How to Wrap Brisket with Butcher Paper

Jonny

Backyahd BBQ pitmaster & gear reviewer

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I like to wrap brisket with butcher paper when the bark is turning from a deep red to a black and the fat cap has started to render. I've seen quite a few recommendations out there telling you to wrap at 165f, but my bark isn't as dark as I like it at that temp. For me, it's usually in the mid 180s, like 185ish. But I don't go by temp alone. I'm not usually in a hurry, so I don't use paper to speed up the cook or push through the stall. I primarily wrap so the bark doesn't get too dark. But sometimes I don't wrap at all and just put the brisket in a foil boat. Experiment with butcher paper wrap, foil wrap, and foil boat. All have pros and cons and your choice will come down to personal preference. I personally like a very deep dark crunchy crust.

When it comes to deciding which butcher paper to buy, I recommend you read my The Best Butcher Paper for Smoking Meat blog, but if you want to save yourself some time, just go with this one from Bryco Goods (the sponsor of this post). It's 18", unwaxed, unbleached, uncoated, food grade and made in the USA.

Here's my 1-minute step-by-step video that should hopefully help you wrap the perfect brisket.

Watch the Tutorial

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Step-by-step instructions here: https://backyahdbbq.com/how-to-wrap-brisket-with-butcher-paper/ Butcher Paper here: https://amzn.to/3eotS5F
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Step-by-step instructions here: https://backyahdbbq.com/how-to-wrap-brisket-with-butcher-paper/ Butcher Paper here: https://amzn.to/3eotS5F

Today we’re going to learn how to wrap a brisket in butcher paper with a little help from the backyahd kid. You start with two long pieces of 18 inch butcher paper and overlap them a couple inches in the middle. You spritz it down with water to make it more pliable You can put cold tallow under the brisket if you want to help cook in more fat. I just didn’t have any today. Then place the brisket on top of the tallow, with the fat side up. You can put tallow on top of the brisket too. You fold the paper’s short edge up and over the top of the brisket and tuck it underneath. You then tuck the top corners under the brisket Then fold the paper’s long side at an angle to follow the contour of the brisket corners. This fold is optional, but I like to do it to minimize air pockets. Then fold the long sides towards the middle and crimp down the long edges Put one hand on the brisket, and one hand on the paper and pull the brisket towards you to pack the paper tighter around it. Flip the brisket once away from you. It is now meat side up. Fold the paper’s top section down towards you Then flip the brisket one more time. It is now fat side up again. Your brisket is now fully wrapped with butcher paper and ready to go back on the smoker. See my gear page for a link to the butcher paper I use and 15% off code. #bbq #bbqtips #howto #smokedmeats #brisket #smokedbrisket
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Today we’re going to learn how to wrap a brisket in butcher paper with a little help from the backyahd kid. You start with two long pieces of 18 inch butcher paper and overlap them a couple inches in ...

