Cooking with butcher paper on the wsm?


 
D

Dave Russell

TVWBB Honor Circle
I smoked half a dozen thick and meaty 3lb. pork back ribs for supper last night. Only thing was, I wrapped them with butcher paper instead of foil at about the 3 hr. mark for an hour or so. As I suspected, the paper doesn't speed up the cook and help hold moisture anything like foil does, and although my bark was good and not dry, these ribs started drying out in the thick lean part by the time they were tender.

What did I learn? Although I've sworn off foil for st. Louis ribs, I doubt I'll ever smoke back ribs without foil again.

What did I do right? Flipping to meat down when wrapping might've helped some. Spritzing back ribs helps, as well. Gotta find another source for wild cherry. I've got a good bit from behind my brother-in-law's place, but they just moved. The cherry and one chunk of pecan, Chris Lilly's rub from the pineapple sweet ribs recipe, and Mike Mill's Apple City BBQ sauce all worked really well. Not nearly tender and juicy as my usual back ribs, but there were still bare bones everywhere.
 
Basically though, I can see how the butcher paper would help to keep the bark from getting thick, dry, and chewy, while still allowing you to cook in the higher range of low-n-slow*. Next cook with paper will be either a butt or brisket cook at "moderate" temps so I don't have to cook overnight. Seems to me that the paper is just the ticket for preserving bark texture while cooking with a dry pan, especially in temps on the high side of low-n-slow. No idea what it would be like to cook 300*+ without foiling, though.
 
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I'm not sure about the purpose of butcher paper.. but have you considered Parchment Paper? you can get large sheets at a Restaraunt Supply store.
 
I believe the purpose is to minimize evaporization and smoke adsorption, while preserving the bark because of it's "breath-ability". Never heard of using parchment for wrapping BBQ, but wouldn't that steam the meat like foil or cellophane?
 
Clint, I'm technically-challenged, but my daughter promised me she'll teach me how. Not a camera buff though, so all you'll ever get is I-phone pics. I get wanting to see pics, but to be honest, I see a lot of posts back by folks that seem to have more "bbq-friendly" monitors than my own, if you know what I mean. :confused:
 
Just used butcher paper in a comp over the weekend. You need a good brisket to start with or you may get dry. Don't trim any of the fat. Normally we trim to 1/4" when using foil.

I thought it looked dry, but we got all 9's and 8's from the judges. We used a mop sauce before turn in and I think that put moisture back in the slices. Actually laid the slices in the hot sauce.

What I don't like about paper is that you can't add marinade like when foiling.
 
Thanks for the feedback, J. I read somewhere that more than one layer and wrapping tightly made a difference, and I understand that A. Franklin sprays his good when he wraps. It IS a whole different thing than wrapping in foil, though. For butt or brisket, how hot would you dare go temp on the wsm if using the paper? 275-300?
 
Not sure, never tried more than 250-260. Never have wrapped a butt in paper. That may be next to try.
How did the butt do in the paper and what did you do different other than the paper?
Pleased with the result?
 
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I was posting about my back rib cook, but I'll be trying paper wrapped brisket or butt cook sometime or another in the next few weeks. Deer season is in though, so I won't be cooking much the next few weeks.

I think I'd like to try my next brisket at around 275, wrapping good with the paper once I get good bark. I used to cook that and maybe a little faster on my UDS sans foil, but flipping a couple of times. Some of my best in terms of moisture and bark, but not a fan of fat in the fire.
 
I'm a huge believer in wrapping in bp for brisket. Juicy results every time, all the while preserving the bark. I wrap when it hits 160 and let it ride til 195-205 or until it feels like a big pile of jello in the paper. I give it a healthy spritz of a water/Worcester/low sodium beef broth solution before it gets wrapped. I double wrap it as tight as I can and wrap both emds in masking tape to keep it tight.
 
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