Dealing with #@$% Stalls!!

mlh5953

mlh5953

Rookie smoker here.
I built a Weber Smokey Joe conversion a couple of months ago. And thanks to a generous helping of beginners luck, all of my attempts at smoking meat have turned out pretty darn good even if I do say so myself.  :D
Though, the two times I've smoked a pork shoulder, the internal temperature of the meat stalled at around 160*. 
The first time it happened, I tried to wait it out, but ended up googling around and read about foiling up the pork and raising the temps. Worked like a charm. But dinner was 2 hours late  :doh:
This last time I watched for it to happen and caught it in time to make dinner right on time.
My questions are...
Does anyone have any pointers or strategies that will help me better deal with this problem?
Do you maybe foil it for a while, but then unfoil it to finish it up?
I've read that the problem due to an evaporative effect. So I suppose that even larger smokers still have the problem??
Thanks in advance!
 
 
5-6 hours low temp heavy smoke (225° F) then I put in a pan a cover tightly with foil, but leave in the smoker with the 225° temp. No more smoke for another 3-4 hours. Pork buts need 9 hours minimum, and internal temp doesn't matter.

That's how I do it and it comes out perfect every time. But I ain't no pro.

Pork ribs are different. i use the 3-2-1 method and its fail safe.
3 hours 225° heavy smoke.
2 hours wrapped in foil
1 hour uncovered back in the smoker. This is when I will mop them, and the last 10 minutes (5 on each side) on a hot grill, just to finish them nicely.

But I ain't no pro.
 
Scoville DeVille said:
Cool! Pictures please! (and don't forget to peel that membrane off the ribs first!)
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I hate peeling that chit off.  That is why I make my buddy do it at the bbq comps.  
 
THE PLATEAU
 
Wait it out!
 
When pork stalls it is called the plateau. This is between 150 and 160F. Wait it out for best results. What is happening at this point is the fat and connective tissue is dissolving (becoming juice) and as soon as it is all liquid, the meat will start to cook again, and at a fast rate. This is really where you really need to watch it! A good internal thermometer is very important. Watch it and pull at 195. You can figure out the best temp for you, usually between 190 and 205, but 195 is my number. As it gets higher it starts to get dryer and not pull as well. Pull it and let it rest just a bit then pull. No need to foil it, you don't want it to keep cooking after your desired pull temp. Brisket you can wrap and put in a cooler for a couple hours, it will break down. Pork can get past the good pull point, especially if you pull it off near the higher end. Plus you can mess the bark up. Rest unwrapped.
 
PS. Get a digital thermometer with a probe so you don't have to lift the lid to keep checking. Drink some beer. The plateau will end. You'll see. :)
 
(Just how I'd do it. BBQ, you can do how you like.)
 
as THP said it will stall - I dont like to wrap the butt,l if I cant wait, I will, to braise the fat and calogen out. I like to wait for it (long time) and get a nice bark on the outside, by wrapping it the outside is gets soft - still very good yes , but i like a bit more chew to it. Also be careful with 3-2-1 method you only use that on spares, baby back you can cut it back 2-2-1. I usually take it back even more on ribs (st louis style ) to a 3-1-1 or no foil at all I feel the ribs get a mushy(ier) texture when braised too long. and careful not over smoke or over cook. keep your mop sauce nearby.
 
Enjoy
 
Yeah 3-2-1 always overcooks my spares. Ive played with that a lot on the less time side. I think the pros that say 3-2-1 aren't telling the whole story.
 
And yeah, stalls suck but just wait it out. On butts a assume I'm gonna stall for about an hour at least at 160. This is right where the magic is happening though as THP said.
 
Thank all of you for your excellent advice.
I'll have to make sure that I have enough beer on hand for a long stall   :beer:
THP: I left my first attempt on the smoker maybe two hours longer and then foiled it until it reached 195*. This last one I took off the smoker earlier and foiled it until it was 205*.
I've got to say, the first one had a better flavor, but had drier bark.
 
Yup, best flavor at 195 imo.
 
