Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Great Info on Plateau or Stall

Remaxpat
Remaxpat Posts: 13
edited October 2012 in EggHead Forum
I have been stymied by the explanations of the why meat stalls.  None of the explanations on most sites ever really clicked for me since the process of breaking down the tissue and fats would actually help increase temps.  Finally this made sense and gives any egger some great info for future cooks.

LBGE replaced a 22.5 Weber Kettle and Weber Gas grill.

Comments

  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    edited October 2012
    Yep.  This is the guy that figured it out, er, at least one of them.  They evaluated a sponge in the same oven as a roast by graphing the stall (via internal temperature), the sponge doesn't have collagen or fat or any of the other old "causes" of stall.

    http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/stallbbq.html
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • SigP
    SigP Posts: 25
    The link above did not work for me, but I've always heard (and believe) that the stall is caused by evaporating moisture cools the meat at the same rate the heat source heats it. When cooking a brisket, I cook it at a low temp with lots of smoke until it hits an internal temp of 150F. At that point, I wrap it tightly in foil with a little beef stock added and finish the cook. It pretty much eliminates the stall.
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    On that link http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/the_stall.html  the server doesn't allow external hyperlinking.  Type "stall" in the search box and it's the first article returned.

    Yeah, foil will foil the stall, but it's a compromise - you don't form bark when you're foiled.  This is why many people are cooking their low-n-slows at hotter temps like 300 F dome.  You power through the stall and cook much faster, and you shorten your cook time so you don't loose as much moisture climbing up to 195-200 F. 

    The conversion of collagen to gelatin also sucks up water, but gelatin and fat make it seem moist. 
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • Meathead's site was my guru for my Pre-Egg cooking days with my cheap offset. There's a *ton* of great stuff on that site that still apply to egging.
  • Duganboy
    Duganboy Posts: 1,118
    I still check on Amazing Ribs once or twice a week.  I usually read about a third of what he writes about any particular subject, because he goes into such minute detail about everything.
  • r270ba
    r270ba Posts: 763
    +1 for this site.  I have learned so much from it (as well as these forums)
    Anderson, SC
    XL BGE, Father's Day Gift 2012 (Thanks Fam!!!)
    Webber Kettle and Webber Summit Gasser
    Want List: Thermapen, Small BGE, Wok, Adjustable Rig, Food Saver, More $

  • nolaegghead...I think that the fact that w/o all the things that are blamed for the stall and sponge still stalls says it is due to moisture evaporating.

    I love the low and slow textures.  Does raising the temp to 300 change that?  Or should we keep temp down until the stall and then bump it up?
    LBGE replaced a 22.5 Weber Kettle and Weber Gas grill.
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    A lot of people get good results at lower temps.  But I'm seeing higher success rates at the higher temps on this forum.  I think for the lower temp cooks you really need a large, good quality packer.  For smaller cuts, especially if they're flats, they can dry out easily so foiling or using the Travis partial braise method, or injecting become necessary.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..