So when cooking it in the oven, what temperature and how long? Covered or uncovered? I would love to know how to do this.

Pork picnic is a new term to me.

murraysmom, the picnic is from the shoulder…lower part. A butt cut is from the upper shoulder. I always found it interesting that the butt has nothing to do with the rear. What’s called shoulder, butt and picnic are all great for low/slow cooking.

I have done them in the Crock Pot also.

I do this in the crock pot. And I've gotten large packages of thick cut boneless pork chops from Costco to stick in the freezer. I use 1/3 of the package for pulled pork, 1/3 for chile verde, and 1/3 tied together as a roast with duxelle filling and roasted.

I like to cook a big pork shoulder in the crock pot bland. No seasoning. This way I can then season half with cumin and so forth for carnitas, and the other half seasoned for other purposes. BBQ flavors for pulled pork sandwiches, or asian for a stir fry addition. It also freezes very well. @murraysmom Zone 6a OH..... It also cooks well in the oven. I like to cook covered in a dutch oven low for a few hours, then uncovered for a while. Yum!I It's been a while since Iv'e done this, thanks for the idea!

So when cooking it in the oven, what temperature and how long? Covered or uncovered?

Cooking can vary according to size, etc., the picnic I am using is boneless and not very thick because I cut it horizontally so as not to have to deal with the fat cap for the part I am canning. I am cooking uncovered for 5 hours at 250 but will start checking at 3.5-4 hours.

I've never heard of a pork picnic. Don't think it is referred by the name in my part of the country. I'm not a big fan of pulled pork but the DW will make one in the crock pot once or twice a year using a pork butt or loin.

LJ, I’m familiar with picnic, but shoulder and butt are what we see here. Shoulder being most common.

I was curious and checked about why ”butt” is used for what comes from the shoulder, if anyone cares. Found this…

“Pork butt originates from the upper shoulder of the pig, not the rear, and gets its name from 18th-century New England, where butchers packed pork shoulders into barrels called "butts" for storage and transport. These barrels were often shipped from Boston, leading to the term "Boston butt.”

Great info find Chloebud.

I grew up with Picnic ham referring to the upper front leg being made into ham. It was cheaper than the back leg ham.

Pork Butt would have been salt pork.

We usually use the webber for shoulder meat

I use Ree Drummond's recipe. 300 degrees, covered, and she says at least six hours. Works for me. It is super spicy, as written, so I do refrain from the whole can of chiptoles. I shred it and hold it in the crockpot with the liquid. It's good like the top picture shows, with the jalapeno coleslaw.

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11385/spicy-dr-pepper-shredded-pork/

What my Dad called salt pork is in N Al at least, salt fat back. Very hard to find. Yes, the front leg of a pig. The top is a picnic or fresh ham, not smoked or seasoned. Can sometimes be called a shoulder roast. All the same cut. Take the entire front leg, the top is picnic/fresh ham/shoulder roast, then Boston Butt, then then shank, then bottom is hoof.

Thanks to Lucille and Chloebud. I am by no means a cook, but I like to know how to do these things. I do follow instructions extremely well. :)

So our cottage ham is a boneless pork shoulder or I guess it's also a butt.

Pulled pork is standard graduation/reunion/lg group gathering food in the Midwest. Most common is cooked in the crock pot with little or no seasoning then offered with an array of sauces on the serving table. The crockpot cooks it perfectly. An oven on, that long summers--no thank- you.

I do remove as much fat as possible before putting in the crock pot. If you are putting in the oven, use a rack in the pot and a lid. You want the fat to drip off the roast. Cook to 195*or 200*. That gets rid of the gristle.

Right, murraysmom, a shoulder is a butt…go figure!😵‍💫

This is one recipe I've used that we like. I got it long ago from another cooking forum. I don't own a crockpot so I use a low oven...about 225 for maybe 6-8 hours. That temp works well for me in a Le Creuset pot due to the heat conduction. I’ve not used the homemade BBQ sauce…just used bottled. I like Sweet Baby Ray’s and a couple from TJ’s.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

One 2 1/2 to 3 Ib. boneless pork shoulder roast

3 T. apple cider vinegar

2 T. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. ground cumin or chili powder

1/2 cup water

1 recipe homemade BBQ sauce (Below) or 3 1/2 cups bottled sauce

Hamburger buns (makes 10 generous servings)

Trim excess fat from roast. Cut roast, if necessary to fit in a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. Season meat with salt and pepper. In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup water, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and cumin. Pour over meat in cooker. Cover; cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or on high heat setting 4-5 hours. Remove meat; discard liquid.

Using two forks shred meat; return it to cooker.

Stir in 2 cups homemade BBQ sauce or bottled BBQ sauce. Cover and cook on high setting for 30 to 45 minutes or until heated through.

Serve meat in split hamburger buns. Pass remaining sauce.

BBQ Sauce (makes 3 1/2 cups):

Combine 2 1/2 cups ketchup; 1 cup finely chopped onion; 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar, 3 tablespoons bottled Pickapeppa or Worcestershire sauce; 3 tablespoons cider vinegar; 3 cloves garlic, minced; and 1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce in a medium saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.Cover and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Use immediately or let it cool; cover and chill up to 3 days.

The crockpot cooks it perfectly. An oven on, that long summers--no thank- you.

You have a good point, I probably won't do this in August.

I wouldn’t do it in August, either. Pulled pork for us is more of a Fall thing.

I don't care for stringy meat so I don't like pulled pork. The times I've had it, it tasted the same as Sloppy Joes, but with stringy meat instead of lumpy meat. The overwhelming flavor is the BBQ sauce it swims in.

Gotta admit I haven’t had a Sloppy Joe in a very long time. Memory tells me the flavor is far different than a pulled pork sandwich. Don’t SJ’s have more of a tomato sauce than BBQ? Both can be served on buns and messy, but slow cooked pork can have more flavor to me than ground beef. Top the shredded pork with coleslaw…even better. We’re all different when it comes to flavors and textures. No right or wrong.

Sloppy Joes are generally made with ground beef not shredded beef. Basically tomato sauce seasoned with onions and mild peppers. Manwich in a can is actually pretty good.

Put a boneless pork butt (around 3 pounds) in the crockpot with a can of beef broth or your own broth if you have some on hand, and a 1/4 cup of strong brewed coffee. A little salt and pepper. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred with two forks. I use bear claw shredders made for this. Serve on rolls of your choice, I like Hawaiian Rolls or Basic French Rolls. Some people like it on burger buns. Set out a variety of BBQ sauces for people to add themselves. And pickles and coleslaw for toppings.

To my taste, sloppy joe's are sweeter tasting, which is something I like but the pulled pork is better tasting. The taste of meat really comes through with the pork.