Deer Sausage/Pork Mix - Meat Stall? Drop in temp as it approaches target temp

[Ol'Smokie]

I have a homemade cabinet smoker that's pretty large. I can run 150lbs or more of summer sausage when doing 2-1/2"x20" casings. I smoke only with charcoal. I won't go into a bunch of explanation of the construction of the smoker. My question is a general question about the "meat stall" I've ready about. I typically run a mix of about 60% deer and 40% pork. The pork is typically about 72% lean. The problem I encounter happens whether I'm smoking 2-1/2"x20", 1-1/2"x12' or even 20mm snack sticks. My target temp is 155 internal for all the above. I've run big batches (125lbs) and batches as small as 10lbs. No matter the batch size, when my internal temp appraoches 155, the meat will stall which is not that big of a deal(if it were to just hold around that range). However, instead of holding near that range, the meat temp will drop 4 or 5 degrees very rapidly, again not a big deal. but it doesn't stop there. The batch I'm running today is 10lbs of snack sticks. I had 4 meat probes in vaious areas of the smoker. Got interanl temp to 153 to 157 across all 4. That was at noon. By 1;00 or 1:15 all 4 were back down to 140 degrees internal temp. The charcoal supply has been kept consistent which puzzles me to the next point. When the meat temp starts dropping my smoker box internal temp also drops. I had been holding 175-180 PERFECTLY for a couple hours, always adding a half dozen or so briquettes every 1/2 hour or so so as not to run fuel too low and then have a lag in getting it back up. So, the meat dropped 15 degrees in temp, my smoker got pulled down from 180 to 155 to 160 (that part happened after the meat drop). Note the drop in meat temp happened faster than the smoker temp. Even if I added a 2nd "batch" of charcoal to the smoker it would NOT come back up to tem inside the smoker. I've heard about meat getting to a certain temp and then the stall or breaking down of fatty tissues will commonly cause a stall and even a drop but FIFTEEN degrees????? EVERY time I've run a batch? And how can it affect the internal temp of the smoker so much, especially with only a 10lb batch in there today? I can be patient waiting on the meat to do its thing but it's frustrating to not understand how i can't keep the smoker temp up when my firebox has been kept consistent throughout. If the same amt of charcol was holding 180 how can it suddenly not even be able to hold 160?. That baffles me. So, has anyone else experienced a similar large dip in both meat and smoker temps who also smokes a similar mixture of deer & pork? My results are always amazing but I'd sure like to understand what's going on so.

 

[smokininthegarden]

“‘The stall happens as a result of something called “evaporative cooling.” It’s the same mechanism that allows sweat to cool down the body. Sweat works like this: when moisture sits on the surface of the skin, it’s evaporated by heat energy given off by the body. So when the water changes from liquid to gas form, it absorbs a significant amount of heat energy…creating a cooling effect…. Inside a cooker, the piece of meat is sort of sweating too. It’s losing moisture to the air in the form of evaporation. Interestingly, air turbulence and humidity has a greater impact on evaporation than actual temperature—and since there’s a huge amount of air movement in a smoker, the evaporation is quite significant.”

–Aaron Franklin

I found this on the net. Either Marianski or Kutas had a detailed description of this in their books but I can’t seem to find it.
Anyways it is just a phenomenon due to water being released @ a certain temp from the muscle fibers of the meat.
Nothing you can do about it, just have to live with it.

Cal

 

[Ol'Smokie]

“‘The stall happens as a result of something called “evaporative cooling.” It’s the same mechanism that allows sweat to cool down the body. Sweat works like this: when moisture sits on the surface of the skin, it’s evaporated by heat energy given off by the body. So when the water changes from liquid to gas form, it absorbs a significant amount of heat energy…creating a cooling effect…. Inside a cooker, the piece of meat is sort of sweating too. It’s losing moisture to the air in the form of evaporation. Interestingly, air turbulence and humidity has a greater impact on evaporation than actual temperature—and since there’s a huge amount of air movement in a smoker, the evaporation is quite significant.”

–Aaron Franklin

I found this on the net. Either Marianski or Kutas had a detailed description of this in their books but I can’t seem to find it.
Anyways it is just a phenomenon due to water being released @ a certain temp from the muscle fibers of the meat.
Nothing you can do about it, just have to live with it.

Cal

Thanks - I understand the stall but hadn't heard it explained that way so that's a good read. The part I'm curious about is if the 72% lean pork maybe has more of an exaggerated "stall" effect than other meats and is a 15 degree drop really truly norml? Today some of my probes nearly hit my 155 and if I had stopped right there I'm wondering if the sticks are truly done. I did a batch earlier in the year that I stopped when they hit 155 and they probably would have hit the "stall" in another degree or two if I had let them go. They were a little too "moist" kind of giving me that slighly un-done effect as opposed to other batches that i've let hit 153, 154, 155, 156, then go through the stall dropping back to 140's after which they come roaring back and blow by 155 quicly once they turn around. I just wonder where the safe place to stop really is (I usually like to go on a little over 160 to be safe). But, again, if anyone else has had as big a drop in temp as I'm experienceing each time I do this deer/pork mix of summmer sausage, I'd like to discuss it with you. Thanks again....

 

[Winterrider]

PASTEURIZATION TABLE... or.. how to safely cook your food to a lower internal temperature..

Cooking food to a lower temperature for a longer time has some valuable side effects... The food can be moist... Fat will not melt and run out into the collection pan... The NOT so valuable side effects.... Folks have a long standing aversion to foods that do NOT looked cooked regardless...

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