Yep, the stall normally occurs when the internal temperature of the protein reaches 160-170 F. At that point, moisture is evaporating from the surface of the meat and there is not enough heat to evaporate the moisture AND continue increasing the internal temperature. There are three options:
1. You can wait out the stall. Eventually, the moisture will evaporate and the internal temperature will rise. That can add significant time to your cook, but proponents say this is the best way to insure maximum smoke flavor and bark quality.
2. You can boost the grill temperature. That provides additional heat so that the moisture will evaporate AND the internal temp will climb. This will speed up the cook, but you get less smoke at higher temperatures.
3. You can wrap the meat in either aluminum foil or butcher paper. This eliminates the evaporation of moisture so that all the heat goes into cooking the protein. However, little or no smoke gets through the wrapping so you lose some smoke flavor and the steam inside the wrapper can destroy the bark you were trying to create. This, however, significantly speeds up the cook time and insures you get fall off the bone tenderness.
Try all three options and see which works best for you.
If I am going to shred the meat, whether beef or pork, I am not so concerned about the bark, so I wrap in foil. However, if I want to slice the protein, I want to preserve the bark and would select one of the other methods.
Sometimes the choice will be dictated by the timing of the cook relative to serving time. Pulled pork reheats quite easily, so if you have time, cook the pork a day ahead of time and the reheat it before serving. Or start the cook late in the evening and let it cook all night. If you wrap the meat in foil, wrap it in a large towel or blanket, and then put it in an insulated "cooler", the meat can stay warm for several hours.
