What is the 'stall'?

[ColinG]

I've seen this word mentioned a few times on here but have no idea what it means. Can anyone enlighten me?

[tiredjohn]

As I understand it, it's the point where moisture starts to evaporate from the surface of the meat, causing the meat's temperature to stop increasing - as a result of evaporative cooling, like sweating.

[Pooky]

Hi Colin - Basically the stall is something which happens when you're cooking large cuts of meat (brisket, pork shoulder etc), low & slow and can be an absolute nightmare if you're not expecting it, although once you understand it, it's nothing to be worried about.

Somewhere around the 150F mark (internal temp.), the meat will stop rising in temperature - This can last hours and there is no way of predicting how long it will last - This is "the stall". It's caused by moisture evaporation on the surface of the meat, which cools it, just like sweat cools your body.

There is a way around it though - Wrapping the meat in foil once it hits the stall or once it's been in the stall long enough to create the bark/colour you're after. This is sometimes called "The Texas Crutch" - It will balance out the evaporation and push through the stall. If you've got time on your hands though, you don't have to worry about foiling and you can just let the meat do its thing - You'll get better bark this way.

There's more in detailed information here:

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_techniq ... stall.html

[ColinG]

Thank you, that is a great help and explains it perfectly.

[aris]

I've always wondered - would some sort of sauce or other covering mitigate the stall?