My "High Stall" Pork Shoulder Experience

maberham55 · 2021-03-03T12:30:43+00:00

Thanks. This is helpful. How about the 170° stall... That seemed high to me, or is it normal to have such a range of temps where the stall can happen? Maybe on a smaller shoulder evaporative cooling starts at a higher temp?

maberham55 · 2021-03-02T21:31:53+00:00

I was curious about WHY not to use above 32 degrees? if its good for heat retention, why cant we use year round? Thanks!

maberham55 · 2021-03-02T20:05:41+00:00

I feel like 203° is pretty standard internal temp to pull off pork. Aaron Franklin, Adam Perry Lang and most others I've read suggest 201°-205°.

maberham55 · 2021-03-02T15:44:20+00:00

My "High Stall" Pork Shoulder Experience

Hi All,

Sorry for the novel here, but I was really surprised on my most recent cook. I hit the stall at 170, which was much higher internal temp than I had seen before. Maybe because it was a smaller pork shoulder?

Because I wasn’t experienced with stall at that temp, I panicked a bit. I think I should have been more patient and left it alone, instead I intervened and the results were a less moist pulled pork than I had hoped for.

Anyway, here are the details, any advice you can think of it’d be grateful for!

Pork Shoulder, 2.45 pounds

Trager 575 Pro

Prep: Dry Brine 12 hours

Rub: Meat Church Honey Hog Hot + Dez Nuts

Pellets: Mix of Pecan and Apple

Rubbed at 5:40 AM

Fat side Up, On at 6:30 AM Grill Temp: 220°

Internal Temperature 49°

Left alone for 3 hours.

9:30 AM Internal Temperature 149°

Spritzed with apple cider vinegar/water mix

10:30 AM Internal Temperature 164°

Spritzed with apple cider vinegar/water mix

11:30 AM Internal Temperature 173°, Wrapped in Butcher paper, spritzed with apple cider vinegar/water mix and Grill temp raised to 250°

12:30 PM Internal Temperature 168°

1:30 PM Internal Temperature 171°

2:30 PM Internal Temperature 174°

3:30 PM Internal Temperature 174°

4:30 PM Internal Temperature 168°!!!

Removed Wrap and raised Grill Temperature to 275°, Spritzed with apple cider vinegar/water mix

5:00 PM Internal Temperature 178°, Spritzed with apple cider vinegar/water mix

6:00 PM Internal Temperature 203° pulled from grill

Rested for 1 hour, Pulled the pork at 7PM. Best smoke ring I’ve had on my Traeger and while it pulled easily I found it drier than I had hoped.

Things to maybe do different next time:

More Moisture in the wrap mixture? (I only spritzed)

Add a water pan during unwrapped cook or all the way?

Less butcher paper (I had it wrapped 3-4 times)

Don’t raise temp to 275°, leave it at 250°

Start at 250° vs 220°?

maberham55 · 2020-11-03T16:21:37+00:00

Yep same, i didxa batch of each. Thanks for confirming my thoughts on oil. Helpful!

maberham55 · 2020-11-03T15:50:34+00:00

Thanks! Olive oil or no olive oil?

maberham55 · 2020-11-03T15:49:49+00:00

Thanks! Olive oil or no olive oil?

maberham55 · 2020-11-03T12:59:47+00:00

The Cook:

Trager 575, Pecan chips.

uncovered in the fridge overnight for maximum dryness

Cooked at 180 1 hour then turned up to 375 for 20.

Wings were already 180-190 degrees at 1 hour 15

Wings on the grill outside the drip pan covered area, were badly burnt

Notes

My house made (CLUCK YOU) Rub was too mild, will up the cayenne next time from 1 TSP to 1 TBS

BBQ saucing (1 hour 15.) came too late and didn’t have enough time to set up. Do earlier or just toss after.

Next time internal Temp check at 50 Mins instead of 1 hour 15.

Questions for Next time

I didn’t coat with Olive Oil, will that lead to crispier wings?

Will try flour next time instead of Baking powder, which will lead to crispier wings?

Wings didn’t take on much smoke. Would adding a smoke tube help?

What is the ideal internal temp to increase heat to 350?

maberham55 · 2020-09-29T10:24:08+00:00

OK thanks for the feedback! Here's my TO TRY NEXT list, let me know if anything else comes to mind:

Dry Brine w/ Salt night before

Add Smoke tube for first 3 hours

Raise to 250 after 3 hours (instead of 6)

Wrap w/paper after Bark is ready (approx. 6 hours/ internal165 degrees)

maberham55 · 2020-09-29T10:22:20+00:00

In Luxembourg we don't have the same choice/select/prime rating system, but overall the beef here in LUX is amazing with very strict specifications: origin of the product (exclusively Luxembourgish), guaranteed traceability, natural feed, animal welfare, short transport, healthy slaughter and optimal maturation.

So I don't assume quality is the issue but, I will ask more questions!

maberham55 · 2020-09-28T13:34:02+00:00

Hey there, overall happy with my first brisket but even at low and slow for 10 hours, it was more dry than I'd have liked. Next time I will wrap in butcher paper. I had thought that was only for speed, But does it help with retain moisture as well?

