Cone, Canister or Ball? The Best Butchers Twine

A stuffed pork loin that holds its shape, a chicken that roasts evenly with its legs tucked in, a rolled flank steak that doesn’t unwind in the pan: all of it comes down to a few feet of string. Butcher’s twine is about the cheapest tool in a kitchen, and the wrong string is one of the easier ways to ruin a good piece of meat.

This guide covers the cotton twines worth buying, from a cone with its own cutter to a small ball for the drawer, and how to tell food twine from the hardware-aisle kind. Once your roast is tied, a good meat thermometer does the rest.

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Quick verdict: which butcher’s twine to buy

Below are the seven picks with what each maker states about material, ply and heat, then how to choose and how to use it.

Five cotton twines side by side

Our five standout picks, one for each kind of cook, with the details each listing states. All seven are reviewed in full below.

Our picks for the best butchers twine

How to choose butcher’s twine for your kitchen

Material. Cotton or linen, sold for food. Cook’s Illustrated warned against hardware-store nylon twine, saying it is probably not food-safe, and reported that a colored one leached dye onto a pork roast. It also advised against dental floss, which can cut through meat. If a package doesn’t say it’s for cooking, leave it for the garden.

Ply. Ply is the number of strands twisted together, and more strands usually means a thicker line. Sixteen-ply is the common kitchen weight on this page. Thick twine spreads pressure across a soft roast, while a thinner 12-ply is easier to knot around a small bundle. Some listings give no ply at all, and we say so.

Heat limit. Read this before you roast. Only Beyond Gourmet and HIC state a number, 350 degrees Fahrenheit, while the others say oven safe without one. GoodCook rules out the broiler, and every maker here that addresses flame says to keep twine away from it.

Format. A ball is cheap and stores anywhere. A center-pull ball stays still as you work. A canister or holder keeps the line clean, and a cone suits regular use. Pick by where the twine will live.

Length. A trussed chicken takes only a few feet, so 200 feet goes a long way in a home kitchen. Buy cones if you make sausage or tie several roasts at a time.

How we picked these seven twines

We have not used these products ourselves. We started from what a working kitchen asks of twine, then read each listing for material, ply, length and heat guidance, and kept only makers we could identify. Stock and offer condition were checked through Amazon’s product data. We used food-safe wording only where the maker’s listing gives it, and we say so where it doesn’t.

For material, we leaned on the Cook’s Illustrated piece on kitchen twine, which found that linen ties a little more easily while cotton works nearly as well for less money. None of the linen options we found met our bar: the one in stock from a known maker was a replacement roll whose listing says nothing about food use. So this page is all cotton. We left out Fox Run’s cooking twine because its listing doesn’t state the material, and a long run of Amazon-first bulk twines, since this is a food-contact product and nothing independent backed them up.

These picks rest on listing and maker details, not on our own use. Twine lengths and widths can vary, and some makers say so.

Butcher’s twine questions, answered

What is the difference between butcher’s twine and cooking twine?

In practice, nothing that matters. Makers use both names for the same cotton string sold for tying food. The thing to check is that the package says it is for cooking, not the name on the front.

Can butcher’s twine go in the oven?

Cotton twine sold for cooking is generally listed as oven safe, but follow the maker. Beyond Gourmet and HIC give a limit of 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and GoodCook says not to use its twine under a broiler. Keep it away from open flame in every case.

Can I use regular string or twine from the hardware store?

No. Cook’s Illustrated warned that hardware-store nylon twine is probably not food-safe and reported colorant leaching onto a roast. Buy twine that the maker sells for food.

Can I reuse butcher’s twine?

Regency says its twine is intended for single use to avoid cross contamination, and HIC and Beyond Gourmet describe theirs as single use and disposable. Cut a fresh piece each time.

Do I need twine to truss a chicken?

You don’t have to truss, but tying the legs and tucking the wings gives the bird a compact shape. Roasting it on a good roasting pan matters as well.

Our final word on kitchen twine

Buy the Regency cone if you tie food often, Librett if you want US-made cotton, the Norpro canister if you want it clean and close, and GoodCook or the small Regency ball if a roast is a holiday event. Making sausage at home? See our sausage stuffer guide and our butcher paper guide, cut the twine with good kitchen shears, and read how heat works across the kitchen in our guide to Mexican cooking methods.

And if you would rather someone else tied the roast tonight, see the menu or call to order.