stalled meat

[scayne62]

I cooked a 8.5lb fresh Ham this weekend, ended up pulling it to serve, the meat stalled out at 185 degrees for 2 hours before I cranked up the UDS heat and it finally broke the stall but I was worried it was neevr going to get past it, made dinner late but it got eaten. Found out Fresh Ham may no be the best thing to use for pulled pork, seemed a little tough even after pulling it at 205 and resting for an hour.

Whats the best way to get past a stall like that and is there any way to avoid it? This is the first time this has even happened to me.

[marubozo]

What temp were you cooking at?

Best way to power through the stall is to cook at higher temps. Big hunks of meat cooked really low, at like 225, will have a much greater tendency to stall on you. Cook hotter and the stall will be minimized, or occasionally not evident at all.

[landarc]

Yup, cook hotter earlier in the cook, the stall ends up being much shorter.

[42BBQ]

Foil wrapping will also power through a stall, H&F temps more important though, 300 is my go to pit temp

[MS2SB]

In my experience a ham doesn't have quite enough connective tissue & fat in it to pull properly. You're better off cooking to a lower temp and serving sliced. Just my.02

[IamMadMan]

I cooked a 8.5lb fresh Ham this weekend, ended up pulling it to serve, the meat stalled out at 185 degrees for 2 hours before I cranked up the UDS heat and it finally broke the stall but I was worried it was neevr going to get past it, made dinner late but it got eaten. Found out Fresh Ham may no be the best thing to use for pulled pork, seemed a little tough even after pulling it at 205 and resting for an hour.

Whats the best way to get past a stall like that and is there any way to avoid it? This is the first time this has even happened to me.

The stall is something you will always encounter when cooking. However there are ways to reduce the length of it; some increase the temperature while others foil the meat. I prefer to let my cooker take it course and cook at the designated temperature (250) until done without the use of foil.

Pork shoulders or pork butts (butt end of the shoulder) are more suited for pulling.

[scayne62]

What temp were you cooking at?

Best way to power through the stall is to cook at higher temps. Big hunks of meat cooked really low, at like 225, will have a much greater tendency to stall on you. Cook hotter and the stall will be minimized, or occasionally not evident at all.

I was cooking around 230-240, I wanted to go hotter but was afraid of drying it out, I am new to the hot and fast technique and am working my way into it.

Somewhere in the back of my peanut brain I knew the Ham would not pull like I thought but am a little stubborn and had to try it, I was going to slice it but some of it fell apat while other parts where a little tougher to pull apart, not tough enough to make me quit but not as nice as the other butts I have done. lesson learned, I will cook the Ham's differently and slice them to serve from now on.

[dajogejr]

I prefer to let my cooker take it course and cook at the designated temperature (250) until done without the use of foil.


I'm printing this off, so my GF doesn't call me nuts for getting up at 4AM to get my butts started, to be ready for dinner without the crutch or H&F.

See...I'm not the only crazy one dear.... :loco:

[IamMadMan]

I'm printing this off, so my GF doesn't call me nuts for getting up at 4AM to get my butts started, to be ready for dinner without the crutch or H&F.

See...I'm not the only crazy one dear.... :loco:


dajogejr,


LOL.....

After many attempts at different methods, I have always returned to what works best for me. Low and Slow without the crutch, with a good nights sleep.

I learned to start my shoulder butts at 11:30 or midnight, cook for aprox 12 hours, then rest for four hours in an insulated cooler.