The Importance Of Beef Wrapping Paper (AKA Butcher Paper)
When it comes to food, you have to make sure that every step of the process of handling and cooking it is performed perfectly, not only for your enjoyment but for your safety. Especially when dealing with meat, you have to make sure that you're properly handling your food to avoid illness.
Beyond simply keeping yourself healthy, however; many people fail to realize just how vital storage and transportation is when it comes to the flavor of your food. Have you ever considered that the way your meat is packaged might be affecting the taste and ruining all of the butcher's hard work?
Over the course of today’s guide, we’re going to be going over meat packaging. More specifically, we’re going to be looking at the effect of butcher paper, which is also known as beef wrapping paper. We’ll take a look at how this paper affects the freshness, flavor, and everything else about your meat.
What Is Beef Wrapping Paper?
Before we get into the details, we should first get into what is butcher paper. This type of paper is a kraft paper, which is another way of saying that it is derived from cardboard, though it has a texture and form similar to paper, merely sharing related materials. As you would imagine, this kind of paper was initially made for butchers.
With the widespread use of plastic wrap, this type of paper stopped being used by butchers as often due to the higher cost, though it is still used frequently in arts and crafts. Only the most dedicated of butchers still use a roll of butcher paper for their meat, so let's take a look at why this is the case.
Benefits Of Beef Wrapping Paper
Let's get into some of the benefits that beef wrapping paper can provide for your meat. You may be surprised to learn that the way you pack your beef can have a massive effect on how it comes out in terms of taste and tenderness.
Taste
Of course, the first thing you’re likely interested in is how wrapping your meat in paper can change the taste. If you’ve ever been able to taste a bit of a plastic-like flavor on your meat, even after cooking it, that is 100% due to it being wrapped in plastic, as you would expect.
When using beef wrapping paper, you'll always be able to taste the natural flavor of your meat as there is no flavor to be transferred from paper. Unlike plastic, the paper doesn't have an overpowering taste or smell that can be transferred to your meat, so you won't have to worry about the flavor being compromised.
Mouthfeel
Beyond the taste, the feel of the meat is also improved because it is made much more tender when wrapped in paper. Since the meat isn’t vacuum sealed and it’s still exposed to oxygen, it can still be tenderized by the surrounding air, as many butcher steaks and cuts are aged before sale for optimal softness.
Wrapping your meat in plastic wrap usually means that you’re undoing all of the hard work that the butcher put into aging their meat, so this should be avoided whenever possible. Of course, this also depends on how you cook your meat, as you won’t gain as much of a benefit if you prefer it cooked longer.
What Can You Use Instead Of Specialized Wrapping Paper?
If you don’t have a butcher paper roll in your house but you like what you hear, there are a few different options at your disposal. First off, you can always order a roll of butcher paper for the future, as you’ll likely not want to stop using it once you’ve noticed the difference in meat quality.
When it comes to the best alternatives for butcher paper, you'll typically find that wax paper, and parchment paper can do the job, but they tend to be thinner than regular beef wrapping paper. Since these options are less dense, you'll have to use more layers of the paper to provide the right coverage.
On What To Pay Attention When Buying Beef Wrapping Paper
If you’ve decided to go out and get yourself some beef wrapping paper, then there are a few things you’ll want to account for to ensure that you get the best butcher paper possible. Let’s take a look at some of the critical aspects.
Is It Waxed?
Whether or not your beef paper is waxed will not make much of a difference, though the waxed variety tends to be a better option for storing meat in the freezer without it getting freezer burn.
Is It Bleached?
You’ll typically want to avoid bleached butcher paper. While there are no obvious health effects from using bleached paper, storing your meat in it for up to four days means that it will be exposed to it for some time, and that’s a risk you may not want to take.
Is It Coated?
A lot of beef wrapping paper has a sort of coating on it, but there are many different possible reasons for it. Some of it is coated for use in the oven, while other rolls of paper are coated to prevent your meat from sticking to it.
Density
You should also consider the density of your paper, as that will determine how much of it you’ll need to use at a time. Denser paper will usually give you better value for money since you’ll be able to save money in the long-term by using less paper every time you wrap your meat.
Quality
As always, you should always look for the best quality beef wrapping paper available, as only the best should be in contact with your food.
Conclusion
We hope that we’ve been able to present some reasons why beef wrapping paper is one of the best ways to store your meat. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them down in the comments below.
Resources:
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