Pork back fat vs shoulder trimmings

atcNick · Post by **atcNick** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 20:58

Some recipes for salami I've seen call for fat back OR pork trimmings. Is there a big difference between back fat and fat from the shoulder in terms of quality and finished product? Is it worth going out of my way for back fat if I can get it?

Gulyás · Post by **Gulyás** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 21:02

I think back fat is by far the best, but doesn't wort to go out of your way.
When I was a small boy, (yes I was), we had like 6" thick at the top. "Good old times." At that time they needed lots of lard. Not today.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 21:09

Some of the fat that you trim from a shoulder butt comes from well up on the back. Consider that the scalpula is the shoulder blade and its location in the pig is quite the same as in a people. To remove the whole shoulder the cut is started in the armpit and follows the ribs around to the center line of the back. On a whole, bone in, loin there remains a short section of the shoulder blade which on a people would be located a bit farther south on the spine. The back fat is trimmed from the loin to about a half inch or less and that is what you see in a pork chop. Depending upon the butcher the fat on the shoulder butt may be left thick or trimmed thin. In any case it is the fat from just under the skin that will be best.

atcNick · Post by **atcNick** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 22:31

Well I just called and found a local butcher, the more reputable one in town, and he sells backfat in 5lb bags at $1.79/lb and bone in raw, uncured hams at $1.79/lb. Bone in pork buts are about a dime/lb cheaper. I guess with this source of hams and backfat I have no need for butts if Im making salami. Would y'all agree?

What I mean is: lean ham meat and back fat would be better than fat and lean meat from a shoulder, wouldnt you say?

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Mon Oct 01, 2012 22:50

About the same but probably more meat than bone in a ham compared to a butt. Butts are pretty efficient just one thin bone and one small gland. The ham has the hock and some hide and a piece of the pelvis plus the femur.

Gulyás · Post by **Gulyás** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 01:45

A long time ago a butcher friend of mine used to tell me, that the very best sausages/salamis are made from all kinds of meat. He meant trimmings when they killed their own pig.
He also told me the best sausages are made from warm meat. Before anybody misunderstands it, before the meat cools off, not warmed up.Those "ol'boys" are gone, the home butchering is mostly only in memory, since Hungary joined the E.U.
When half a dozen of these guys were "working" the were stuffing sausages before the meat cooled off.
To understand it better, take a look at this short video. The professionals......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXCqgE-q ... re=related

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Similar video as above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysTe6G11 ... creen&NR=1

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 02:03

It is best to get the animal heat out of the meat before you use it.

Post by **redzed** » Tue Oct 02, 2012 06:16

atcNick wrote:Well I just called and found a local butcher, the more reputable one in town, and he sells backfat in 5lb bags at $1.79/lb and bone in raw, uncured hams at $1.79/lb. Bone in pork buts are about a dime/lb cheaper. I guess with this source of hams and backfat I have no need for butts if Im making salami. Would y'all agree?

What I mean is: lean ham meat and back fat would be better than fat and lean meat from a shoulder, wouldnt you say?

I would use butt. The meat from the hind leg is lean and much drier, and pale in colour, does not have the elasticity of the front cuts. Every recipe that I have read for salamis calls for a butt. The hind is great for ham sausages and the Polish Kielbasa Krakowska. The flavour of the meat from the butt is also different, in my opinion more complex than that from fresh hams. Throw a slice of each on the grill and you will see.