Does Turkey Experience a Stall When Smoked?

Is it possible for a turkey to become stalled during the smoking process? This is a question that interests both novice and expert grillers.

In this piece, we solve the enigma surrounding the turkey stall and offer professional advice to improve your smoking experience.

In short, yes, a turkey can indeed stall during the smoking process. The turkey stalls when its internal temperature reaches a plateau, leaving you perplexed as to why your delectable creation appears to be at a standstill.

But worry not—we’ll explain why this occurs and offer advice on how to avoid it so your turkey comes out of the smoker perfectly cooked and flavorful.

But there’s still more to learn! We delve deeper into the science of the turkey stall in our extensive piece, examining the elements that lead to this phenomenon.

We’ll provide you with useful tips to improve your smoking technique so you can consistently produce mouthwatering results.

So, let’s embark on this flavorful journey together and unlock the secrets of smoking a turkey to perfection!

To begin with, stalling is a stage of smoking that typically happens when the meat begins to lose moisture.

important takeaway: low temperature, humidity, and an unreliable thermometer can cause smoked turkey to stall at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 70 minutes.

Factors that can make a turkey stall

As discussed above, smoked turkey does not stall because it contains less moisture.

However, a few more things can still impact the texture and cause the turkey’s temperature to drop temporarily.

These factors are discussed below.

In order to cook the meat indirectly and add smoke flavor, it is smoked at a low temperature.

But a very low temperature can result in the turkey stall when smoking.

It can be frustrating because it can result in the turkey’s drying out.

When smoking a turkey, the temperature must be high enough to evaporate the moisture from the bird and cause the connective tissues to break down, resulting in a soft turkey.

The process involves the breakdown of collagen to gelatin, which makes the tissues soft.

If the temperature is too low, even a little evaporative cooling can push the turkey toward stalling.

You should consider increasing the smoker’s temperature if the turkey stalls during smoking.

Usually, the best temperature to smoke poultry is around 200–250°F. You need to check the temperature and balance it frequently.

Low temperatures are also bad for the flavor of brisket. brisket usually absorbs less smoke after smoking for few hours.

So you should smoke at a high enough temperature to develop bark and smoke effectively

However, if the turkey breast stalls, consider increasing heat until the temperature exceeds 300 °F.

The increase in temperature will resist the evaporative cooling and power the stall.

It’s crucial to remember that turkey will not stand still for very long because its moisture will quickly evaporate.

Therefore, if you must raise the temperature, be sure to lower it once the turkey’s internal temperature begins to rise.

The rationale is that while maintaining a higher temperature for an extended period of time may cause the turkey to dry out, collagen breakdown is unavoidable.

There is no such thing as the ideal smoking temperature, so you have to experiment to find what works best.

You need to let the turkey rest after smoking so that the temperatures should balance out.

Turkey stalling can also be caused by low temperature and excessive moisture in the smoker.

As you might know, having too much moisture in the smoker can also result in the turkey stalling.

A stall is a plateau of temperature due to evaporative cooling.

However, if the moisture content is higher in the smoker, the temperature will not increase. You need to check the temperature regularly to notice it quickly.

Put another way, a greater humidity content can lead to a lower temperature, which will halt the deterioration of connective tissues.

This prevents you from getting crispy skin on your turkey and further leads to the stall when smoking one.

So, while smoking turkey breast, you need to be careful about the moisture present inside the smoker.

A normal reason for the increase in moisture is the water pan present inside the smokers.

Although a water pan is meant to keep the smoker moist, many inexperienced backyard smokers believe that using one is required when smoking.

Using a water pan while smoking a spatchcock turkey can result in increased moisture and stall.

A water pan should be used only in prolonged smoking processes like smoking brisket or pork.

But while smoking gobbler, you should consider removing the water pan from the smoker.

You need to be extremely careful about letting the turkey rest after smoking.

It usually affects you when you are smoking more than 20 pounds of turkey.

Thermometers are one of the most important pieces of equipment when it comes to smoking turkeys.

If you are smoking a gobbler without one, it’s like shooting arrows in the dark.

But if the thermometer is inaccurate, then it might be misleading you.

The majority of low-quality smokers have inaccurate built-in thermometers.

So, even if your temperature increases, the thermometer will display an inaccurate reading.

You also need to insert a probe in the thickest part of the turkey.

So, it is better to consider checking your thermometer for accuracy occasionally.

It is one of the most common reasons turkey stalls when smoking.

If an unreliable thermometer shows the same temperature for an extended period of time, you might think the turkey is stalling.

So, before tweaking anything else, check your thermometer for accuracy.

