneless shoulder for a trial from the supermarket or does it not produce good results?

[Steve]

When my teammate got his first smoker he practised on boneless shoulder form Costco and it was fine. For practice purposes it was ideal, smaller pieces and aggressively priced.