Smokin' day...

[tRidiot]

The stall isn't caused by fat rendering... it's caused by evaporation. In experimentation side-by-side with a block of fat and a plain wet sponge, Dr Greg Blonder showed that a block of fat has no stall and a big sponge stalls like a motherf****er. The reason the Texas Crutch (wrapping in foil) wards off the stall is because it seals in the humidity, stops evaporation and holds in the heat. In a stall, the evaporative cooling can even cause a temperature DROP - which I experienced a bit yesterday. The melting of fat and collagen causing the stall is a myth - it's been busted. This is ALSO why a water pan in the smoker can prolong the stall - it increases humidity.

While I could have wrapped my butt in foil to forestall the stall (hehe), doing so causes a softening of the bark, which is unacceptable to me.


As posted above - this link at AmazingRibs.com explains the collagen-melting myth and the science behind the stall being caused by evaporative cooling in great detail, based on Dr. Greg Blonder's work. It's easily repeatable, and happens with a plain pain of water, with no fat. But doesn't happen in a pure block of fat. Which is pretty clear, in my opinion, and it makes a ton of sense.

 

[dennishoddy]

Good information! ^^^^ I always thought the fat and bone had the most to do with it.
So, with that in mind, if a brined pork butt were put on the smoker, the stall would really take a long time to overcome?

 

[Shadowrider]

Yea me too. Maybe it's just that the evaporation really gets rolling around 165-170? I've never had a piece of meat stall under 160.

 

[doctorjj]

Is that 260 in the dome or at the grate?

That's the temp on my BBQw guru probe that is clipped to the thermometer sticking through the dome. That being said, with the heat deflector in place, the temperature of that probe and one on the grates is very close to the same. The one on the thermometer is just easier to leave in place.

 

[tRidiot]

Good information! ^^^^ I always thought the fat and bone had the most to do with it.
So, with that in mind, if a brined pork butt were put on the smoker, the stall would really take a long time to overcome?

Not so much... I believe the evaporation is only the outer layer - that forms the bark. Once that part dries out enough, it begins to transmit the heat inward and you come out of the stall. Increasing overall moisture with brining I don't believe will make that much of a difference. Honestly, most of the pork butts (practically all meat products) I see at the store are already packed in a solution of salt and juices. It adds weight they can charge more for. I don't brine, I just add some salt.


I love that website. I'm a science guy, so seeing the experiments and mythbusting they do is pretty neat to me.


But I have had some butts take 5-6 hours to get through the stall. I believe plain water stalls around 160F, my butts usually stall in the mid 160s.

 

[doctorjj]

Not so much... I believe the evaporation is only the outer layer - that forms the bark. Once that part dries out enough, it begins to transmit the heat inward and you come out of the stall. Increasing overall moisture with brining I don't believe will make that much of a difference. Honestly, most of the pork butts (practically all meat products) I see at the store are already packed in a solution of salt and juices. It adds weight they can charge more for. I don't brine, I just add some salt.


I love that website. I'm a science guy, so seeing the experiments and mythbusting they do is pretty neat to me.


But I have had some butts take 5-6 hours to get through the stall. I believe plain water stalls around 160F, my butts usually stall in the mid 160s.

Do you inject? I always inject with a proprietary solution of salt and such. I think it turns out more moist in the end.

 

[tRidiot]

Do you inject? I always inject with a proprietary solution of salt and such. I think it turns out more moist in the end.

Have not yet... have considered it. I will at some point.

 

[Okie4570]

I wish there weren't so many miles between us all, so we could work out a "pork butt tasting extravaganza" some day. I'd enjoy standing in front about 10 different pork butts, with a info card sitting in front of each one, describing in detail how it was cooked from start to finish.