I’ve had some epiphanies over the years as I worked a repetitive job (which does happen frequently in the butchery world) and every now and then I commit them to the memory bank and really try to flush out the finer points and details.

Not long ago I was pondering what flavour means and how we’ve all been fed information regarding flavour. We’re told that the harder a muscle works, the more developed the flavour in said muscle would be. That seems totally believable. Another common thread is ‘fat is flavour’. Which I totally believe. So, there’s those points.

I started thinking about flavour profiles of muscles and concluded that perhaps the animal actually tastes the same, from nose to tail, but that the only things that are undetermined are the tenderness of the muscles and the amount of fat either woven into the muscle or the amount of fat added to affect the flavour of the meat during cooking.

Hear me out;

Take a burger for instance. I cringe every time some burger enthusiast proclaims that the best burger mix is, without a doubt, 1 part ribeye, 1 part chuck, 1 part brisket, or something to that effect. After taking my previous point into consideration it would seem absurd to spend that much money to produce a burger.

My personal recommendation would be a 80% meat to 20% fat. Not all muscles would be ideal and that’s where this gets tricky. My preference would be generally something from the chuck (brisket or blade) namely because of the fat already playing a roll said muscle. Other areas of the carcass contain too much connective tissue that if not cleaned properly can add textures you’re not looking for in a burger. In the case of both the brisket and blade you’re almost there with the fat content too. If you need more, add more.

But all this to say, I believe achieving that magical burger really comes down to a meat to fat ratio that you find, through trial and error, to work for you. Isn’t that really the beauty of working with and cooking meat? That you can find your own truth and what works for you may not work for others. Flavour is subjective. Period. My mother wouldn’t touch a steak if it wasn't well done, which is a crime to me. But hey, each to their own.