In article >, "Jack Denver"
> wrote:

> I accept what you are saying about the sand. Would this be equally true in
> an electric smoker - I believe that combustion of wood/gas produces a lot of
> water vapor even without a water pan (hydrogen in fuel combines with oxygen
> in air and makes H20)? Also, would not the dryness of the atmosphere at
> least influence whether there was drying at the surface and the rate of
> moisture loss from the meat? Why is a meatball cooked in sauce moister than
> a hamburger cooked on a grill?

I dunno about extra or excess drying in an electric smoker-haven't ever
owned one.
To me-surface drying is exactly what I want in barbecue-The Bark! I
just don't want that dryness to go all the way through the cut. Keeping
the temp low is much more important in keeping the water in the meat
than any other influencing factor.

> Regarding the tenderloin, my understanding of meat cookery is that up to
> 150F internal, the meat is indeed contracting and squeezing juices out of
> itself. However, above 150, the collagen in between the fibers starts to
> melt into gelatin and become softer. At this point the muscle fibers are no
> longer as tightly bound and some moisture will actually reenter the meat
> from the braising liquid. This is why meat has to either be eaten rare
> (grilled steak) or well done for a long time (brisket). A tenderloin is a
> poor candidate for well done because it lacks collagen, but this same lack
> of collagen makes it a good cut for grilling rare. A brisket is the
> opposite.

Exactly. Collagen is more prevalent in tough cuts. The rendering fat in
a brisket helps remoisten the meat. It fills in for the braising
liquid, so to speak. The large part of this rendering is done at temps
over 160F. I'd think that even so the liquids(water or fat) are pretty
much leaving the meat-never to return. I've never gotten braising
liquid to penetrate a roast thoroughly until the meat has completely
broken into rags (a la ragout)
>
> Also it is my understanding that surface moisture does influence our
> perception of taste - when you pour the gravy over the dried out turkey
> breast we don't perceive it as dry as meat without gravy even though the
> gravy just sits on the surface.

I would contend that the moist mouth feel from gravy is more from the
fat than from the aqueous moisture. Leftover meat wil never be as
moist as it was freshly cooked.

monroe(gentle, low, indirect)