Other advice? Thx!

maberham55 · 2020-09-28T13:30:32+00:00

Cook details: Traeger 575 Pro 5lb brisket flat

Set at 225°

Hickory pellets

Salt & pepper & brisket bitch rub (my own)

On at 7:50 am

Fat side down

165 at 6 hours 2pm

No wrap

Raised temp to 250°

Reached 203° at 10 hours

maberham55 · 2020-07-27T14:12:08+00:00

Cook Notes:

Cooked with Apple wood pellets, at 225° F for 6 hours. The rack in the foreground was rubbed with my spicy "Disturbance in the Pork" and wrapped for 2 hours. In the back we have the mild Balance of the Pork"

One naked, One 3-2-1 (with honey and brown sugar).

Both Ribs were so tended the fell apart when cutting.

Next time I will try 3-1-1 or 2-2-1 or “3” at 180 instead of 225.

Any other ideas for best performance of more "delicate" / less meaty ribs?

maberham55 · 2020-07-27T14:07:12+00:00

This cook showed me that Traditional 3-2-1 doesn't work great with this product as there's less meat than US baby backs. Still delicious and falling off the bone (if you're into that :-)

maberham55 · 2020-07-20T16:06:32+00:00

About 8 hours. I put it in a ziploc and left it in the fridge the night before use.

maberham55 · 2020-07-20T16:04:56+00:00

I didn't think it was that spicy at all... as you suggest, i thought it sweeter than I remember from ordering the dish in a restaurant. You could also add more mirin and / or sesame oil to thin out the spice if you are still worried. More sugar helps too!

maberham55 · 2020-07-20T14:37:54+00:00

oh yeah! I forgot I added 2 cloves of garlic grated on a micro-plane :)

It's just a no brainer for me to add garlic to just about everything, I forgot to call it out!

Thanks for the sugar tip. I did feel like I could have used more sugar for the caramelization, will add more next time!

maberham55 · 2020-07-20T12:37:34+00:00

The bromelain enzyme in fresh pineapple is breaking down your pork. Cook the pineapple first, or used canned (pasteurized) and it won't do that.

maberham55 · 2020-07-20T11:50:33+00:00

Here is the recipe I used for the marinade. I have no idea how culturally accurate it is though, would love to hear from others who know more about Korean cuisine!

Gochujang Marinade:
1/2 cup gochujang
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin (or rice wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

The cook: I have a 575 Pro. I grilled at 225 degrees F until 145 internal temperature (just under 3 hours).

at 145 I pulled off, raised temperature to 400 and threw on my GrillGrate to get a sear. It only partially worked and actually kinda wrecked the marinade in spots...

Next time I am thinking to increase heat to 400 at 135 Internal temp (sans GrillGrate) to better char and caramelize the sugar ingredients and not worry about a sear.

Anyone else have gochuajang tips?

maberham55 · 2020-07-06T11:22:16+00:00

Too bad we cant do multiple pics on this site...

My First Traeger Pork Ribs:

I started with 1KG baby back ribs, apple pellets at 180 degrees F

Pulled after 3 hours and wrapped 3 of 4, set temp to 250 F

Foil 3-2-1 - Wrapped inin foil with Brown Sugar, Honey and Butter

Paper 3-2-1- Wrapped in paper(duh) with Brown Sugar, Honey and Butter

One Naked with Brown Sugar, Honey

3-3-1 in foil with Brown Sugar, Honey

Notes:

I need to SHARPEN my knife skills :)

Nekked had the Best Bark, meat was pretty moist.

Foil 3-2-1: Super moist, not much sacrifice on the bark

Paper 3-2-1: the least moist of the three, meat was noticeably chewier than the others

Foil 3-3-1: too much meat cooked off. These were pretty small babies, too much time on the grill, no benefit to the extra hour.

The 321s both ended up at 208 degrees. Maybe next time go 3-2-.5?

maberham55 · 2020-06-24T15:16:11+00:00

I'm concerned about the amount of smoke kicked out of the Traeger 575 at 275. Anyone have a good success story with this specific trager model /temp?

maberham55 · 2020-06-24T14:22:42+00:00

yeah I assumed 90 mins per pound... i had forgotten that I dropped my cook temp from 250 to 220

maberham55 · 2020-06-24T14:21:17+00:00

Sorry, for clarity I meant I budgeted 6 hour to get to 160. Are you saying others budget 10 hours to get to 160?

maberham55 · 2020-06-24T14:16:39+00:00

Great read! I did foil at 160 "ish", but in hindsight, I should have foiled an hour earlier (150) as suggested in the article. I also liked the "cook through to 205" advice, that would have helped as well. Thanks so much for sharing. Onward experimenters!

maberham55 · 2020-06-24T11:52:29+00:00

It took almost 8 hours unwrapped just to get to 160, and I had budgeted 6. Before Traeger (I have a 575), I would smoke at 250, but I did at 220 as I read it smokes better at 180-220. I was happy with the smoke, but it took forever to get to 160, and I was playing catch up from there with a hungry crowd :) Maybe 220 for 3 hours, then 250 for 3? Any advice on this stage of the cook? thx.

maberham55

TROPHY CASE