Pork Butt Gland

[iluvribs]

So...I have been smoking Pork Butts for several years now, but yesterday when we got my brother and I got a pork butt from his local butcher (a place I had not been to before), the butcher cut away a small piece of the butt. We were curious and asked about that, since we wanted the fat left on for rendering during our long smoke.
The butcher said he was cutting away what he called a gland, that leaves a bitter taste if bitten in to, that can impact the flavor of the butt.
Has anyone ever heard of this gland before? (I did confirm it's existence on a Google search--first time I ever even knew to look for it!).
http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2991028883/m/9951063983
When I tried to search our forums, I could not locate any discussions about it. But maybe I missed it.
Any thoughts about removing it, how to remove it, it's location, etc.?
Thanks!

• Tweet
• 

[DivotMaker]

Todd, it probably hasn't been addressed because it's pretty much always removed during processing.  I've encountered remnants of it, but I remove the connective tissue between the muscles (where it's located) anyways.  I find that simplifies pulling, because the tough tissue between the muscles has to be removed after pulling because it just never renders down.  Bottom line - if you get a butt with the gland remaining, cut it out!

[SuperDave]

I think that Sam's and Costco has done all the dirty work for me, have never seen that on any of mine. 

[old sarge]

Butt Gland! Oh the possibilities

[iluvribs]

Thanks, all.
Suffice it to say this was a lesson for me!

[Mrs C]

I just learned of this last week when my husband and I butchered a Hog.  One of the helpers had worked at Swifts and he said that they had a person sitting on a stool reaching in and removing the gland and placing it in a container as it went down the conveyor belt.  He said the reason it was removed is because Swift sold them to the Chinese for over $1200. per pound.  Apparently the Chinese use them as an aphrodisiac.  He did not mention that it made the meat taste bad, or if he did I did not catch it.   

[old sarge]

Welcome Mrs. C from SE Arizona.  When you have time, stop by the introduction section and tell us a little about yourself, what type equipment you have and what brought you to Smokin-it.

[Mrs C]

Welcome Mrs. C from SE Arizona.  When you have time, stop by the introduction section and tell us a little about yourself, what type equipment you have and what brought you to Smokin-it.

Thank you Old Sarge!  I have not learned how to navigate the forum site yet, but if I ever run across the introduction section I will post.  I can tell you I was born and raised as a Hoosier, however I  am a decedent from a very long line of Kentucky Hillbillies and I guess that heritage beckoned me and my husband (He is a born and raised Hoosier as well) to relocate to central KY.  We don't have the hills in our area, but we have the Billies......We have lots and lots of knowledgeable people who freely share all of their info as we have always striven to be self sufficient in our living.   Is there a "How to manual for Dummies" on navigating the forum site? We are soon to be the proud owners of a D-4 come Monday if the Fed-Ex driver an navigate the flooding that is currently going on in our area.  Thanks again for the welcome and I look forward to reading your posts!

[BedouinBob]

Welcome from Colorado Mrs. C! The profile is really easy. Just go to the top of the page, click on profile and fill in the info......shouldn't even cut into your smoking time. Enjoy the 4D!

[Mrs C]

Thank you!  I'll play around with my profile in the next day or two.  I'm sure we will love our 4-D once we get the hang of it.  We are going from an old charcoal smoker that we installed electric on and the only way we could control the heat was to keep plugin it in and out of the electrical socket.  So we are taking a mighty high step up......   

[DivotMaker]

Welcome, Mrs C!  $1200 per pound for pork butt glands?  I may start raising hogs just to sell those!  The "free" meat would be a fringe benefit!!

[Mrs C]

lol, I'm sure you'll have takers on the meat, but you may have to raise a lot of hogs.  Apparently the gland is the size of a marble so how many hogs will you have to raise to get a pound?  Your neighbors might not appreciate it either.......

[DivotMaker]

Yeah....maybe I'll just stick to getting my butts at Sam's, for now...