PSA: Watched a pitmaster in Lockhart Texas wrap brisket in butcher paper instead of foil

I was at Kreuz Market last month and saw they use pink butcher paper for the stall, so I tried it on my last cook and the bark stayed way crunchier. Is butcher paper actually better for holding bark or was it just a lucky fluke?

2 comments

2 Comments

hunt.rowan1d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back on this a little. I've been team foil for years and I think the whole butcher paper hype is just a trend that stuck around longer than it should have. Every time I've tried paper, the bark does stay crunchier but the moisture just escapes way too fast. I've had brisket come out dry on the flat even with a good stall in paper, meanwhile foil traps that steam and keeps everything tender. Plus paper is expensive compared to just grabbing a roll of heavy duty foil from the grocery store. I think people forget that a lot of those Texas joints have been using paper forever and it's just branding, not a magic trick. If you nail the cook and wrap tight with foil you get that same bark depth, just with less risk of a dry end product.

noahs821d ago

Can't believe you're out here defending foil that hard. I had a buddy wrap a brisket in foil once and the bark turned into straight up braised meat, like wet cardboard texture. Paper might let some moisture out but at least I'm not steaming the thing. How do you keep your bark from getting soggy?