Many years ago, I met Brennan in a random class at university and if you told me then that I'd be interviewing him as a butcher in 10 years, I wouldn't have believed you. All these years later, our careers have directed us back to our passion for food and finding a special kind of joy in helping people to experience the same, each in our own ways.
Brennan is now an experienced butcher, although his path there has brought him a wealth of knowledge and experience in other areas that make him the perfect person to weigh in on relationship to food, how to make meat your friend in the kitchen and what it means to empower others to create a positive mealtime experience.
Brennan kindly took the time to talk to me about all things meat which allowed me to pen the article "Meet the Meat: Types of Cuts" and some others still to come. It was so refreshing and inspiring to meet another who values the sanctity of a good feed with family or friends and uses it to drive him to do what he does. Have a read below for what Brennan shared about his career, his love for food and making it accessible to everyone.
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I know you tried a few different gigs before settling into your current career, what made you decide to follow the path of becoming a butcher? Would you share a little about your journey?
I really fell into the trade, I bounced around doing a few different things, and I eventually settled on my love for cooking. I trained as a chef for a number of years but the late nights and the stress really got to me, and eventually found butchery. It’s all the best parts of cooking for a living, without the negatives. I get to help people prepare fantastic dinners for family and friends, whether through preparing something specific for them or just helping them along their way with a few handy tips.
Is there a particular ethic or practice that really resonates with you? What part of the job do you love the most?
The respect for the product really resonates with me in this trade. Trying to eliminate wastage and maximising every little thing you can get out of a carcass I think is a really important way to look at food, especially in today’s fast food driven world. My favourite part of my job is seeing how happy a great dinner can make people. I’ve had customers make 20 minute trips back to see me the day after they’ve cooked their product, just to tell me how much they or their family enjoyed it. That’s the sort of stuff that gets me out of bed in the morning.
How would you describe your relationship to food and mealtime, both the process and the experience?
I have quite a close relationship with food as you can imagine, my favourite time of the day is when I get to come home and make dinner. I just think there’s nothing more relaxing than pouring yourself a glass of wine and making beautiful food.
How do you think preparing meat has impacted your relationship with food?
I think it’s given me a greater appreciation for maximising every piece of produce, and really trying to live without wastage. I feel it’s really important that we get the most out of everything and we don't just pick and choose what we like and bin the rest.
Often when someone is on a modified diet, they need their meat to be tender enough to break up with the side of a fork. Away from personal preference, is there a type of meat that you would recommend or does it ultimately come down to the cut/preparation/cooking method?
A lot of it comes down to the way things are prepared, anything can be fork tender if it’s cooked correctly. I think the easiest and most accessible way for anyone to achieve that sort of texture would ultimately be slow-cooking. Any working muscle (eg. pork shoulder, beef brisket, chicken thigh) when given enough time and love will give you a beautiful tender fall apart piece of meat that can be enjoyed in a number of different ways.
I’ve heard a little bit about connective fibres, membranes, sinew etc. are these important to know when choosing meat?
They are quite important, and they will really affect the way that you should be preparing each specific cut. Anything with a lot of connective fibres and membranes will need to be slowly braised or roasted, as this is the only real way to break them down. This includes your “working muscles” or “tougher” cuts of meat. The more work a muscle does in the day to day life of the animal, the more connective tissue it builds up, and the more time it will need cooking to break them down. Cuts of meat such as a beef tenderloin or a pork fillet have basically no sinew or membranes, this is what makes them more tender, and this is why they lend themselves much more to grilling or pan frying while still remaining tender. Another important thing to think about is when you are cutting your meat on your plate, you should always be cutting “against the grain”. What this means is that when you look at your piece of meat, you will see all of the fibres of the meat lining up in the same direction. When you cut across these grains before placing the meat in your mouth, you’re creating less work for your mouth by cutting the fibres into smaller pieces. The smaller the fibre, the more tender the meat.
Do you have a favourite kind of meat or cut yourself? Why or why not?
Unfortunately for my waistline, I cannot say no to a well cooked piece of pork belly. I can’t go past the melt in your mouth, tender meat covered in salty crispy skin!
If you were speaking to someone with dysphagia, what is a piece of advice you might give them in choosing or preparing their meat?
The biggest tip I could give would be to get on a first name basis with your local butcher. They’ll help you to get exactly what sort of cut you need and how to cook it to your liking. Other than that, always looking for a well marbled piece of meat will help you avoid drying your meat out while cooking it, and always give you a better result.
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There you have it! Although meat can be a point of contention when battling dysphagia, there might just be more options available to you than you thought. So get out there, get experimental and get friendly with your local butcher 🙋🏻♀️ Who knows what you'll be able to create ✨
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