The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

With the lid closed, the liquid inside the pot hovers
around boiling temperature, sometimes even rising above it
(the pressure from the tightly sealed heavy lid allows the
liquid to go above its regular boiling point, just as in a
pressure cooker). So the meat ends up overcooking, and by
the time it is tender, it’s also relatively dry and stringy. The
uncovered pot, on the other hand, stays a good 20 degrees
lower, keeping the meat inside at a temperature far closer to
the ideal. The meat gets tender and retains moisture as it
cooks, giving us a far juicer, more tender end result.
Don’t you just hate that? You try your hardest to be cool
and just write about the joys of slow-cooking pork, then a