Set the timer to 205 minutes

How to use the online timer

Low and slow cooking rewards patience, and 205 minutes is a realistic stretch for a cut of meat that needs time to break down properly rather than staying tough. Set the timer once the oven's up to temperature, check in occasionally rather than opening the door every ten minutes, and let the last hour do the work of turning something ordinary into something worth the wait. Good braises can't be rushed.

Press Start and away it goes, counting down on its own without needing you to babysit it every few seconds. The only real rule is keeping this browser tab open, since the countdown pauses along with the page if you close it or shut the browser down entirely. Right at zero, a sound plays to let you know time's up, clear enough to hear from the next room over.

A kitchen timer only works in the kitchen, and a phone timer competes with texts, calls, and every other app fighting for your attention. Keeping the countdown in a browser tab sidesteps both problems: it goes wherever your laptop or phone goes, and it isn't trying to notify you about anything else. Minimise it, work on something else, and it'll be counting when you check back. If you would rather say put a timer on for 205 minutes, that works too — press Start and the page does the rest.