My pork shoulder stalled at 165 for 3 hours yesterday

I was doing a cook for a friend's party in Austin and my temp just would not budge. I used to think wrapping was cheating, but a guy at the hardware store told me to just wrap it in butcher paper and it pushed through in like an hour. Anyone have a better fix for a stubborn stall?

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3 Comments

the_julia6mo ago

Why would you even wrap it? That stall is the whole point. The meat is breaking down, getting tender. You just have to wait it out. Wrapping steams it and ruins the bark. Makes it mushy. Your friend at the hardware store gave you bad advice. Just let the cook happen.

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lunar476mo ago

Exactly, the stall is part of the process. I tried wrapping a brisket once because I was impatient and it totally wrecked the texture. The bark turned soft and the meat felt steamed, just like you said. It felt like all that waiting for nothing. Now I just plan for the extra time and let it ride. That tough wait is always worth it in the end.

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blair_allen6mo ago

Yeah, the stall is a real test of patience. My buddy had one go for almost five hours on his old smoker. He was about to wrap it, but he remembered what @lunar47 said about planning for the extra time. He just let it ride, kept the temp steady, and it finally pushed through. The bark was perfect and it shredded like a dream. Sometimes you just have to trust the process, even when it drives you crazy.

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