Does chicken stall too?

[hannibal]

I am smoking a couple of yard birds (about 4.25# ea) @ 250* and it seems that the IT is climbing rather quickly. I guestimated 3-4 hours to reach 167*, but it's been only been an hour and a half and I am at 147* already.

I know beef stalls, but is it the same with Chickens?

I am measuring the IT at the thick part of the breast, is that the best spot?

Thanks.

 

[jirodriguez]

Chicken does not have a stall. The stall only occurs in meats with lots of fat, gristle, and connective tissue to break down. Most time Chicken is 2-3 hrs. depending on temp. of smoker and size of birds. I usually measure temps in the thick part of the thigh, especially on a whole bird.

 

[hannibal]

Thanks, good to know.

 

[hannibal]

Any advice on how to keep two whole chickens and a fatty that are done ahead of schedule?

Can I just keep them in the MES and turn down the temp, or will this dry them out? If so, what temp?

Other options???

 

[rhankinsjr]

How far ahead of schedule are you talking?

 

[hannibal]

Only about an hour to hour and a half.

 

[dennisdocb]

I'd just foil them, wrap in a towel and place in the cooler. my .02

 

[rhankinsjr]

I would second this opinion. Wrapped in a blanket and placed in a cooler it will hold temp for a good long time. I do this on butts and they hold great temp for a long time and don't lose any moisture.

 

[hannibal]

Cool. Thanks guys. I do this with my briskets and chuckies, but this is my first time dealing with chickens.

 

[mballi3011]

I'm with Dennis on this one and thats why we use the cooler it can buy you a good amount of time for serving time and it does really keep it hot too.

 

[dick foster]

What causes temps to level off for a long time or stalling is the process of collagen ( the stuff that connective tissue is made from) breaking down into smaller molecules.
You can look at it like boiling water. No matter how much heat you apply to a pot of boiling water, the water temp will remain at 100C (depending on other contaminants and atmospheric pressure that is) until the water has all evaporated.

Extra heat only increases the rate of evaporation but that evaporation or the change in state, like the collagen breaking down, keeps the temperature parked where the change in state takes place until there is no more to change.

If there is no collagen in the meat, there can be no stall. The length of time the stall persists depends on the cooking temperature and how much collagen is present and has to be converted.