How to Use Meat Netting: Sizes, Tips & Answers to Common Questions

There's something satisfying about a roast that looks like it came from an old-world butcher shop — tied neat and tight, with that classic crosshatch pattern pressed into the crust. For years, getting that look meant learning butcher's knots and wrestling with twine. Meat netting makes it easy.

Whether you're preparing a holiday roast, rolling a stuffed pork loin, or hanging a coppa to cure, netting holds everything in shape from prep to plate. This guide covers how it works, how to choose the right size, how to apply it, and how to cook and remove it cleanly.

The Short Answer

Meat netting is a stretchable, food-safe net that holds roasts, hams, rolled meats, and salami in a firm, even shape while they cook, smoke, or dry. To use it, choose a size that fits snugly around your meat, cut a length from the roll with a few extra inches on each end, stretch it over the meat, and tie off the ends. Leave it on during cooking, then snip it away before slicing. Netting is single-use, so use a fresh piece every time.

What Meat Netting Does (and When You Need It)

Netting does the same job as butcher's twine, just faster and more evenly. It wraps the whole cut in consistent pressure, which helps in a few ways:

• Holds the shape. Boneless roasts, rolled loins, and stuffed cuts stay compact instead of flattening or unrolling.
• Cooks more evenly. A uniform shape means the thick and thin parts finish closer together.
• Makes hanging easy. Netting gives you something to hang from in the smoker or curing chamber, which is why it's a charcuterie staple.
• Looks the part. You get the traditional hand-tied appearance without tying a single knot.

You don't need netting for everything. A bone-in roast or an evenly shaped cut can go straight in the oven. Netting earns its place on anything boneless, rolled, stuffed, oddly shaped, or headed for a long hang.

Our meat netting roll is made from a BPA-free, food-grade poly-cotton blend, comes in a 50-foot roll, and handles cooking temperatures up to 450°F.

How to Choose the Right Size

This is the question we hear most. Our netting comes in nine sizes, from 8 to 32. The size number refers to the count of squares around the netting's circumference, so the higher the number, the wider it stretches.

The goal is a snug fit: the netting should hug the meat firmly without cutting deep grooves into it. Too small and it squeezes and distorts the cut. Too large and it sags and doesn't hold anything.

Every cut is a little different, so treat this as a guide, not a rule.

How to Apply Meat Netting

1. Cut your length. Measure the meat, then cut a piece of netting a few inches longer on each end. You'll need that extra to tie it off (and to form a hanging loop, if you're smoking or curing).
2. Open and stretch it. Gather the netting over your fingers and stretch the opening wide. It's designed to stretch, so don't be shy.
3. Work it over the meat. Slide the stretched netting over one end of the cut and ease it along the length, letting it contract as you go. Shape the meat with your hands as the net tightens around it.
4. Tie off both ends. Knot the netting closed at each end, or tie it with a short piece of butcher's twine. For hanging, leave a longer tail on one end and tie it into a loop.

The rest of the roll stays ready for your next project. Since you only cut what you need, one 50-foot roll goes a long way.

Working with netting often? The Netting Roll Dispenser is our own design, built in-house to hold your roll and let you pull netting off cleanly. It's heavy-duty stainless steel with anti-slip suction cup feet, and the base can be wall-mounted. It fits up to a Size 20 roll (the roll itself measures 2-1/2" wide and 7" across). One note: a Size 8 roll may not balance properly on it because of its narrow width.

Cooking, Smoking & Curing in Netting

Leave it on while you cook. Netting is meant to stay on through roasting, smoking, and cooking, so the meat holds its shape the whole way through. Ours is heat-resistant up to 450°F, which covers standard roasting and smoking temperatures.

Hanging in the smoker. Netting gives you a secure way to hang roasts, hams, and larger cuts, so smoke reaches every side evenly.

Charcuterie and dry-curing. This is where netting really shines. Whole-muscle projects like coppa and larger salami often go into netting to hold their shape and hang safely during the long drying period. If you're new to curing, our guide to curing salts and our Bactoferm starter culture guide are good places to start.

For salami in synthetic casings, 4" pre-tied poly loops save you from tying hanging loops at the casing ends by hand. They come 100 to a package.

How to Remove Netting Without Tearing the Meat

Let the roast rest first. Pulling netting off a piping-hot roast is the easiest way to tear the crust. Once it has rested, snip the netting along its length with kitchen shears and peel it away gently. If a few strands cling to the surface, ease them off slowly rather than yanking.

Then throw the netting away. It's single-use, so every project gets a fresh piece.

Meat Netting vs. Butcher's Twine

Both hold meat together, and both have a place in the kitchen.

Netting is faster and more even. One motion covers the whole cut with uniform pressure. It handles irregular shapes easily and makes hanging simple, which is why it's the go-to for charcuterie and larger roasts.

Twine offers more control. You can tie it exactly where you want it, which is handy for closing up a stuffed cut or securing a loose end. It's also great for tying off netting.

Plenty of makers keep both on hand. You'll find them together in our Netting & Twine collection.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Choosing the wrong size. Too small squeezes and distorts the meat; too large sags and doesn't hold. When in doubt, check the size guide above.
• Cutting it too short. Without a few extra inches on each end, you can't tie it off securely.
• Removing it while hot. Let the meat rest first so the netting doesn't pull the crust away.
• Trying to reuse it. Netting is single-use. Once it has held raw meat and been cooked, it goes in the trash.

A Few Common Questions

Is meat netting food safe?

Yes. Our netting is made from BPA-free, food-grade materials designed to be in direct contact with meat during cooking.

Can you cook meat in the netting?

Yes. That's what it's designed for. Leave it on through roasting, smoking, or cooking, and remove it before slicing.

Will meat netting melt in the oven?

Ours is heat-resistant up to 450°F, which covers typical roasting and smoking temperatures.

Is meat netting reusable?

No. It's single-use. Cut only the length you need, discard it after cooking, and save the rest of the roll for next time.

Does netting change the taste of the meat?

No. It doesn't add flavor. It simply holds the shape and leaves that classic crosshatch pattern on the surface.

How long can meat stay in netting before cooking?

The netting doesn't change how long raw meat keeps. Follow the normal refrigeration guidelines for the cut you're preparing and the timing in your recipe.

Get Netting for Your Next Project

• Meat Netting Roll — Nine sizes, 50-foot rolls, heat-resistant to 450°F
• Netting Roll Dispenser — Our own stainless steel design for clean, easy dispensing
• 4" Pre-Tied Poly Loops — Ready-made hanging loops for synthetic casings
• Netting & Twine Collection — Everything for tying, netting, and hanging

From holiday roasts to hanging salami, the right netting makes it look like a butcher did it.