Learn exactly what causes The Stall, why you should embrace it, and how to overcome it with our favorite barbecue tips.
Anyone who has smoked a large meat cut like beef brisket or pork shoulder will be familiar with the phenomenon of the stall: you are a few hours in and all is going well when suddenly the internal temperature of your meat just doesn’t seem to be able to push through that 160°F mark to get you through to the ideal 200-205°F temperature range for perfectly tender barbecue meat.
Welcome to The Stall, a term that has been used in the barbecue community for decades. This phenomenon, where the internal temperature plateaus for hours, has been a source of both frustration and fascination for many barbecue enthusiasts, delaying their plans for barbecue gatherings.
But what exactly is the stall, and why does it happen? More importantly, how do you push through it?
What is The Stall?
The Stall is a period during long low and slow cooks where the internal temperature of the meat hits around 160°F (although it can happen as low as 150°F and as high as 170°F) and then stops rising for an extended time. This phenomenon is most commonly seen in smoked brisket but can also be seen when smoking other large meat cuts, like pork shoulder or beef chuck roast.
So what’s going on here? The stall is primarily caused by evaporative cooling, where the moisture evaporating from the meat surface simultaneously cools it, much like how sweat cools the human body. This evaporation offsets the convection heat cooking the meat, causing an impasse and the temperature to plateau, sometimes for hours.
Big meat cuts contain a lot of water. As the temperature rises during cooking, the muscle fibers shrink and squeeze out moisture that makes its way to the surface to evaporate, adding to the cooling effect. The proteins in the meat also denature and coagulate as they heat up, squeezing out more moisture that contributes to the stall.
Meat collagen breakdown also plays a minor role, with collagen converting to gelatin (a crucial process for the final tenderness of cooked meat) around 160°F. However, this has less to do with gelatin itself and more to do with the release of bound-up moisture, further prolonging the stall.
It’s a common phenomenon, and one that everyone with a few smoke sessions under their belt has experienced. On average, the stall can last anywhere from 2 to 6 hours, depending on the cut of meat, its size, and the cooking conditions.
It’s worth noting that The Stall does have a few notable benefits. One is that extended time exposed to smoke can help develop a dark bark on the meat’s surface, adding to its flavor and appearance. Another is that it allows extra time for the meat’s internal fat and connective tissue to break down, making it more tender when you do finally pull it from the smoker.
How to Beat The Stall
But how do you beat The Stall? Here are some of the techniques that I have found most effective.
Wrapping
One of the most effective ways to beat the stall is to wrap the meat in aluminum foil or butcher paper. This technique, often called the ‘Texas Crutch,’ reduces evaporative cooling by creating a tightly sealed environment around the meat and locking in moisture. This, in turn, reduces the chances of the temperature plateauing.
The technique is best done by waiting until the stall starts to kick in and plateaus around 160-165°F. Once it does, double-wrap the meat in butcher paper (this tends to maintain bark better than aluminum foil does) before placing it back on the smoker grates.
It’s a reliable method, but the major drawback is the impact this sometimes has on bark formation. However, I would argue that by the time you encounter the stall, your bark will have mostly developed and so shouldn’t be impacted too much by wrapping.
Increasing the Temperature
Another technique is to ramp up your cooking temperature, usually to about 275-300°F, effectively forcing the meat to cook at a rate that outdoes the effects of evaporative cooling and helps drive off moisture more quickly.
The risk here is that with an increase in temperature comes the risk of tough, overcooked meat, and a final dish that will be nowhere near as tender and juicy as true low and slow cooking.
Water Pan
Another trick is to use a water pan in your smoker. The added humidity helps slow down the rate of evaporative cooling. While this can potentially lengthen the initial stall, it ensures the meat has enough moisture to push through that plateau faster.
Factors Affecting the Stall
The BBQ stall typically occurs when the internal temperature of the meat reaches somewhere around 160-165°F (71-74°C). However, the exact temperature at which the stall begins and ends can vary based on several factors:
Cut of Meat
Different cuts of meat have varying amounts of fat, connective tissue, and moisture content, which can influence when the stall occurs and how long it lasts.
Meats with higher moisture content may enter the stall earlier and experience a longer stall period due to the increased evaporative cooling effect.
Larger, thicker cuts of meat will typically experience a more pronounced and longer stall compared to smaller, thinner cuts. For example, a large, thick brisket may experience a longer stall compared to a smaller pork shoulder.
Cooking Temperature
The temperature of the smoker or cooking environment can affect when the stall happens. Generally, higher cooking temperatures will cause the stall to occur later and be shorter in duration. Conversely, lower temperatures may prolong the stall.
Humidity
The humidity level in the cooking environment can impact the stall. Higher humidity reduces evaporative cooling, which may delay the onset of the stall or make it less noticeable. Higher humidity within your smoker chamber can slow down the evaporation rate, potentially extending the duration of the stall.
It’s important to remember that the stall is a natural part of the low and slow cooking process, and its duration can be unpredictable. As with all things BBQ, the key is practice and patience.
