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I was thinking about getting a ham for Easter but without a big family to help eat it (even with freezing the leftovers) it seemed like too much. It's hard to find small hams of less than 8 pounds and I'm particularly partial to the butt portion (rather than shank) since I've been told you get more usable and flavorful meat from them. Hahah - just what I need, right?
Anyway, I was still looking at them at the grocery store and wishing when I saw "pork shoulder picnics" which tended to be around 5-6 pounds and looked a lot like a regular ham. Can someone tell me how much they taste like ham? And do you bake/roast them like ham? Seems like I read you can make barbecued or shredded pork from it which is not exactly what I'm looking for, as a ham substitute anyway.
I am the queen of pork shoulders and get asked to bring them to parties...
but then they get called 'pull apart pork'...because I use a turkey bag, stab it with spices,
and may cook it for 4-5 hours....You touch it and it falls apart.
Nothing like ham...and ps, stay away from pork loin....the dry white meat like on turkey or chicken, unless you like that.
(Loin is not the tenderloin....which is the psoas muscle hardly used ,
thus so tender.)
Happy Easter.
ham use to be defined as meat coming from the back end (legs) of a hog,,,now its generalized into meaning smoked hog parts,,
there is such a thing as fresh ham, the hind leg, just means raw leg muscle/roast.. (top round/bottom round/eye round and knuckle muscles)
the front of the pig,,, is the shoulder butt and the fresh or smoked picnic
the pork shoulder butt isn't usually smoked and is often used for pulled pork when slow cooked
the FRESH/RAW/UNSMOKED picnic is usually very cheap... even .99lb for 7-10lb roast (still has some hock and waste and has the outer rind on it,,
the smoked shoulder picnic I believe is in question..
this is mostly used for boiled dinners - simmer in a pot for hours,, it will fall apart,,
think of it like a corned beef,,,,you kinda have to simmer/boil for hours,,,not good baked,
(you cant baked a corned beef brisket,,be like eating a chunk of salt)
a smoked pork shoulder (also known as a picnic) - unwrap, wash off ,,, the whole ones usually weight 7-9lbs- you can ask your butcher to slice in half, and freeze the other half, but if you cook whole just place is pot on stove and simmer for a few hours,,it will fall apart,,add veggies for the last hour
you can buy split picnics, cook's had a good one, so does hatfield,,,these are usually around 3-5 lbs
these come all packaged, and will keep in the fridge for a week or two til you use.
We're having a 4-lb pork shoulder roast for dinner, slow-cooked in an ersatz "carnitas" method with orange and lime juice. The house will smell good all day!
Nothing like ham, but amazing in its own right! I'd recommend cooking it as pernil (Puerto Rican roast pork that is so cheap and easy to make). And delicious!
We have TWO people and I purchased a 10# spiral sliced Hormel Cure 81 ham this week.
We will have 3-4 ham meals this week. Half the ham will be packaged into 8 oz portions and frozen for sandwiches. The bone will be saved for bean soup. The scraps will be reserved to season vegetables.
I was thinking about getting a ham for Easter but without a big family to help eat it (even with freezing the leftovers) it seemed like too much. It's hard to find small hams of less than 8 pounds and I'm particularly partial to the butt portion (rather than shank) since I've been told you get more usable and flavorful meat from them. Hahah - just what I need, right?
Anyway, I was still looking at them at the grocery store and wishing when I saw "pork shoulder picnics" which tended to be around 5-6 pounds and looked a lot like a regular ham. Can someone tell me how much they taste like ham? And do you bake/roast them like ham? Seems like I read you can make barbecued or shredded pork from it which is not exactly what I'm looking for, as a ham substitute anyway.
What has been your experience?
Too late for Easter....sorry.
Neither fresh ham, which comes from the pig's back leg, nor fresh picnic, which comes from the front leg, will taste like 'ham' when cooked, as they have not been smoke-cured.
Picnic is fattier. We've done these, and they barbecue beautifully. I always wanted to try barbecuing a fresh ham, but its leaner meat might not work on a slow, dry cook, like with a Brinkmann or Weber.
Ham is from the back leg of the pig which is always leaner than the picnic/butt portion. What makes it a "ham" is the curing (brine in liquid for a few days) and the smoking. I have in fact made my own ham which turns very good. I usually do it over the holidays. There is a dry brine as well and the Spanish do that very well with their dry cured hams such as Serrano ham.
We have TWO people and I purchased a 10# spiral sliced Hormel Cure 81 ham this week.
We will have 3-4 ham meals this week. Half the ham will be packaged into 8 oz portions and frozen for sandwiches. The bone will be saved for bean soup. The scraps will be reserved to season vegetables.
Same. We hosted two other people. Leftover ham will go in:
-ham and cheese omelets
-ham and cheese panini
-scalloped potato bake
-ham and bean soup
-crock pot green beans and new potatoes
-quiche
-chef salad
So many meals!
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