(a) Picnic. The lower half of the shoulder.
(b) Shoulder butt. This cut is subdivided into the regular plate, which is
the skin side with the underlying fat; and the Boston butt, which is the remainder of the
shoulder. These, in turn, form the clear plate, the blade butt, and the boneless butt.
(3)
Feet. Only the forefeet are acceptable for military procurement.
Figure 5-2. Breakdown of the pork shoulder.
b. Middle Section.
(1)
Fatback. The layer of fat along the dorsal surface of the back.
(2) Loin. The portion of lean and fat immediately under the fatback. It
contains the backbones, parts of the blade and pelvic bones, and the upper extremities
of the ribs.
(3) Spareribs (half sheet). The lower portion of the ribs, removed in one
piece. A half sheet of spareribs will contain all the ribs remaining in the middle section
(11 to 13 ribs).
(4) Belly. The portion of the middle section that remains after the fatback,
loin, and spareribs are removed.
c. Posterior Section.
(1) Ham. The ham is formed from the posterior section by removal of the
tail and the foot. The tail is removed in such a manner as to form a well-rounded ham.
MD0710
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