Switched my pork butts from foil to butcher paper 8 months back, and I keep going back and forth on it
I used to wrap every pork butt tight in foil when it hit 165, and it always came out fall apart soft which I thought was the goal. Then a guy I compete against in Kansas City told me foil was steaming the bark right off, so I tried butcher paper on my next 4 cooks and the difference in crust was real. The trade off is the paper lets more moisture escape, so my cook times went up about an hour and a half on a 9 pound butt. I still can't decide which texture I actually like better for pulled pork. Anybody else made the switch and stuck with it long term?
That line about foil steaming the bark right off is exactly what happened to me. I ran foil for years and could never figure out why my bark turned to mush by the time it hit 205, then a buddy told me the same thing and it clicked. Switched to paper and the crust finally had some bite to it, that part is not even close. The longer cook time is real though, mine went up right around an hour and a half too, and losing that juice means I have to spritz more than I ever did with foil. Where I landed is paper for butts I plan to slice or serve on a plate and foil when I want that soft, wet texture for sandwiches with sauce. Going on two years now and I have not gone back to foil full time.