Switched from wrapping my pork butt in foil to butcher paper and the bark finally came out right

Susan Anderson · 2026-10-01T14:50:03.75152+00:00

I did a 9 pound pork butt last Saturday for some friends and decided to try butcher paper instead of my usual heavy duty foil. I had been fighting soggy bark on my offset for a while, even with a Franklin style pit and running clean smoke at 275. With foil, the wrap traps all that steam and the crust turns to mush, but the paper breathes just enough to let some moisture out while still pushing past the stall. The stall hit around 165 and I wrapped in the paper, then pulled it at 203 with a probe that slid in like warm butter. The difference in the bark was not small, it had that dark mahogany shell that actually crunched when I sliced it, and the inside stayed moist anyway. I let it rest in a cooler with towels for about 2 hours and it was still steaming when I pulled it. Next time I want to test paper on a brisket, but I am worried the flat might dry out without the foil wrap. Has anyone run paper on a full packer and did you add tallow or anything to keep it from drying?

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Switched from wrapping my pork butt in foil to butcher paper and the bark finally came out right | BBQ Pitmasters - Talk Freely