I tried pink butcher paper: I didn't like it

[wcpreston]

I've been wrapping my briskets in aluminum foil. I'm a Franklin follower. He used pink butcher paper, so I thought I'd try pink butcher paper.

I did NOT like it, and I'm wondering what I'm missing.

1. Once it got wet, it was super easy to rip. And of course it gets wet pretty quickly when cooking a nice juicy brisket. Aliminum foil, on the other hand, is much heartier and can take multiple trips in and out of the oven while I'm doing a probe test, without ripping.

2. I felt aluminum foil held heat better, and helped beat the stall quicker.

What am I missing?

[Jerod Broussard]

Nothing. You probably need a few more wraps to prevent tearing. I like it, but it isn't really practical for me to use on probably 90% of my cooks.

[wcpreston]

Part of the problem was that I bought 18" paper accidentally (vs the 24" one). So I have to flip it over the long way.

[Henrik]

I'm not a big fan either. I typically wrap after the stall, and here are my main issues with pink paper:

1. It absorbs meat juices (as in: suck it out of the meat)
2. It doesn't give me the 'push' I'm looking for wrt temps. As in: when I wrap with foil, I typically only have 1.5 hours left of the cook. If I wrap in paper, it takes 2.5 hours instead.

I should say that I do these cooks on my offset.

Last time I tried butcher's paper I had 9 briskets going. I took them out, wrapped in paper (this was an all-night cook) at 05 AM. Didn't see the temp curve go up as expected, so at 06:00 I took all 9 out, rewrapped each one in foil, and boom, nailed it, had them all done at roughly 07:30.

I stick with aluminum foil.

[Ahumadora]

Henrik I am with you on that I done a 12lb (5kg) brisket in 4 hours last Sunday at 325f. As I cannot buy pink butcher paper in Argentina I use Aluminum foil with great results.

[Potkettleblack]

I'm not a big fan either. I typically wrap after the stall, and here are my main issues with pink paper:

1. It absorbs meat juices (as in: suck it out of the meat)

the second part of this seems unlikely. I get that it absorbs, but forcing it out of the brisket? How much juice is there when you foil wrap? Is it possible that the same juice comes out with paper, and it just gets absorbed, rather than sitting there and braiding the brisket as it does with foil.

I do believe you about the timing. Foil insulates better than would allow the liquid to pool and steam.

[Henrik]

Good point Potkettleblack, perhaps I should elaborate. It's just paper, so there's no magic moisture withdrawal besides the usual: the paper is getting wet. And once it is saturated, that's it. I figure if/when I wrap in foil that liquid stays in, and is part of, the braising. And wet paper is just messy/tears too easily.

However, I can't say that the 'moisture loss' due to paper absorption really makes any difference. This is just my highly subjective opinion :-) I do however gather up all that juice from the foil package and pour it through a grease filter thingy.

I use foil myself because I feel I have better control when smoking in my smoker. And it suits my process. I know many people like the pink paper, and they should (by all means) keep doing what they like.

[Potkettleblack]

Thanks. That makes more sense.

Folks think SV squeezes out more liquid, because it has nowhere to go, so I guess I’m attuned to the actual process.

[Frozen Smoke]

I started panning briskets and butts quite sometime ago. It was borne out of not being able to listen to all those juices sizzling off on the tuning plates in the bottom of the smoker. I've never wrapped anything before and I didn't want to start so I just started putting everything in pans when the fat really starts to render. I don't cover just pan and go from there.

Don't think this helps with cutting time or powering through the stall. I forgot about a stall long ago when I quit monitoring temps constantly. I do like to add a little liquid to the bottom of the pan usually a little dark beer to mingle with all the juices. Makes for a nice au jus for brisket and it get reabsorbed back into butts when you pull them.

I've got a huge roll of the peach paper. I use it for covering my prep table when applying rubs or just to keep the meat directly off the table.

[jfmorris]

That seems like a great use for the paper!

[Henrik]

I agree!

[Spinaker]

I use both. I like butcher paper because it is cheap and I have it on a roll in my BBQ room. So that makes it easy. You do loose the Au jus, which I don't like. If you are having trouble with it ripping, double wrap. I do that every time.

