Boston butt temp stall twice

[meatyogre]

Hi,

First post as I googled this and couldn’t find answer but I found this great forum.
I tried my first Boston butt on my 18 inch wsm. I knew about the temp stall but I got 2??? It stalled at 170 for about 6 hours and now it’s stalled at 184 for 3 hours. Total cooking time so far has been 14 hours nearly and it’s gone from 184 to 182. I’ve tried 3 different probes and they all read the same thing so ruled out faulty probe.
I’ve also used a full large bag of kingsFord coals nearly. The pork is now wrapped and has been for an hour and no temp increase?

Is this because when it hit 184 I basted it with bbq sauce so did I reset the stall with the evaporation or whatever causes it to begin with. Should you baste or not baste Boston butts? Here was the pork about 7 hours ago lol.

 

[TNJAKE]

My first question is what temp are you smoking at? How consistently have you been maintaining that temp and finally what are you using to monitor the pit temp at grate level?

 

[jmusser]

Welcome to SMF. Usually wrapping at 165-170 helps its push through the stall. What temps are u running in the cooking chamber?
At this point u could toss in oven at 250 since its not taking anymore smoke. That temp and consistancy make help push it up to temp.

IDK if I ever hit a second stall. Sometimes different meats take longer to break down and push through the stall.
Good Luck,
Jarod

 

[meatyogre]

My first question is what temp are you smoking at? How consistently have you been maintaining that temp and finally what are you using to monitor the pit temp at grate level?

Hi, thanks for reply. I use a smart fire pro that monitors temp at grade and in meat and has a fan to maintain the wsm temp. It’s been pretty solid at 250, dropped down a couple times and I had to refuel.

 

[motocrash]

Spritzing, mopping, saucing etc elongates cooking time/stall.

 

[TuckersBarbeque]

Sounds like you're doing it all correct and it's just an overly tough piece of meat. I'd wrap it and stick it in the oven. No reason to keep cooking the moisture away and wasting charcoal.
On the flipside, it could be finished. I've had brisket and the occasional butt finish at 185... tenderness was still spot on.

 

[jmusser]

That seems like a long time at 250 to get to that temp. Any chance probe it touching bone or a pocket of fat?

 

[meatyogre]

Sounds like you're doing it all correct and it's just an overly tough piece of meat. I'd wrap it and stick it in the oven. No reason to keep cooking the moisture away and wasting charcoal.
On the flipside, it could be finished. I've had brisket and the occasional butt finish at 185... tenderness was still spot on.

I’m taking it out now, 191 is close enough and I am starving! It’s 11pm and still needs a rest. I think I’ll wrap it sooner next time after the 4 hour mark when the bark has formed

 

[Brokenhandle]

Welcome from Iowa! Glad you joined us! Post up your finished pics and let us know how it turned out

Ryan

 

[FFchampMT]

Every cook is a learning experience, so welcome to the fold. I'll give a +1 to 'wrap at stall and finish in the oven'.
I'm a recent convert and it's wildly successful everytime. 160 to 200 @ 325 takes about 3 hours or so.

 

[thirdeye]

There were quite a few posts about a double stall after the newer forced draft controllers and thermometers both with data logger features came out. People were posting screen shots of a graph of the entire cook. I can't say if I've ever gotten a 6-hour stall, but I've seen 2-hour plateaus. Butts are one of the few things I still cook using barbecue temperatures, most other things I cook around 275°, so I plan ahead for a good long cook.

 

[Hamdrew]

Just want to agree with not being afraid to use the oven to finish. Throw something else on that'll finish quick when u start to try to justify NOT using the oven with "..but some coals are already going.."

Throw the butt in the oven n throw on a couple pieces of fish, chops, burgers etc and let em burn out. eat the butt tomorrow

 

[Inscrutable]

I finish in the oven fairly often ... convenience, outdoor conditions, high temp needed, wrapped for moisture retention, time crunch ... lots of reasons that pop up ...

 

[noboundaries]

Multiple stalls are common, and more apparent the lower the chamber temp when monitoring details from start to finish..

Cold sauces and spritzes will cause false stalls and temp drops in lower chamber temps. Put something cold on the meat and the cold addition in contact with the meat will suck heat out of the meat 25x faster than it will from the hot air until it reaches equilibrium with the meat.

