>>7011323This doesn't work. It would if meat dried out due to evaporation, but this effect is negligible since the typical cooking time is so short. Meat dries out because heat causes the fibers to tighten causing the meat to essentially wring itself dry, like a wet sponge. Basting is the same thing - applying liquid to the surface does not do a good job at preventing dryness, as can be proven by cooking a piece of meat in boiling water. It will still dry out when overcooked. However, many people will say from experience that basting does result in moister meat, but this is likely due to the fact that when they baste, they are opening the oven door causing the temperature to drop. The end result is meat that's less likely to be overcooked.
There are a few ways to achieve juicy meat:
1. Most importantly: don't overcook it. Ideally the temperature should never exceed 75 C (less for beef).
2. Brine it. Chicken breasts for one ought to always be brined if possible.
3. Use meat with some fat in it. Chicken breast will always tend to be drier than chicken thigh, because it has hardly any fat.
And of course you can always compensate with a sauce.
