Brisket & Bark

The Best Butcher Paper for Brisket

Unwaxed pink or peach paper is the Texas crutch: it wraps a brisket to push through the stall while letting the bark breathe. Here's the paper worth buying, and the width that matters.

By Stephen V.Last updated How we pick

Butcher paper is the barbecue world’s answer to the foil wrap. Wrapping a brisket in unwaxed pink or peach paper around the stall speeds up the cook and protects the meat, but unlike foil it breathes just enough to keep the bark firm rather than steaming it soft. It’s the wrap most Texas pitmasters reach for.

The specs that matter are simple: the paper must be unwaxed and uncoated (food-grade, no wax melting into your brisket) and 18 inches wide, which wraps a full packer in a single sheet folded over. Length and packaging are about value and convenience. These picks are chosen on those specs. Deciding between paper and foil? See our butcher paper vs foil comparison.

How this is funded:we earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we recommend, and we’ll tell you plainly when we’d skip one. Full disclosure.

Quick picks

Ranked on the published specs and how each one fits a brisket cook. Select a row to jump to the full write-up. We have not run this gear in a lab — here is exactly what we do instead.

#ProductBest forPrice
1
Bryco Goods Pink Butcher Paper 18" x 100 ft

Bryco Goods Pink Butcher Paper 18" x 100 ft

The default pink-paper pick: unwaxed, uncoated, FDA-compliant food-grade paper at 18 inches — the width that wraps a full packer with a single sheet folded over. It breathes just enough to keep the bark firm where foil would steam it soft.

Best overall
$11.99 · View on Amazon

$14.9920% off

Price as of July 22, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

2
Oklahoma Joe's Peach Butcher Paper 18" x 100 ft

Oklahoma Joe's Peach Butcher Paper 18" x 100 ft

The same idea from a name BBQ brand: 18-inch unwaxed peach paper in a sturdy box that doubles as a dispenser. If you like buying gear as a matched set, it's a dependable, no-surprises roll at a fair price.

Best name-brand
$23.34 · View on Amazon

$24.987% off

Price as of July 22, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

3
PerkHomy Pink Butcher Paper 18" x 200 ft

PerkHomy Pink Butcher Paper 18" x 200 ft

Twice the roll for a similar price: 200 feet of 18-inch unwaxed pink paper. If you smoke often, the value pick is simply the longest food-grade roll at the right width, and this is it — same job, more cooks per roll.

Best value (longest roll)
$12.98 · View on Amazon

$13.987% off

Price as of July 22, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

4
Bryco Goods Pink Butcher Paper with Dispenser Box

Bryco Goods Pink Butcher Paper with Dispenser Box

The Bryco paper you already trust, boxed with a built-in cutter so you can tear a clean, straight sheet one-handed with greasy gloves on. The dispenser is the whole reason to pick this over the plain roll — a small quality-of-life upgrade at the wrap.

Best with dispenser
$20.97 · View on Amazon

$22.999% off

Price as of July 22, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

5
Reynolds Kitchens Butcher Paper for Smoking Meat

Reynolds Kitchens Butcher Paper for Smoking Meat

Reynolds's grocery-aisle take on smoking paper, in a familiar cutter box. It's convenient to find in stores and easy to tear, though the roll is narrower and shorter than the dedicated 18"×100' pitmaster rolls — check the width fits your packer before you buy.

Best from the store
$24.88 · View on Amazon

$27.7910% off

Price as of July 22, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

The picks in full

#1Best overall

Bryco Goods Pink Butcher Paper 18" x 100 ft

The default pink-paper pick: unwaxed, uncoated, FDA-compliant food-grade paper at 18 inches — the width that wraps a full packer with a single sheet folded over. It breathes just enough to keep the bark firm where foil would steam it soft.

Strengths

  • 18" width wraps a whole packer in one sheet
  • Unwaxed and uncoated — no wax into your brisket
  • FDA-compliant food-grade, made in the USA

Trade-offs

  • 100 ft goes fast if you cook often
  • Not the cheapest per foot
Fuel / powerNot published
TypeUnwaxed pink/peach butcher paper
Width18 inches
Length100 feet
CoatingNone (uncoated)
Food-gradeFDA-compliant (stated)

Specs read from the manufacturer listing, on July 22, 2026. “Not published” means the maker does not state that figure.

#2Best name-brand

Oklahoma Joe's Peach Butcher Paper 18" x 100 ft

The same idea from a name BBQ brand: 18-inch unwaxed peach paper in a sturdy box that doubles as a dispenser. If you like buying gear as a matched set, it's a dependable, no-surprises roll at a fair price.

