Butchers paper and what it does?

[BriGreentea]

Hello,
I've been trying many experiences with resting meat, particularly brisket with less then satisfactory results. I'm really convinced my brisket on my WSM looks great, take a small piece that may have fallen off or was stuck to the grill or will rip off a little and is great! IMA I usually inject with a marinade (because I like to enhance flavor), slather with mustard or mayo and use a simple seasoning.
The trouble is this wrapping business with foil. I double wrap it, place it in a cooler with towels, have tried without towels and even tried a warmed oven and even left it out for a hour on the counter foiled. Does the foil which causes steam actually destroying my brisket and drying it out? It can be tender but tastes more like pot roast and all my flavor is gone, smoke is deteriorated and leaves a greyness color I guess you would call it. Not to mention it screws up my bark which is half the point of the slather! I remember when I had my first smoker which was a cheap Brinkman and didn't wrap when I took it off and had way better results...just not the best brisket in the world due to the bad cooker. Somewhere down the line, I was told probably by a message board or someone that wrapping in foil was the key.
What about butcher paper? Why has it become so popular and what exactly does it do? Is it able to air out the meat yet keep insulate it at the same time? Any chain stores that carry it aside going online and find it? Do you use tape at all or just fold it underneath. Lastly, what about not foiling at all and just put in on a pan in a cooler for an hour? Thanks!

 

[toymaster]

Did you vent the brisket before you put it in the cooler? If you wrapped it hot and put it in the cooler, it kept cooking. Can't help with the butcher paper, I haven't tried it yet. Do you cook hot and fast or low and slow? I think it makes a difference when I cook brisket.

 

[aawa]

Butcher paper is the go between going completely unwrapped and foil. It speeds along the cook like foil does, but slower. It also allows a moist cooking environment, but not as moist as foil. The paper breathes, so the bark isn't soften as much as cooking with foil. Butcher paper also allows for a more of a roast meat texture vs a pot roast texture that foil will produce.

The greying of the meat is because of steam build up. This happens when holding the meat in coolers or cambros. This is also why people will "burp" off steam from the cooler/cambro when holding the meat.

As for holding, there are several ways to do it. If you don't want the bark to soften, don't wrap it in foil. Use butcher paper and just hold it in an oven that is off, microwave, smaller cooler or a cambro. You can put it in a pan to make clean up easier. prevent the meat form graying by burping whatever you are holding it in about once an hour so the steam/moisture is released.

 

[BriGreentea]

Did you vent the brisket before you put it in the cooler? If you wrapped it hot and put it in the cooler, it kept cooking. Can't help with the butcher paper, I haven't tried it yet. Do you cook hot and fast or low and slow? I think it makes a difference when I cook brisket.

Not sure what you mean by venting. I use a small table and lay out the foil, leave it there for a min then wrap it. As for cook temp I've tried 3 different ways...and prefer 250-275 on almost all cooks.

 

[aawa]

Not sure what you mean by venting. I use a small table and lay out the foil, leave it there for a min then wrap it. As for cook temp I've tried 3 different ways...and prefer 250-275 on almost all cooks.

Venting off heat is when you allow the meat to sit uncovered/unwrapped for 15-20minutes. Meat coming off a cooker will naturally rise in temperature, if you cook a steak to medium rare and take it off the grill in 10minutes that steak will be medium or medium well because of carry over cooking. So what you want to do is to let the meat you take off the cooker set for 15-20minutes so the meat will continue to rise in temperature and then slowly decrease in temperature. Then you wrap it up and put it in a cooler/cambro/whatever you hold your brisket in.

This is a very important step when cooking brisket so that you do not over cook your brisket.

 

[legendaryhog]

If you are going to wrap your brisket in paper, I would not use the butcher paper that has a "wax" side. That is for wrapping things that you don't want to leak out blood or juice or whatever. Use paper that is unwaxed. The whole point is that you want to let your product breath so it doesn't steam. When I use paper it is mostly just to set the color and bark. I.e. I don't want a black hard barked brisket.

 

[Ag76]

Here is what I use. Some think it is a little expensive for the quantity you get, but it works great and I like it a lot.

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Butcher-Durable-Approved-ORIGINAL-smoking/dp/B00ZYDRI8K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485978328&sr=8-2&keywords=pink+butcher+paper#Ask[/ame]

 

[gtsum]

I use the pink stuff from Amazon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IXL]

Here is what I use. Some think it is a little expensive for the quantity you get, but it works great and I like it a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Butcher-Dura...978328&sr=8-2&keywords=pink+butcher+paper#Ask

While this Oren product does cost a little bit more than some papers, it contains a sizing specifically designed to keep the paper intact while being saturated with liquids, something most other paper rolls lack.

 

[BriGreentea]

Here is what I use. Some think it is a little expensive for the quantity you get, but it works great and I like it a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Butcher-Dura...978328&sr=8-2&keywords=pink+butcher+paper#Ask

Actually this isn't bad price wise. I actually found a restaurant supply store near me that has the regular white kind, same size listed but is $50.
I think I'll check this out, thanks!

 

[kik_start]

Is parchment paper the same as butcher paper?
If no what's the difference

 

[Ag76]

Is parchment paper the same as butcher paper?
If no what's the difference

No, it is not the same. Here is a link to a post I made a while back on Oren's paper. - See Post No. 25. It does not specifically address parchment paper, but it does contain quite a bit of good information that I put together when I was researching cooking with butcher paper.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=240202&page=2

 

[kik_start]

No, it is not the same. Here is a link to a post I made a while back on Oren's paper. - See Post No. 25. It does not specifically address parchment paper, but it does contain quite a bit of good information that I put together when I was researching cooking with butcher paper.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=240202&page=2

Can it used like the butcher paper during the cook?

 

[Ag76]

Can it used like the butcher paper during the cook?

I have never used parchment paper, and don't recall reading anything on it, so I cannot say for sure. Personally, I would stick with the Oren pink butcher paper because I have used it, it works very well, and it is widely used for cooking briskets.

 

[pjtexas1]

Here is what I use. Some think it is a little expensive for the quantity you get, but it works great and I like it a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Butcher-Dura...978328&sr=8-2&keywords=pink+butcher+paper#Ask

:tape: ound:

 

[txsmkmstr]

Here is what I use. Some think it is a little expensive for the quantity you get, but it works great and I like it a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/Butcher-Dura...978328&sr=8-2&keywords=pink+butcher+paper#Ask

Wondering if you could "spare a square"?... would love to try some without biting the whole bullet. :bounce:

 

[Danny B]

My advice would be to lose the injection and foil. Wrap in butcher paper at the 4-6 hour mark(4 hours at 300;6 hours at 275) in the cooking process. When probe tender take it off and let it sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes then into a cooler for 1-2 hours.

 

[BurksBBQ]

I use parchment paper almost exclusively, love it. I wrap at about the 155 mark, really improved my briskets imo.

 

[Ag76]

Wondering if you could "spare a square"?... would love to try some without biting the whole bullet. :bounce:

No problem. Just send me a PM when you want to come by and get some.

 

[Ag76]

:tape: ound:

I guess I missed the humor?