Boiled beef is a food form that has firm ties with the peasant class. Not having the means to buy the more expensive cuts, poor folk from Europe, Asia, or the Americas had to settle for the tougher cuts of meat for sustenance.

But these bony, sinewy parts proved to be the best for creating a deep-flavored broth, and by long simmering, the beef cartilage and collagen are broken down and become soft and gelatinous.