I just got an order for five pounds of sliced brisket vac sealed in one 3 pound bag, and two one pound bags. I don’t normally pre-slice briskets because it’s more work and it dries quickly after slicing. But this customer was bringing it camping and didn’t want to slice it on site. I value not saying “no” to customers, but my “yes” also included an upcharge. They lucked out because I had this very nice @PorterRoadButcher brisket in the freezer. Their briskets require very little trimming - I could have gotten away with no trim, but decided to clean it up a little. I rubbed it with a custom rub, which includes kosher salt, black pepper, garlic, and onion. I put it in the fridge for the night. The next day I smoked it at 250 until I was happy with the bark. I wrapped it in foil and put it back on the smoker to finish cooking. I pulled it when it was probe tender throughout, right around 203 degrees. I let it cool to 185 degrees, then wrapped it in plastic wrap. Then in my food warmer for the night. The next day, I let it cool in the fridge before slicing and vac sealing. I put tallow in the bag, so they don’t have to add it when they reheat it. I debated on whether or not I should slice it warm or cool. I went with slicing after cooling, because my theory is that cooling causes the fat to solidify within the meat and remains intact while slicing. I also don’t want to vac seal warm meat to minimize bacteria issues. Yes, this brisket looks a little hard, but that’s just because it is cold. The customer loved it, so I think I’d follow this same process for my next sliced brisket order. You can find a link to the Porter Road brisket and all the gear I use on my gear page. https://backyahdbbq.com/gear #BBQ #brisket #brisketbbq #barbecue #beefbrisket #smokedmeat #meatlovers
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For once I wasn’t in a rush and took my time trimming these briskets. Yes, I wear cut gloves and nitrile gloves - without hands I don’t make money. Cut the wrapper along the deckle and remove it. Pat down with a paper towel so it doesn’t slide around as you trim it. Remove the mohawk and round of the point. Clean up any protruding fat. Sq uare off both long sides. Remove any discolored meat. Round off corners. Shave off the deckle fat and any fat chucks from the meat side. I’m intentionally scraping the knife so I don’t remove meat. And clean up any rough edges. Two tricks to find out how much fat is on your hump. Run your fingers between the mohawk and hump to touch the meat - that gives you an idea how much fat you have. And secondly cut into the fat and open it up until you see the meat. Trim that fat down to about a quarter inch. Clean up the fat where the point meets the flat. This fat is a lot easier to trim when it is cold so I put it in the freezer for about an hour before trimming. Scrap the fat cap with your knife to clean things up and find any loose bits. Do a final clean up and inspect your work to make sure you didn’t miss anything. We’re calling this one good. If you made it this far then I assume you like trim videos. This is a 14lb choice brikset from Costco - They had prime as well, but these had a better shape, had the same marbling and were a bit cheaper. I have another brisket I did in this session, so leave a comment if you want to see that trim video too. #bbq #brisket #smokedmeat
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After you get a smoker and fuel the next best tool you can buy is a prep tub. I’ve been using the Drip EZ @BBQDripEZ Prep Tubs daily for the last couple of years. Before that I would use random dishes I had around the house and that never really worked out too well. They just released a new version of their prep tub, so let’s break it in with a brisket. The bottom is actually a nylon cutting board, so you can trim your brisket right in the tub. The new side material is silicone, so it’s stronger than before, but still be careful not to cut into it. When you are done trimming, pop up the tub sides, and apply your rub. The new lid has locking hinges so it doesn’t slip off, but it isn’t airtight. If you want it to be airtight, then you can cover the top with plastic wrap. I like to slice right in the tub so all the juices stay put and it makes for easy clean up. If you’re smoking briskets, then definitely get the XL tub, which will fit about 4 15 pound briskets. The other sizes are good for smaller proteins, like chicken, steak, and pork butts. Check my gear page for a link to the tub and a discount code. Thanks Drip EZ for sending over the new tubs. #bbq #bbqgear #brisket #smokedmeat #foodprep #mealprep #bbqtips
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Brisket Pre-Trim It’s Thursday night and I have 4 briskets in the fridge for an event next week. We’re having friends over for birria tacos tomorrow and I wanted to make them with brisket trimmings. I don’t want to rub them days in advance because I don’t want to cure them. So the plan is to trim them all, re-vac seal them, put them back in the fridge, and then take them back out to rub on Monday, smoke on Tuesday, and serve on Wednesday. Put the briskets in the freezer for an hour or so before you trim them so the fat is easier to cut into. I cut the wrapper near the deckle fat so I don’t accidently gouge into the meat. I start on the fat side because it will get soft pretty quickly. I’m cutting off the mohawk, the part that sticks up. I round off the point. And then clean up the thick fat on the other side of the point. I square up the long sides and round off the corners. And get the fat cap down to about ¼ to ½ an inch all around. On the meat side - I clean up most of the big fat globs and don’t spend any time on the thin membrane - too much work to remove it all for little gain. I shave off the deckle fat until it’s mostly level with the meat and then continue cleaning up the fat globs. I then put on some unnecessary finishing touches that are most definitely a waste of time, but make it look a lot better. I section off a big vac seal bag and seal one end. One pro tip is to fold down the opening of the bag so the meat slides in there easier and you have a clean edge to seal. Then insert the brisket, vac seal it and move onto the next brisket. These will all go in the fridge until I rub them Monday. #brisket #bbq #foodprep
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After unwrapping briskets, I like to pat on some of the tallow from the paper with my hands. I used to pour it on, but I prefer to pat so I can control how much gets on there.
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Jonny

Step-by-step Instructions

Start by overlapping 2 4-foot pieces of butcher paper.

Overlapping butcher paper

Spritz the paper with water to make it more pliable and prevent it from sticking to the bark.

Spritzing paper with water

Place the brisket a third of the way from the bottom with the fat side facing up.

Placing brisket on paper

Optionally put cold tallow under the flat to keep it moist.

Adding tallow under the flat

Fold the paper over the brisket and tuck it under the top.

Folding paper over brisket

Hold on to the brisket and pull the paper tight. This helps minimize air pockets. You'll want to do this after every fold.

Pulling paper tight

Tuck the top paper corners under the brisket

Tucking top corners

Fold the bottom corners so they follow the shape of the brisket.

Folding bottom corners

Fold the sides over towards the middle.

Folding sides

Crease the long edges so it is easier to fold later.

Creasing long edges

Grab the sides of the brisket and flip it away from you. The fat side is now facing down.

First flip

Fold the remaining paper down towards the brisket.

Folding remaining paper

Flip the brisket one final time. It is now fat side up.

Second flip

Crimp down the corners and throw it back on the smoker.

Crimping corners