According to u003ca href=u0022https://www.cooksillustrated.com/articles/1214-the-difference-between-pork-butt-and-pork-shoulderu0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003eCook’s Illustratedu003c/au003e “Both come from the shoulder of the pig, but pork butt is higher on the foreleg, while pork shoulder is farther down.” Because of this they are both excellent cost effective cuts of meat for slow cooking.