[Spinaker]

Hahahaha, duly noted. Frozen Smoke

[Potkettleblack]

If you wrap in plastic, and sous vide, you retain ALL of the liquid gold.

Just saying/trolling.

[Spinaker]

Ha, Troll away, PKB! Potkettleblack

[jfmorris]

I really thought long and hard about ordering a roll of pink butcher paper off Amazon, but I've been so pleased with my brisket results using foil, which is readily available, that I don't see justification to change. And I think the paper would as Henrik says get soaked and just lead to a big mess to deal with.

Brisket and chuck roasts at the moment are the only meat I wrap. I did wrap two pork butt this past year, but they were time constrained cooks, for someone else who left their butts with me, and was picking them up at 5pm, and I had to push them through the stall. I don't wrap them otherwise.

[ecowper]

I don't wrap at all unless absolutely necessary because of time. If I do wrap, since I'm dealing with big, hot chunks of meat, I use the heaviest aluminum foil I can get. Like this: http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/alum...il/grill-foil/

[Huskee]

I'm not a fan either really. I cook nekkid until the stall is over anyway, then wrap with foil, so I don't use it for temps & stall-beating purposes....but I just don't care for the harder bark it gets me. Maybe if I used it during or at the start of the stall, I may experiment more. But don't feel you have to like what others like. Sometimes you just go against the popular method because you prefer it. I'm definitely in that camp since I'm a foil wrapper, and I don't mind a bit.

[IowaGirl]

"...I cook nekkid until the stall is over..."

Hmm! You Michiganers are a little different, hey? (Just couldn't resist....)

[Huskee]

IowaGirl Lol, depends on what & how much I've been drinking. (My poor kids...)

[Steve R.]

I have been using the peach paper for brisket for about a year now, and I like it. I always double wrap once the bark is how I like it, and then just let it roll. It doesn't seal in the drippings and braise the meat like foil, so beating the stall isn't it's purpose. It seems to keep the meat more moist than going nekkid and "breathes" just enough to preserve the bark. Brisket bark is a big deal to me. It does get very wet, but I have had no issues at all with it tearing. After wrapping, I don't mess with it again until the IT gets to about 190+.

In my decidedly non-expert opinion, Aaron Franklin has his own style that works with his smokers, the meat that he sources, etc, so picking out one thing (like paper vs. foil) and expecting his results is probably an exercise in futility.

[wcpreston]

You make a really good point. FWIW, I wasn't just picking that one thing. I've pretty much copied everything else as well.

But your point about the paper letting it breathe is the point I was talking about. I wondered why people liked it. Also important is the wrapping AFTER the stall. I'm reading that from others, and I think it's really important. I always thought the whole POINT of the wrap was to beat the stall.

Man, I've got to cook some more briskets!

[Steve R.]

It does kind of help getting through the stall, just not to the extent that foil does. All this brisket talk is giving me the urge to cook one this weekend, but I'm not going to have the time to do that, unfortunately

[wcpreston]

I just cooked one yesterday and I want to cook another!

[Troutman]

No one mentioned it but the advantage to butcher paper is you get the stall handled (albeit not as fast as foil) and you preserve bark much better. Think of it as a hybrid between foil and nekkid, you get a little of each.

I went with the foil pan method for a while but the meat started to braise in its own liquid and got too much of a pot roast like finish for my liking.

Dont give up on paper, if you’re experiencing paper tear, just overlap two of your narrow sheets and that helps. Otherwise paper works pretty well for me.

[Hulagn1971]

I've used pink butcher paper for all of my brisket cooks and had good luck I guess. The bark sets nicely as the paper lets it breathe, instead of braise like Troutman said. I double wrap with one long piece since it is the 18" wide version. Never had a tear or any other issues.

[wcpreston]

Can I just say I love this group? You are taking me to the next level!

[Lock Stock and Barrel]

I have had the exact experience as you have with my "Aron Franklin pink paper" I find as you did the foil produces faster and better results and is re-usable for the faux cambro process. Love to here every ones opinion and experience on these issues. I think it makes us all better Chefs Boy are we!