Dimitri wrote:

> However the "pan of water" will in-fact create a moist cooking
> environment which will tend to reduce the drying of the meat.

If it does, it is insignificant. Meat will dry out even if submerged in
water whilst cooking. All that has to happen is to have the intracellular
pressure gradient, caused by heat, to rise above the external pressure that
keeps moisture trapped between the cells, and -- voila -- moisture will
escape into dry air, moist air, and water.

> In
> essence if the water container is kept full (not allowed boil off) the
> food is "steamed" rather than dry roasted. Add moisture - you're
> 100% correct - prevent some of the drying, yes.

Steamed, boiled, or dry roasted, it's all the same .... it is the heat that
causes meat to lose moisture, not the lack of surrounding moisture. Besides,
the original OP and discussion wasn't about "slowing" moisture loss, it was
about water pans adding back moisture INTO the meat.

To All:

Aside from heat, the single biggest factor causing meat to dehydrate, is
moving air. Air movement is accelerated by heat --- the higher the heat,
the more air movement there is inside the cooking chamber -- oven, pit,
whatever. This is one of the least understood principals by folks when they
are cooking meat. Meat will stay moist when exposed to extremely high heat
for short periods of time. Or, as in the case of bbq, meat will stay moist
when exposed to low heat for longer periods of time. There is a balance
between heat and time that has to be observed.

Here's another aspect regading the internal moisture of meat: Why do we
say "BBQ is done when it's done"? One factor: the amount of collagen
surrounding each muscle fiber of the tough meats we use is never known.
Shoot, like most of y'all, I can start to pull out pork shoulders from the
pit -- same basic weight -- and there'll be a few that are just no quite
where I like 'em to be. While internal fat is part of this process, it is
more dependent on the amount of collagen. That is why lean and tender meats
can't be 'Qd without turning them to jerky -- too little collagen, as well
as to little fat.

Just my opinion.
--
Dave
Dave's Pit-Smoked Bar-B-Que
http://davebbq.com/