Shoulder at 95 degrees: Pulled pork · 246

Boston butt grades follow the carcass; look for even fat seams rather than a Prime sticker alone. The upper foreleg and neck, a bundle of small muscles held together by generous seams of fat and connective tissue. That structure makes it almost impossible to overcook slowly, which is why every barbecue tradition on earth converged on this one cut for pulled pork.

Internal temperature has to run well past done: the collagen only surrenders in the nineties, long after the meat is technically safe. Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Pulled pork.” Use 95 degrees and 95 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat.

At the counter, read the use on Shoulder before the photograph. 95 degrees is the internal heat, “Pulled pork” is the dish, and 95 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. Choose a piece with visible fat seams running through the middle, not just a cap on the outside.