Shank at 70 degrees: Scotch broth · 396

Lower leg packed with collagen. Hours of moist heat turn it into the sticky, spoonable meat of osso-style braises. Cheap per kilo until restaurants rediscovered it; still one of the best value cuts on the animal. Liquid should come halfway up the shanks. Turn once so both sides glaze.

Buy for size match — two shanks of equal weight cook evenly in one pot. Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Scotch broth.” Use 70 degrees and 70 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat.

At the counter, read the use on Shank before the photograph. 70 degrees is the internal heat, “Scotch broth” is the dish, and 70 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. French-trimmed shanks with a clean bone handle look better and brown more evenly.