Butcher paper supplier will sound like one product, but a butcher shop, a BBQ smokehouse, and a casual restaurant are purchasing it with three different uses in mind. A butcher paper supplier that only speaks in basis weight is only half the story; whether width, colour, and treatment are appropriate to the job it’s being purchased for. When the same generic roll is purchased by restaurants, butchers and BBQ shops, they often have to make concessions on all three.
One throw, three positions, three styles
A butcher shop paper requires counter wrap which is thin enough to be breathable, yet thick enough to be sanitary, and typically pink or peach in color to camouflage any blood, without having to add dye. A BBQ smokehouse requires a wide roll of pink or peach colour and large enough to cover a big cut without having to piece together pieces during the cooking, as this will allow smoke to enter but moisture to stay out, which is the key to keeping the bark crispy in the “Texas Crutch. A restaurant that uses the butcher paper to cover tables or present food on trays would want a wide roll, often untreated, which is 24 to 36 inches in length, as this concern would not be as concerned with the breathability treatment as would a smokehouse. There’s always a compromise somewhere: one generic width and color of the same product for three different jobs, a restaurant BBQ operation with paper smaller than what’s needed to cover the full brisket, a smokehouse with smaller paper than it can handle.
Special characteristics and specs
Standard butcher paper has a 40 lb. basis weight, which is uncoated, unwaxed, and breathable throughout all of the above. Pink/peach colour is from unbleached pine pulp, not colours, and white/natural kraft cover sanitary counter presentation and food-safe table use. Rolls are typically 18-36 inches wide, depending on the application, but for smaller counter applications, sheet or dispenser-box formats are available. At this spec, meat wrapping paper is FDA-compliant in all three treatments and permeable to moisture, no matter its color.
Who really needs to consider all three?
Single-concept BBQ restaurant supplies only require one width, and single-concept smokehouses only need one treatment. For a meat market, butcher shop paper equals one treated paper that is narrower, and it’s done. The businesses that need to consider all three are multi-concept restaurant groups that have a butcher shop with a BBQ room or smokehouse, distributors that sell to multiple concepts from the same location, and any business that began as one concept and evolved into another. If a butcher paper supplier only has one generic roll to serve that account, then a compromise has to be made somewhere.
The purchase error that is costing a multipurpose account is
The wrong choice is buying one roll width and treatment for all uses, as this is easier to manage, having just one SKU. When a counter operation jams up on an oversize table-covering roll, meat wrapping paper is wasted, and service is slowed, and a smokehouse piecing narrow counter rolls together in the middle of a cooking operation wastes time that it does not have during the rush. Before assuming a supplier’s roll will cover a business with more than one of these use cases, ask the supplier about the widths and treatments they have available.
FAQS
Q: Can the same butcher paper be used to wrap meat and cover tables?
A: Yes, and width and treatment vary with jobs. A counter roll or smokehouse roll is generally treated pink or peach, and a table cover roll is generally wider and untreated.
Q: What’s a standard roll width for BBQ restaurant supplies?
A: The width depends on the size of the cut; wider rolls are for smokehouse use, narrower for wrapping on counters typically.
Conclusion
Ask for a free quote and inquire about the roll width and treatments that are right for your use, counter custom food wrapping paper, smokehouse cook, or table presentation. Please get in touch with 832-900-9245 or sales@thedelipaper.com.
