What's the Best Way to Wrap Pork Butt for Juicy Results?

[EdwardWard]

Hey!

I’ve been experimenting with pork butt on my Traeger, aiming for that perfect balance of tender meat and flavorful bark. I recently stumbled upon a detailed guide on wrapping pork butt in butcher paper and how it impacts the cook. It explained how butcher paper allows the meat to breathe while still retaining moisture, which sounded like a game changer to me.

I gave it a shot during my last cook, and the results were impressive nice bark and super juicy meat! Here’s the guide if you’re curious: Wrap Pork Butt in Butcher Paper.

How do you all handle wrapping? Are you team foil, butcher paper or no wrap at all? I'd love to hear your thoughts and tips!

 

[midwest]

I use foil on ribs just because I don't need the bark, but on butts and brisket I use butcher paper.

 

[EdwardWard]

That’s an interesting take! Using foil on ribs makes sense if bark isn’t a priority it’s all about that tender, fall off the bone texture. For butts and brisket, I completely agree that butcher paper strikes a great balance, especially for keeping the bark intact while maintaining moisture.

Have you noticed any major differences in flavor or texture when switching between foil and butcher paper for your cooks? I’m always curious about how others approach it and whether there are little tricks I can try out to refine my process!

 

[midwest]

No I don't, but that is partly because ribs are not by best thing to cook. I try to do them the same way and every time they end up with a different flavor and texture. Not sure if it is just different ribs being different or what. I use the same cook time, rubs, etc. and each time they are different so I can't really pinpoint the foil having a different impact, if that makes sense.

 

[Shedd]

I never wrap a butt until it hits temperature, then I double wrap with foil and put in my Yeti for at least three hours. I’ve tried wrapping with butcher paper after the stall but I can’t tell a difference other than wrapped in foil is so much juicier and tender.

 

[Like Smoke]

I never wrap ribs due to I'm a mop and slop guy, but I have a pork butt in the freezer and will do it one of these days using Shedd's technique above "double wrapping using foil". The last butt I did, I didn't wrap and it came out very good just with spritzing with a mixture of apple cider and apple cider vinegar. The thing I learned was that butts take a long time. I didn't get it started as early as I should have and was up until about 3:00 am before it was ready to take off my old BBQ075. My old timer doesn't seam to have the problems that the new ones do holding pretty constant temps. The read out is always a little lower than the actual temp, but I use a thermpro, one probe in the protein and one mounted in a holder beside the protein and adjust as necessary. Maybe my next rib run I will try a wrap after they are well sauced. I am in Colorado Springs, its cold and I am old, the Traeger does better with an insulating blanket than I do. Welcome to the forum, great folks and great recipes.

 

[Slimpicker]

I never wrap a butt until it hits temperature, then I double wrap with foil and put in my Yeti for at least three hours. I’ve tried wrapping with butcher paper after the stall but I can’t tell a difference other than wrapped in foil is so much juicier and tender.

I agree... but I always use towels in the cooler. I have had steam come off a BUTT after 4 hours wrapped in foil and towels.

 

[JPSBBQ]

You specifically asks for juicy results. This is best achieved by wrapping in a foil pan at @155-165 with foil on top til you hit your number or desired tenderness. Once done, rest for at least a couple hours, pull the meat and pour the juices collected in the foil pan into a fat separator for reincorporation to the meat. By far this is next level juicy and next level flavor. Thank me later.

 

[Shedd]

I agree... but I always use towels in the cooler. I have had steam come off a BUTT after 4 hours wrapped in foil and towels.

Definitely, I keep a towel folded in the bottom then on top. I’ve had butts to hot to pick up with bare hands 6 hours later, in the summer months. I adjusted my pull temperature from the Traeger to 193-195 in the summer month’s.

 

[Shedd]

I never wrap ribs due to I'm a mop and slop guy, but I have a pork butt in the freezer and will do it one of these days using Shedd's technique above "double wrapping using foil". The last butt I did, I didn't wrap and it came out very good just with spritzing with a mixture of apple cider and apple cider vinegar. The thing I learned was that butts take a long time. I didn't get it started as early as I should have and was up until about 3:00 am before it was ready to take off my old BBQ075. My old timer doesn't seam to have the problems that the new ones do holding pretty constant temps. The read out is always a little lower than the actual temp, but I use a thermpro, one probe in the protein and one mounted in a holder beside the protein and adjust as necessary. Maybe my next rib run I will try a wrap after they are well sauced. I am in Colorado Springs, its cold and I am old, the Traeger does better with an insulating blanket than I do. Welcome to the forum, great folks and great recipes.

Growing up in the early 70s as a kid my uncle’s had a couple bbq restaurant's and I had to mop butts, ribs and chickens. To this day I don’t mop or spritz anything I cook. Of course I don’t cook in pits either. My BGE is the best at keeping everything moist, even if I burn it, it’s still moist. The Traeger is really good for holding moisture, especially putting a drip pan of water underneath my cooks. My 780 pro only has a small grate up high but I hardly ever use it. I bought a aftermarket grill grate that fits good inside. I use some half bricks to suspend it above the main grate so I can put a drip pan underneath or I can cook 6 rack of ribs at a time. I don’t like opening lids and loosing temperature and humidity. I just roll with it and wrap in foil to hold in the moisture.

 

[RayClem]

You can also place your pork butt in an aluminum foil baking pan and then seal aluminum foil over top of that. I like that method as all the juices collect in the baking pan making it less messy.

 

[Slimpicker]

You can also place your pork butt in an aluminum foil baking pan and then seal aluminum foil over top of that. I like that method as all the juices collect in the baking pan making it less messy.

I'm gonna start doing this more often... the foil pans drop right down into a couple styro coolers I got and it worked perfect for my 2 turkeys I did, so I'll give this a try with my next BUTTs

 

[JPSBBQ]

This is great advice above, putting in a foil pan and covering with foil, so you can capture the juices. I wish I had recommended that earlier in the thread.

 

[JeffOsorio]

Great job with the butcher paper method! I usually prefer it too for a good bark and juicy meat but sometimes I use foil for faster cooks what’s your favorite so far?