Who knew? Pork butt

Okay, not exactly "dated death," more like regional death, but something I just found out today. I also never knew what loin of pork was - I thought it came from their legs!


I was reading a message board in which a woman was saying she was cooking pork butt.... and I just assumed it was the butt of a pork and wondering why anyone would want to eat it (anymore than they'd want to eat kidneys or tongue or eyes or anything of that nature.)

Pork Butt is not actually the butt of a pig, but rather it's shoulder.

From Wikipedia:
Boston butt is a cut of pork that comes from the upper part of the shoulder from the front leg and may contain the blade bone. This pork cut, from the shoulder, combined with the way it is prepared and served, makes it a distinctly American dish. Smoked or barbecued Boston butt is a southern tradition. As a mainstay of Deep South cuisine, particularly in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, it is often smoked and sold as a fundraiser on road side stands by charities and local organizations.

History of the name and cut
In pre-revolutionary New England and into the Revolutionary War, some pork cuts (not those highly valued, or "high on the hog," like loin and ham) were packed into casks or barrels (also known as "butts") for storage and shipment. The way the hog shoulder was cut in the Boston area became known in other regions as "Boston butt".