Pink Butcher Paper

What pink butcher paper is

Pink butcher paper is 40 lb kraft that has been dyed a pale pink instead of bleached white. There is no wax, no poly and no coating on either side.

It is also sold as peach paper. The name changes by supplier; the paper does not.

The color exists for the counter. Blood and grease marks that stand out on white blend into pink, so a wrapped cut looks fresh on the scale and a wrapped brisket looks right in the customer's hand.

The dye is in the fiber, not on the surface, so nothing transfers to the meat and the color does not rub onto a white apron.

How pink paper behaves on a brisket

On the pit, the paper breathes. Steam escapes, the bark stays firm, and smoke keeps reaching the meat for the last hours of the cook.

Foil does the opposite. It seals the meat, braises the bark soft and stops the smoke dead. Pink paper is the middle road: the cook speeds up through the stall without losing the crust.

It also handles the fat. Two layers of pink hold a 14 lb packer from the wrap to the rest without leaking onto the cutting board.

Ribs behave the same way. A rack wrapped in pink at the three hour mark finishes tender with the bark intact, where foil gives you a softer, wetter rib.

At the counter, the same sheet wraps a raw cut without sweating, which is why meat markets and delis use it for ground beef and sausage.

Every product that comes in pink

Seven products come in pink, two of them pink only. Rolls are for the dispenser; sheets are for the pit and the plate.

For the pit, start with the BBQ smoking paper sheets; they are pre-cut at wrap length so nobody tears a sheet short during service.

Roll or sheet: which pink format?

A roll is cheaper per wrap and sits in the dispenser on the counter. A pre-cut sheet is faster at the pit, where the cook has one hand on the brisket and no time to tear.

Most smokehouses run both: a 24 in roll at the counter and a carton of 24 x 36 in sheets by the pit.

Buy the roll first if you are not sure. One 24 in roll tells you in a week whether the cook likes tearing to length or wants a fixed sheet.

• Pink roll: counter wrap, tray lining, any cut length, about 500 tears at 24 in from 1,000 ft.
• Pre-cut pink sheets: the pit, catering kits, anywhere a fixed size saves a step. From $0.30 a sheet.
• Steak paper in pink: the display case, where an 8 x 11 in sheet separates and shows each steak.
• The pink butcher paper roll page has the width table for brisket and ribs.

What prints well on pink butcher paper?

One dark color. Black is the safe pick, deep brown and dark red both work, and a navy reads well against the warm tint.

Light colors fail. Yellow, pale orange and white are swallowed by the paper, and metallics are not available in a food-contact ink.

Repeat the logo every 6 to 8 in across the sheet so it shows in every fold of a wrap. Inks are soy and water-based for food contact, and a free proof goes out before any printed pink job runs.

The branded BBQ wrapping paper page shows a logo on a pink wrap at real size.

How to wrap in pink paper

1. Wait for the bark to set, around 165°F internal, before you take the meat off.
2. Lay two sheets of pink overlapping and set the meat near one edge.
3. Fold the edge over, tuck the sides in tight, and roll twice.
4. Return it to the pit seam down and cook to probe tender.
5. Rest it in the same paper for an hour; the paper keeps it hot without steaming it.

The brisket and ribs wrapping guide goes into timing and temperature cut by cut.

Pink against white and brown

All three colors are the same 40 lb uncoated sheet; only pink hides both the smoke and the grease. White shows both, and brown hides them nearly as well but looks like deli paper.

Jerky makers and sausage shops sometimes go pink for the display case and brown for the retail bag, which keeps the counter and the shelf from looking alike.

Buy pink for the pit, white for exact brand colors and crayon tables, brown for sandwich counters. If the page you want is one of the other two, the butcher paper by color index lists them.