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Pork is very economical, even the best cuts, I cook quite a lot of it. As I mentioned above, a 'pork butt' (a.k.a. boston butt), is the top part of the front shoulder. The top of the hind leg is the ham.
Pork has two distinct types of meat, much like poultry, there is dark meat and light meat. The dark meat is mostly in the front of the hog, while the light meat is the back. As with poultry the dark meat has more fat than the light meat so cooking differs depending on the cut, it takes longer to get the dark meat to the desired temp. 'Slow and low' cooking is best for the fatter (dark meat) cuts and fast and high works best for the lighter or thinner cuts. When roasting, I cook all my pork in a grated roaster. The fatter slow cooked cuts will absorb a lot of grease if allowed to sit on the bottom of the pan, and the faster cooked lighter cuts will either burn because what little fat renders quickly and the bottom of the cut will fry until the pan goes dry or if liquid is added it will boil instead of roast.
Pork shoulder/boston butt has a lot of fat both on the outside and in marbling. If this cut is fast cooked it will be greasy. Slow cooking allows the fat to render and connective tissue to break down. Shoulder works best for pulled pork. The idea with shoulder is to slowly bring the internal temperature up to 190 to 200 degrees, then hold it there for at least an hour. this allows for the rendering fat to penetrate the meat keeping it moist and the connective tissue breaks down so the meat falls off the bone and pulls nicely. The shoulder should have a fat cap on the outside which is around 1/4 to 1/2 inch, if it is thicker it should be trimmed. I like to cook a shoulder at around 200 degrees (convection) 225-250 conventional for 8-12 hours depending on the size. The roast should be cooked with the fat cap up. When the roast is removed from the oven it should be allowed to cool to 150 to 170 degrees before being pulled (30 minutes to 1 hour depending on roast size). If it is pulled too hot the meat will dry out quickly.
The loin is light meat which sometimes has a strip of dark meat toward the front. A loin should have a thin fat cap on the top. I cook a whole loin at 350 (convection), 400 conventional, covered with red wine or sherry in the roaster, until the internal temp is 150-155. Then let it rest for 20-30 min. before carving it. This results in juicy, tender, yet firm texture. The dark strip should be done if it cooks to these temps. I like to split the loin, hammer it flat, put fresh baby spinach, ham, and swiss, salt/pepper in the center, then roll it and tie with butcher string.
There is a reason that the ham is usually injection brine cured. The ham is light meat and doesn't have much fat, brine curing keeps the ham moist through the cooking process. It is a large cut so to cook the center to 150 raises the outside temp to 200+ drying it out. I have never found a way to roast a raw ham that resulted in a good roast. Virginia ham is a raw ham, usually cut thin (2-4") then salt or dry cured. It is dryer and salty.
Conventional wisdom has changed regarding ribs. It used to be the norm to cook ribs long and slow. Most chefs now cook their ribs high and fast, even though they are dark meat. Ribs should be brought to 190, held there for around 30 minutes, then allowed to cool to around 140-150 before serving. If they are served too hot the meat will not adhere to the bones and they will be hard to eat.
Again, just my $.02.
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