Interesting article about the dreaded stall

I'm just speaking from my experiences with foiling. When I foil, there is still a stall, and it is longer than only 4% of a regular stall. It is greatly shortened however.

So all I am really disputing in the article towards evaporative cooling is that it represents 96% of the stall. I am not dismissing the concept. In fact, I would actually believe evaporative cooling could represent the majority of the stall. My experiences do not match up to what he is claiming though.

In essence, what is being claimed is that your stall on a foiled piece of meat would only be 4% as long as a non-foiled piece of meat. That is more exaggerated I believe than it really is.

I do welcome the opportunity for multiple sources to check this on their own however. If it really does average out to only 4%, then I am clearly wrong (wouldn't be the first time, I assure you). However, seeing as this means a non-foiled butt would stall for 25 times longer than a foiled one...I'm really fairly sure that what will be found is that the time savings do not match the claims given in this article. It does not dismiss cooling as a factor, it just changes the amount it is responsible for it is all.

I found the article to be very interesting, so I thought I would give the method a try. And just like the article stated, no stall, the temp just kept on climbing. However, at 190*, the brisket was in no way done, not even at 205*, so I took it out of the foil and put it back in the smoker. In 5 minutes, the internal temp dropped from 205* to 167*, and sat there for the next several hours. Once the brisket was done, it was terrible. I don't think I will be using this method again anytime soon.

I thought it was very informative but, I'll stick to the way I do it too.

Sometimes it's nice to know why. That's why I like Alton he get's into all that stuff on

(wierd music) "GOOD EATS" (wierd music).

I have revived this thread so I don't hijack the Waygu thread.

An interesting point is made by Mr. Byte about a Waygu brisket having little to no stall. When I asked why he thought it was, he mentioned the connective tosses, or the lack of in a Waygu versus a standard beef brisket.

This is in line with my experience as well.

It takes energy to render fat. BTUs are the energy du jour in BBQ.

If you have 1000 BTUs (for simplicity sake) and it takes 800 BTUs to render fat, you have 200 BTUs left to cook with thereby lengthening the cook time.

You use foil, you reduce the evaporation (- XXBTUs) and hasten the rendering of the fat (+ XXBTUs), thereby shortening the cook time.

More connective tissues to render = less BTUs for cooking

less evaporation = more BTUs for cooking. (foil)

Less connective tissues = more BTUs for cooking.

It is basic thermodynamics at work

Obviously you weren't paying attention to the first 600 or so posts.

Wagyu's don't have a stall because they don't have any water to evaporate in the first place.

Why someone would eat a nasty piece of dry meat like wagyu is beyond me.:tsk:

Sponges are better AND cheaper.

Yes but the first 600 posts didn't express the point of view I felt compelled to share this evening.

I spoke about this issue with a professor of physics, a man with impeccable credentials and a completely far beyond me understanding of thermodynamics and his response to my quandary of evaporative cooling versus connective tissue was...if you want a shorter stall, raise the heat.

mmmmmmm

bigabyte said:

Obviously you weren't paying attention to the first 600 or so posts.

Wagyu's don't have a stall because they don't have any water to evaporate in the first place.

Why someone would eat a nasty piece of dry meat like wagyu is beyond me.:tsk:

Sponges are better AND cheaper.

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I prefer these sponges.. the bark is outstanding!! ;-)

I'm going to try sponges at my first comp this year....it's all about the sauce anyway, right?? LOL

BC Squared said:

I'm going to try sponges at my first comp this year....it's all about the sauce anyway, right?? LOL

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No, it's a meat competition, it doesn't matter what your sauce is, or how you present. The beauty of the Scotchbrites sponges is that the greenery is included.

Back on topic, I was curious about this, so I asked a few scientists, all carrying fancy pants PhD's in physics, bio-physics and thermodynamics and they all had the same response. That there is merit to the experiment as presented, however, there is not enough information or control as presented for them to make any assumptions as to whether or not the results are fully corrrect.

There is no doubt that evaporative cooling is a function that occurs and may affect the stall, but, there is not enough science there to prove that it is the primary cause of the stall. In fact, the importance and efficacy of convection ovens points to the importance of evaporation in cooking and in transferring of heat in cooking.

Further, I was told that a sponge is an acceptable analog for meat, in some ways. But, that the mass differential beyween a small sponge and a 9 pound butt is significant. Composition is also a factor and that the sponge provides a good start to pose the question, even as it is not acceptable as final proof.

In the end, each of them asked me how this information would affect my cooking for the time being, I said it does not, as i cook hotter and can offset whatever causes the stall by allowing the cooker to rise in temperatures throughout the cook. Hence the stall becomes academic.

Wow, relax dude....that was meant as a joke

BC Squared said:

Wow, relax dude....that was meant as a joke

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I got the joke. My response was not in reply to your post, which I rather enjoyed actually. I posted that, as I was one who did, and still does question the validity of the conclusions of the experiments. I liked your post.