I learn something new at work almost every day.
Today the subject of cuts of meat came up. Now I love bacon but I don’t want to know where, exactly, on the pig it comes from. As far as I’m concerned, bacon comes from the grocery store. End of story. Some may view this perspective as cowardly and it may even cause people to become angry (the kind of people who admonish: “If you can’t kill it yourself, you shouldn’t eat it.”). I see their point, but I just can’t go there. I’m a picky eater to begin with, and if I stop eating everything I can’t kill, well, we’re going to have a problem.
Here’s what I learned today: Pork shoulder, as you might imagine, is the top of the front leg of the hog. Makes sense, right? Here’s the kicker: Pork shoulder also goes by several other names, none of which make sense—at least to me. According to the National Pork Board, “the lower ‘arm’ portion of the shoulder is most commonly called the arm picnic. The upper part of the shoulder, often called the Boston blade roast (also know as Boston-style butt) comes from the area near the loin and contains the shoulder blade bone.”
Can someone tell me what an arm has to do with a picnic? And why on earth would you refer to part of a shoulder as a butt? Anyone?