Double Smoked Ham - Stalled Temp

[OldSmoke]

I just finished a 3.5 lb rum glazed half-ham using Jeff’s recipe. Smoking at 225-235 for almost five hours, it stalled at an internal temp of 114. The last double smoked ham I made was smoked at 275 and it finished nicely. This ham was very lean, almost no drippings. Since it was a ready to eat ham, I pulled it so we could have dinner. It was very tasty.

Any suggestions on the stall?

On a positive note, the FrankenBuilt smoker did very well. This is my first smoke after building the dead air plenum, adding a two-stage regulator, a needle valve, and smoker tray. It holds a pretty consistent temp. I had to open the lower door a crack to keep the tray smoking. I’m going to add an adjustable vent to gain better control in the wind.

 

[bill1]

What were the dimensions of the meat? I'm surprised it stalled that low for 230F oven temp...unless it was a 10" diameter ball.
In general, the things that raise the stall temperature also tend to shorten the time you're in the stall so here's some things to consider:
1. cut up your meet so it's narrowest dimension is smaller. If you have a ball, cut it at a diameter, if you have a slab, cut it so it's half as thick. This gives a shorter path for the heat to get to the center, the coolest part of the meat.
2. increase the humidity by using a water pan. Steam at 212 will burn you a lot more than dry air at 212 because there's more energy in the steam. That energy aids the heat transfer at the surface...both of your hand and of your meal. And you want to be making a fair bit of steam, so you need to be adding water fairly often. If not, move the water pan closer to the fire/heat...or at least do so when you're heading into a stall.
3. increase the cooking temperature. The difference in temperature of the oven and the meat surface is directly proportional to the heat transfer at that surface. Most of the flavor of "slow smoked cooking" has already happened by the time you stall, so increasing the cook temperature at the end isn't really a flavor sacrifice.
4. increase the air flow. Just like your car radiator transfers heat better when you're moving than standing still. Opening vents and exhausts, adding a blower by your intake, are all things that will help. But if you're burning wood, they'll also get you a hotter fire. If you don't want that, just install a convection fan...move the air around INSIDE the cooker. You can put the fan motor outside, use a long shaft to come through a sidewall, and mount a metal fan blade inside. Moves the air without adding oxygen to your fire.
5. I kinda' lied at 4. What really counts is the velocity of the hot air at the meat surface. If you have high flow at the walls, and none at the meat, it does you no good. So consider ways of using baffling to steer the smoke and air flow close to the meat. If the only way for the hot smoke to get to the meat is a 2" hole centered an inch under the meat, and the only path for the smoke to then get out of the smoker is through a 2" hole directly over the meat, you're forcing the shortest path to be skimming across the meat surface. That's your best heat transfer. Helps with smoke flavor too, since this baffling is likely to be in place for the entire cook.

 

[daveomak]

That low temperature stall is from the alcohol.... It evaporates at a lower temp and vapor pressure than water....
Could you taste the alcohol during dinner ???

 

[smokerjim]

great looking ham, nice color!

 

[OldSmoke]

What were the dimensions of the meat? I'm surprised it stalled that low for 230F oven temp...unless it was a 10" diameter ball.

The ham was a half-ham, less than three inches thick. There was just a hint of rum taste, not alcohol.

Increase the air flow. Just like your car radiator transfers heat better when you're moving than standing still. Opening vents and exhausts, adding a blower by your intake, are all things that will help.

I think you nailed it. I made a lot of modifications to the burner, building a dead-air plenum to resist wind. It works. But, I noticed my smoking tray was having trouble staying lit so I cracked the door open. I have two butterfly vents being delivered that I will install. I suspected I would need these. That should fix this issue.

Thank you for your help!

 

[OldSmoke]

That low temperature stall is from the alcohol.... It evaporates at a lower temp and vapor pressure than water....
Could you taste the alcohol during dinner ???

We could taste the hint of rum, but not the alcohol. The ham was very good. If you are using a recipe with alcohol, what compensation needs to be made during the smoke?

 

[bill1]

I might have assumed you put on the rum glaze at the end of the cook. How soon before cooking did the alcohol go on? If many hours before, there might be something to the alcohol theory...it is a smaller molecule than sugar and most flavor molecules (though nowhere near as small as Na and Cl ions!) If it could have potentially diffused into the bulk of the meat where most of the (water) moisture is, the resulting "low proof" alcohol mix could give a true stall at a reduced temperature for the exact vapor pressure reasons Dave gives as it slowly works its way back out of the bulk during the stall. But if the alcohol stayed constrained in the glaze and maybe just a few millimeter into the surface (as sugars usually do) any low-temperature stall would have been pretty imperceptible, lasting for seconds, not minutes, and would have been independent of the normal stall occurring later due to the water "sweating" at the surface.

If the alcohol truly soaked into the interior of the meat, it might have had other effects too in terms of texture and retained (or lost) fat. So I'm particularly interested in how it compared with other hams you're cooked. If C2H5OH really can diffuse into the meat that well, and with favorable results, it's a strong argument as a brine additive. But in that case, pure grain alcohol is the way to go. Save your favorite rum or bourbon for a later glaze instead.

 

[daveomak]

We could taste the hint of rum, but not the alcohol. The ham was very good. If you are using a recipe with alcohol, what compensation needs to be made during the smoke?

You could try a Rum flavoring for baking...
You could burn off the alcohol using a torch...

 

[OldSmoke]

Thanks!

I am using Jeff's recipe for Rum ham. Some of the rum mixture is injected into the ham. Not a lot since it is only a three pound half-ham. The rest is used as a glaze. Again, there is no taste of alcohol, just a nice rum flavor. It really is a good recipe. I just have to figure out the smoking process.