I just put a 3lb piece of beef in the slowcooker. Hours later there is a significant amount of liquids at the bottom. The meat is still juicy though, so what exactly is happening?
In: Biology
Meat is around 60+% water.
When you cook it, some of the water comes out. In a oan thats hot enough, it evaporates quickly. In a pan that not hot enough, the water pools up as it comes out.
Similarly, if you cook ground beef in a pan where theres not enough room or heat, the juice/water will add up into a sort of puddle.
Theres also fat that is released as well as small amounts of other things present in the meat that comes out with the water.
I know that the juices that you get when cutting a freshly grilled steak is actually myoglobin an not straight blood. If you cook a pot roast you will get a lot of fat and water pooled in the bottom as well. If you ever refrigerate the leftovers with the juice you can see the proportions of each. The liquid solidifies into a crisco-consistency layer of fat on top and the water separates to the bottom.
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