Confused watching Pork Butt Youtube videos

checkrd past said:

Now I'm confused.Some people complain a bite of fat is gross but will chow down on pork belly bites which is a great portion of fat . Huh?

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The difference here is that the fat on the pork belly will render...what this means is that it will melt and what's left behind will turn into what the Brits call "crackling." For a visual here's a recent video by Mad Scientist BBQ where he explains what rendered means, and he shows you how the fat cap on the pork butt will get all sticky. That's good fat that will be delicious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgPJxy_IngY

On a pork butt the internal bits will often have globs of fat which, for whatever reason, weren't able to fully render (or melt). They are internal in the meat so they won't be exposed to oxygen, smoke, or rub, so they won't crisp up either. That's why they exist as small globs of fat.

I'm out in eastern NC and people chop ALL of the pork.... including unrendered globs of fat, membranes, etc.. They pick out bits of cartilage and small chunks of bone, but otherwise it all gets chopped up together and eaten. So lots of people will eat that fat and not even know that they're eating it.

I trim the butt, and do leave some fat so that it renders down in the meat. When pulling I also like to take as much as I can from the final product. Fat is Flavor, and I get that from what does render during the cook
Also, I do leave the fat cap on and remove it after the cook.
Personally I dont like "greasy" pulled pork, but I do want it moist.

That,my friends is why I serve only “pulled “ pork and not “chopped” pork.I can discard anything I deem unacceptable during the pull/prep.Just me,better end product too in my not so humble opinion.Chopped Q is for Boy Scout and Church fundraisers.

I'm with the OP. I hate all the stringy fat leftovers. Yes the fat dissolves but the remnants of that stuff are like boogers. Nasty. If it stretches like rubber it doesn't go in my sandwich.

On a 8-10lb butt trimmed before cooking I have about a small cereal bowl of discards after cooking. If I really took my time I could probably bring it down to a cup.

I once ate at a place that left all those bits in, my sandwich was literally 1/2 fat remnants and they thought I was crazy when I sent it back.

It took me a while to convert, but I do trim. Many of my shoulders are from the slaughter house and when I give the cutting instructions it's usually to include a full layer of fat on all roasts. Depending on the breed and farm this can be a pretty thick layer. Any trimming are saved for sausage or other dish. I leave a little bit of fat on the fat cap. I trim the stringy stuff in the crevice, on the bottom, and throw away. Depending where I get the shoulder I have found glands left in. Only on occasion but its worth running your hand around feeling for them. I've gotten some really good tasting pork from some Mexican grocery stores too. Fat and meat really tasty.

I always looked at it as squashed pork. Maybe a squash-n-pull

Dan