Strengths

  • 18" unwaxed peach paper, packer-width
  • Dispenser box makes tearing a clean sheet easy
  • Trusted BBQ brand

Trade-offs

  • Priced a little above the generic rolls
  • Functionally the same paper as cheaper options
Fuel / powerNot published
TypeUnwaxed peach butcher paper
Width18 inches
Length100 feet
CoatingNone (uncoated)
DispenserBoxed with cutter

Specs read from the manufacturer listing, on July 22, 2026. “Not published” means the maker does not state that figure.

#3Best value (longest roll)

PerkHomy Pink Butcher Paper 18" x 200 ft

Twice the roll for a similar price: 200 feet of 18-inch unwaxed pink paper. If you smoke often, the value pick is simply the longest food-grade roll at the right width, and this is it — same job, more cooks per roll.

Strengths

  • 200 ft — roughly double a standard roll
  • 18" packer width, unwaxed
  • Lowest cost per foot here

Trade-offs

  • Big roll needs somewhere to store it
  • Generic brand vs the BBQ names
Fuel / powerNot published
TypeUnwaxed pink butcher paper
Width18 inches
Length200 feet
CoatingNone (uncoated)
Food-gradeStated food-grade

Specs read from the manufacturer listing, on July 22, 2026. “Not published” means the maker does not state that figure.

#4Best with dispenser

Bryco Goods Pink Butcher Paper with Dispenser Box

The Bryco paper you already trust, boxed with a built-in cutter so you can tear a clean, straight sheet one-handed with greasy gloves on. The dispenser is the whole reason to pick this over the plain roll — a small quality-of-life upgrade at the wrap.

Strengths

  • Same unwaxed 18" Bryco paper, in a cutter box
  • Clean, straight tear with gloves on
  • Box keeps the roll clean between cooks

Trade-offs

  • Slight premium over the bare roll
  • Box takes more shelf space
Fuel / powerNot published
TypeUnwaxed pink butcher paper
Width18 inches
Length100 feet
CoatingNone (uncoated)
DispenserBoxed with cutter

Specs read from the manufacturer listing, on July 22, 2026. “Not published” means the maker does not state that figure.

#5Best from the store

Reynolds Kitchens Butcher Paper for Smoking Meat

Reynolds's grocery-aisle take on smoking paper, in a familiar cutter box. It's convenient to find in stores and easy to tear, though the roll is narrower and shorter than the dedicated 18"×100' pitmaster rolls — check the width fits your packer before you buy.

Strengths

  • Widely available on the grocery aisle
  • Cutter box tears a clean sheet
  • Trusted household brand

Trade-offs

  • Roll dimensions are smaller than dedicated pitmaster rolls
  • Confirm the width covers a full packer
Fuel / powerNot published
TypeUnwaxed butcher paper
WidthNot published
LengthNot published
CoatingNone (uncoated)
DispenserBoxed with cutter

Specs read from the manufacturer listing, on July 22, 2026. “Not published” means the maker does not state that figure.

What to look for in brisket paper

Unwaxed and uncoatedis non-negotiable — wax or plastic coating can transfer to the meat and won’t breathe. 18-inch widthlets you wrap a whole packer in one sheet; narrower rolls force an awkward double-wrap. After that it’s length (more feet per dollar if you cook often) and a dispenser box(a real convenience for tearing a clean sheet with greasy gloves on). Pink and peach are the same paper — the color is just the pulp, not a coating.

Wrapping is a technique as much as a material — see exactly when and how to wrap a brisket.

Frequently asked questions

What butcher paper do I use for brisket?

Unwaxed, uncoated food-grade pink or peach butcher paper, 18 inches wide. That width wraps a full packer in a single sheet, and the lack of coating lets the bark breathe while the paper still speeds the cook through the stall.

Is pink butcher paper different from peach?

No — 'pink' and 'peach' refer to the natural color of the unbleached pulp, not a coating or treatment. Both are the same unwaxed food-grade paper used for the same purpose.

What width butcher paper for a whole brisket?

18 inches. It lets you wrap a 12-16 lb packer in one sheet folded over. Narrower rolls (like some grocery-aisle options) can force a double-wrap; confirm the width before buying.

Can I use regular parchment or freezer paper instead?

No. Parchment and freezer paper are coated (silicone or plastic) and don't breathe or behave the same way under heat. Use uncoated food-grade butcher paper made for smoking.

Does butcher paper make better bark than foil?

It tends to, yes. Foil is airtight and steams the surface, softening the bark; paper breathes just enough to keep the bark firmer while still speeding the cook. Foil is faster and retains the most moisture — it's a trade-off we cover in our paper vs foil guide.

Sources

Keep reading