No Stall !

[RustyHaines]

I did 2 beef chuck roasts in PBC yesterday. Placed the meat on the grate. Took PBC about 90 minutes to settle in (pulled both rods, then replaced one rod) and PBC finally settled in at 275 for 5 hours. Previously with beef chuck roasts I pulled them at 160-170, wrapped in foil with a little beef broth and finished in a 275 oven to 205 internal and they turned out unbelievably good. But yesterday the PBC was holding so nice and steady I decided to let them cook through a stall and on to 205. Much to my surprise there was no stall. There was a steady, continuous climb in temperature. In my years of pork butts and now beef chuck roast using everything from Weber with Smokenator, Weber with Slow N' Sear, and PBC I have never had a hunk of meat not stall. The result is edible but it really is just tasty (somewhat dry) pot roast with really dry bark.

Has anyone else ever experienced a no stall cook with a big hunk of meat? Was the 275 to high a temp? I'm stumped.

[Spinaker]

The 275 F may have been the culprit. You might have also bought a drier piece of meat, that combined with the high pit temp may have made you power through the stall. I like to run at 275 F because I think you get great bark and it helps to speed the cook through the stall.

Did you wrap the butts after they were done cooking, and hold them? If not, that could be another reason they came out dry. Holding in a Faux Cambro is essential. (IMHO) More On the Cambro Here

[RustyHaines]

Thanks for your insight. Yes I wrapped and held in a Faux Cambro for 2 hours before serving. Kinda' glad I did or they may have been drier yet. Thanks again for the advice.

[Steve R.]

Yes, you blew right through what would have been the stall. I used to have this happen a lot in the PBC because it would run a little hotter than the other cookers I was using. All that humidity inside the barrel also has something to do with it, probably.

[Nate]

A few things:

1 higher cooking temps will help power through a stall.

2 wrapping will help power through.

3 I find the high humidity environment of the PBC helps power through as well.

As far as dry... some meats just don’t have as much fat and collagen...

[JeffJ]

I have found that meat cooks faster in the PBC than other cookers with comparable temps at the grate. In a kettle, the cooking is truly indirect - fire is off to one side and the meat is opposite. Putting distance between the fire and the meat as a way to create indirect cooking produces different results. That exposure to radiant heat from a distance still develops a nice Mallard. This winter I experimented with this concept in my 14.5 WSM with tremendous success.

I didn't realize the difference until I got my PBC a year ago. Ribs cook noticeably quicker, even though the probe thermometer is reading the same temp.

[CaptainMike]

I'll often experience that with my pellet pooper. I think it has a lot to do with interior volume and air flow. Almost always stall in the W22, even with higher temps. Take 'em as they come, I guess...

[realdocBBQ]

The stall in my pellet cooker has often not been nearly as pronounced as I expected from reading others' experiences.

[DeusDingo]

one time i did chuckies and i left them in fridge, uncovered, dry brining for like 3 days. they dried up in the fridge more than any piece of meat i have ever cooked. when i cooked them there was no stall and they cooked MUCH faster than i expected.

[LA Pork Butt]

The cut of chuck roast can vary, and the thickness of the meat is another variable. How did that chuckie compare with others? Leaner? Thinner? As to moisture in the cooker, I would think that would slow the evaporation of moisture from the meat and add to the stall rather than eliminate it. I would think 275 increased the speed of evaporation of moisture from the meat. No stall is probably due to multiple factors.

[RustyHaines]

Thanks for all the feedback. This forum is great. I think it could have been a combination of issues. First, the roasts were thicker and leaner than usual, I did dry brine but only overnight, it was the first time using my PBC for chuck roasts. I am thinking I will use my Weber with SNS for chuck roasts as there is most likely some truth to the "truly indirect" heat flow vs. directly over the heat in the PBC. However, pork butts in the PBC have been successful. thanks again.