The most effective method to verify thermometer accuracy is to place it in boiling water and observe the reading.

If the thermometer is faulty or inaccurate, you should consider calibrating it or upgrading to a good-quality thermometer.

It can affect the process whether you are smoking an 8-pound or 24-pound turkey. To obtain an accurate reading, calibrate it and place it in the thickest area, such as the breast side or legs.

Meat can be effectively kept from drying out by spritzing it, which also aids in the flavor of the smoke being absorbed.

But if overdone, it can make your spatchcock turkey stall.

One of the most frequent causes of stalling in brisket at 180°F (rather than the typical 160°F stall) is this.

In order to prevent the brisket from drying out during the long smoking process, you typically spray it; however, this will prevent the skin from becoming crispy.

However, the smoking process for turkey only takes a few hours, so spritzing is not necessary unless you want a stronger smoke flavor.

How much rub is applied and how long the turkey is left in the rub can also affect the temperature at which it stalls.

The reason is moisture present in rubs. You can also read our guide on how long you need to apply rub on turkey here.

However, some of the pitmasters like to use spritzing to enhance the flavor of the turkey.

However, they run the risk of adding more moisture to the smoker, which causes the turkey to stall out during the smoking process.

So a better way to avoid this is to not spritz the spatchcock turkey breast at all.

But be sure to spritz the turkey just a little bit if it begins to dry out or if you want to enhance the flavor.

You can also use mopping or injecting as an alternative. The rules remain the same whether you are smoking a normal or frozen turkey.

Lastly, inaccurate insertion of the temperature probe thermometer can also be the reason for the turkey to stall.

To determine the turkey’s internal temperature, a temperature probe is typically placed inside the breast of the bird.

The gobbler’s internal temperature won’t rise if the probe thermometer is placed inside an air pocket or close to a bone. consider using a dual probe for more accuracy.

Even though it is extremely uncommon, it can still happen if you have never smoked gobbler before.

You should think about removing the temperature probe and placing it in various locations to see if the temperature is rising or falling in order to reduce the likelihood of this error.

However, you should be careful not to poke too deeply as this could cause meat juices to leak out.

Tips to avoid turkey stalls

• To begin with, you want to think about smoking your turkey at a higher temperature in order to prevent evaporative cooling from occurring. Generally speaking, you should smoke your spatchcock turkey between 250°F and 300°F if it is stalling.
• Another piece of advice is to always use a reliable thermometer when smoking anything, including gobblers. Shooting arrows in the dark while smoking with an unreliable thermometer or without one will not yield any meaningful results.
• Prior to making any final decisions or changes, you should periodically probe your gobbler. Do not place your temperature probe in an air pocket or close to the bone.
• Finally, you should consider controlling the moisture in the smoker. Ideally, take out the water pan and don’t spritz the turkey again unless there’s a chance it might dry out.

now that we have cleared the main misconception, let’s discuss some common FAQs that you might have.

What is “The Stall” & What to Do

FAQ

Does turkey stall at 140?

What happens if you smoke a turkey too long?

How much will turkey temp rise while resting?

How long does it take for a turkey to go from 150 to 165?

Does smoked turkey stall?

As discussed above, smoked turkey does not stall because it contains less moisture. But there are still some factors that can affect the texture of turkey and stall its temperature for some time. These factors are discussed below. Smoking is done at a low smoker temperature to cook the meat with indirect heat and enhance its flavor with smoke.

Is it dangerous to quit vaping nicotine cold turkey?

Quitting vaping nicotine ‘cold turkey’ is not dangerous, but it can be very unpleasant. This is because nicotine alters the way your brain functions such that your body feels dependent on it. Some of the unpleasant side effects of quitting abruptly are tremors, headaches, and nausea. These side effects can make it very hard to quit and often cause people to relapse. Fortunately, these unpleasant side effects can be partially or completely avoided by gradually cutting down your use instead of quitting abruptly. Your primary care physician can help you design a plan to quit vaping nicotine.

How long does a turkey breast stall after smoking?

As a result of the low moisture content, there will be no or few minutes of stalling in Turkey. In addition to having low moisture, turkey is smoked for a shorter time to prevent overcooking. So, it can stall for 30 minutes to 4 hours. Several factors determine whether a turkey breast will hit a stall or not during smoking.

Can you smoke a Turkey?

Smoking a turkey can be a challenging, as there are many things that can go wrong. The key to success is to keep the meat moist and avoid the common pitfalls of soft, rubbery skin and dryness. These problems can be avoided by following a few basic techniques and avoiding certain practices.