My WSM recipe for no stress low n slow pork butts.
1. Fire up dry smoker at 6-8 PM.
2. Set vents immediately for 225-250F without waiting for it to reach that temp.
3. Let chamber temp stabilize over a couple hours.
4. Load 8-10 lb butt without inserting meat probes. Feel free to use a chamber temp probe.
5. Disregard chamber temp drop due to cold meat absorbing available heat like a sponge. Don't change a thing. Fire is still burning at 225-250. Temp will return to 225-250F as meat heats up over a couple hours.
6. Go to bed and sleep with your chamber temp receiver. It appreciates that you care.
7. If old like me, check chamber temp when nature wakes you up in the middle of the night. Don't bother with the smoker vents unless you see chamber temp dropping under 200F. Alarms work if you use them. Make tiny vent adjustments if the temp is dropping.
8. Wake up in morning. Insert meat probe. Wrap if desired. No spritzing necessary.
9. Open all vents full and gently stir coals to de-ash. Let temp spike as high as it wants. Butts don't care.
10. Probe for butter tender as often as necessary and don't remove the butt until probe slides it easily.
12. Rest covered or wrapped for 60+ minutes. 3-5 hours are fine.

Result will be juicy, tender, and ready for a late lunch to early dinner.

I've done dozens this way and it is stress free. You never question what's going on with the meat like you do when monitoring details minute to minute.

Or, you could get up early, run the smoker at 325-350F (no sugar in rub though), and have the butt ready in a hour per pound or less for dinner.

Anyone who says the meat will be dry doesn't understand how butts become tender and what makes them juicy. A dry butt is an undercooked butt.

Never be afraid with a butt to increase the chamber temp if running short on time. Butts absolutely don't care what safe chamber temp you use.

Test it. I did.

 

[meatyogre]

Thanks all for the replies. It turned out awesome (finally) will definitely try some of your suggestions next time and wrap it.

 

[TuckersBarbeque]

Multiple stalls are common, and more apparent the lower the chamber temp when monitoring details from start to finish..

Cold sauces and spritzes will cause false stalls and temp drops in lower chamber temps. Put something cold on the meat and the cold addition in contact with the meat will suck heat out of the meat 25x faster than it will from the hot air until it reaches equilibrium with the meat.

My WSM recipe for no stress low n slow pork butts.
1. Fire up dry smoker at 6-8 PM.
2. Set vents immediately for 225-250F without waiting for it to reach that temp.
3. Let chamber temp stabilize over a couple hours.
4. Load 8-10 lb butt without inserting meat probes. Feel free to use a chamber temp probe.
5. Disregard chamber temp drop due to cold meat absorbing available heat like a sponge. Don't change a thing. Fire is still burning at 225-250. Temp will return to 225-250F as meat heats up over a couple hours.
6. Go to bed and sleep with your chamber temp receiver. It appreciates that you care.
7. If old like me, check chamber temp when nature wakes you up in the middle of the night. Don't bother with the smoker vents unless you see chamber temp dropping under 200F. Alarms work if you use them. Make tiny vent adjustments if the temp is dropping.
8. Wake up in morning. Insert meat probe. Wrap if desired. No spritzing necessary.
9. Open all vents full and gently stir coals to de-ash. Let temp spike as high as it wants. Butts don't care.
10. Probe for butter tender as often as necessary and don't remove the butt until probe slides it easily.
12. Rest covered or wrapped for 60+ minutes. 3-5 hours are fine.

Result will be juicy, tender, and ready for a late lunch to early dinner.

I've done dozens this way and it is stress free. You never question what's going on with the meat like you do when monitoring details minute to minute.

Or, you could get up early, run the smoker at 325-350F (no sugar in rub though), and have the butt ready in a hour per pound or less for dinner.

Anyone who says the meat will be dry doesn't understand how butts become tender and what makes them juicy. A dry butt is an undercooked butt.

Never be afraid with a butt to increase the chamber temp if running short on time. Butts absolutely don't care what safe chamber temp you use.

Test it. I did.

Great Advice Ray. It speaks to how truly consistent butts are. It's wicked hard to mess up. People definitely overthink it sometimes.
Now other pieces of meat... thats for another story.

 

[Hamdrew]

yup just give me some matches and as many spares, belly, butts as u want cooked, lol


chucks another story..

 

[noboundaries]

chucks another story..

Amen, brother. They can be humbling. It's the one hunk of meat I ALWAYS wrap with a liquid, often adding veggies.

 

[Hamdrew]

Amen, brother. They can be humbling. It's the one hunk of meat I ALWAYS wrap with a liquid, often adding veggies.

i like strawberry jelly and barqs root beer (it aint that sweet, its a lot more a sarsaparilla, high carbonation and low foam/head) myself but this new fat boy sauce is essentially vinegar-y, habanero honey mustard apple sauce and it's REAL good...

(Just wait til u see the grain on that rack of spares n u'll understand why i spent 3.50/lb on it when i dont budge over 1.80... lol)