Drier bark as compared to the 205 one? I don't know exactly what you mean by drier bark, it's not really supposed to be wet, it's a crust. You keep up the mopping and/or spraying to keep it from burning but you don't want a wet bark. That's more like a jerk. Bark should be a caramelized mahogany color crust, not full-on black, and not wet by the end of the cook, so I'd say you probably got it right. Wet, and it will rub off.
 
But I don't see the internal temp on what caused that anyway. Maybe different mopping intervals/foiling etc.
 
Post up your next one!
 
I find that mopping or spraying a butt doesn't do much to the texture at all.  You've got a 10lb + piece of meat and are squirting the outside with apple juice...I just can't see how it penetrates/effects the taste of the meat that much.
 
Also, I've done foil and no foil and when it comes down to it, eliminating those extra 2 hours (or so) by powering the meat past the stall with the foil well makes up for the lack of a "crunchy" bark.
 
The stall sucks.  When I do pulled pork, I always add about 1.5 hours to my estimated cook time and shoot for 195° - 205° before removing the pork shoulder from the smoker just because of the stall.  My pulled pork always seems to go beyond what I predict for time.  Using time is really only a guestimate anyway,  you should always shoot for temperature over time.
 
LowDrag said:
Keep your smoke light blue and thin by starting your fire early and letting it settle, a heavy smoke will make your meat taste acrid and that will spoil the food.  
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And this can happen in the first few minutes and ruin the entire smoke.
 
With foiling I say:
Ribs, yes (middle stage)
Brisket, yes (rest stage)
Pulled pork, no. No stage. No rest. Wait it out and pull the pork when done or it will overcook while resting.
 
Well if it doesn't "pull" then you've messed it up, either you took it off too early (didn't break down) or too late (dried out). It's not foolproof, but it is pretty easy, it's just a waiting game with not as much technique as the others, so I agree. :)
 
The Hot Pepper said:
 
And this can happen in the first few minutes and ruin the entire smoke.
 
With foiling I say:
Ribs, yes (middle stage)
Brisket, yes (rest stage)
Pulled pork, no. No stage. No rest. Wait it out and pull the pork when done or it will overcook while resting.
Click to expand...
 
 
 
I definitely foil my brisket but only after I pull it off the smoker and it goes into the cooler to rest.  I line my cooler with bath towels and throw a heating pad in it about an hour before to heat it up.  I can let my brisket rest this way without it getting too cool.  It works good for holiday food transport too.  I'll smoke a turkey for example and put it in a heated cooler to take it to a family members house.  Pulled pork I pull right after taking it off the grill.  Sucks without lined gloves...LOL!!!  
 
Exactly!!!
 
And it's kinda hard to do with the Ove' Glove, LOL!
 
You can pull it with that stabber and fork thing too. What's that called?
 
LowDrag said:
I definitely foil my brisket but only after I pull it off the smoker and it goes into the cooler to rest.  I line my cooler with bath towels and throw a heating pad in it about an hour before to heat it up.  I can let my brisket rest this way without it getting too cool.  It works good for holiday food transport too.  I'll smoke a turkey for example and put it in a heated cooler to take it to a family members house.  Pulled pork I pull right after taking it off the grill.  Sucks without lined gloves...LOL!!!
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A pork butt stays hot for sooooo long. My wife pulled one for me at around noon, wrapped it in tinfoil and towels then threw it in a cooler and it was still around 130 degrees when I got home from work.
To pull I just use a pair of forks. Works good enough for me.
The Hot Pepper said:
Well if it doesn't "pull" then you've messed it up, either you took it off too early (didn't break down) or too late (dried out). It's not foolproof, but it is pretty easy, it's just a waiting game with not as much technique as the others, so I agree. :)
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Probe test is probably best. Not only does a thermapen take the temp immediately...it also gives you that tactile sense of how soft the meat is.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
Exactly!!!
 
And it's kinda hard to do with the Ove' Glove, LOL!
 
You can pull it with that stabber and fork thing too. What's that called?
Click to expand...
 
Has anybody tried the Bear Paw or Wolf Claw meat handlers?
 
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