I know that you're supposed to cook cuts like beef chuck at a low temperature until they reach a high enough internal temp for the collagen to melt, which is why the same method wouldn't work for steak cuts that lack that collagen.
But why the low temp part? If the goal is to melt collagen, couldn't that be done just as easily at a higher temp?
Also: if there's something special about cooking the meat at a higher temp, regardless of the internal temp it ends up at, does that mean that you have to be careful when searing the meat before braising?
I had always thought that the toughness of a piece of meat depended on its internal temp, but it seems like a 200F braised chuck would taste different from a 200F skilled-fried overcooked chuck steak.