Braising tough cuts

Why

Tough cuts such as shoulder, shin, neck or cheek contain a lot of connective tissue, and its main protein, collagen, slowly dissolves into gelatin under long, moist heat – noticeably from roughly 70 °C, and over hours, not minutes. Meanwhile the muscle fibres lose more water the hotter they get, and a hard boil tightens and wrings them out, so the meat ends up dry and stringy even while sitting in liquid. That is why you braise covered, just below the boil, with only the occasional bubble breaking the surface: the collagen has time to break down and the fibres are not heated more than they need to be. The gelatin then coats the fibres, making the meat succulent and the sauce glossy and rich; lean cuts with little connective tissue, such as pork tenderloin, only dry out with long braising because they lack the collagen that would rescue them.

How to do it

• Choose cuts with sinew and connective tissue for braising: shoulder, shin, neck, cheeks or oxtail.
• Brown the meat well first, then add liquid to come only about halfway up the meat.
• Keep it at a bare simmer, with the surface barely trembling; in a covered pot in the oven, about 140–160 °C is plenty.
• Test for doneness with a fork, not the clock: the meat is ready when it pulls apart easily.
• Let the cooked meat cool a little in its liquid: the surface won't dry out and the gelatin-rich juices will coat it.

If it goes wrong

Tough meat is almost always underbraised: add a splash of liquid and keep it at a gentle simmer until it softens. Meat that has boiled into dry strands won't become juicy again; shred it, moisten it with the sauce and serve it as a ragù or filling. Next time, lower heat and more time.