Temp drop after the stall with my gas smoker

[DeusDingo]

Hi,

I have a masterbuilt vertical smoker with 2 doors. i am VERY new to smoking but i have been trying my best to memorize every detail of this website. i got one of those maverick 2 probe thermostats so i am pretty sure my temps are accurate.

i get to the stall with my large pork blob and i don't freak out because i read the website. the meat sits at around 160ish for hours. i get that. my problem is when the meat hits around 172 that freaks me out. the temperature actually starts to DROP! i see my smoker temperature hasn't changed. i haven't opened any doors. i didn't run out of gas, but i start to see 172...10 minutes later...171 what? ... 10 minutes later 170. Yikes! i freak out and bump the temp up to ~250 and the temp starts to rise without issue. why does the temp drop? should i not freak out and raise the temp?

-Mike

[_Keith]

I would say that you should not freak out and raise the temp, as that will dry things out. If you're in a hurry, crutch the hunk of meat by wrapping it in foil. Details here:

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/texas_crutch.html

Or just be patient. Personally, I crutch the meat because I'm not in a doctor's office.

[Jerod Broussard]

I have no problem holding it steady, however, if you are running 225, 250 is not a bad jump. Still technically low and slow. It's nothing for a big chunk of meat to drop in temp when it stalls. And there can be more than one. There are also mini-stalls within the stall(s) resulting from collagen and what not break down.