Byron launches new flexitarian beef burger

Are meat products blended with plant-based ingredients the key to sustainable eating?

The plant-based burger industry is booming, with increasing numbers of restaurants and food manufacturers responding to consumers’ demands for a more ethical patty in their bun.

There has been much fanfare around the recent launch of the UK’s first plant-based ‘bleeding’ burger that’s made to resemble meat, unlike the often mushy burgers made of chickpeas and lentils that vegetarians and vegans have grown so accustomed to.

However for many ardent carnivores, these plant-based alternatives simply don’t hit the spot and won’t satisfy their meat cravings.

So what’s an eco-conscious burger lover to do?

Enter, the flexitarian burger.

Already available in the US, the UK’s first flexitarian burger is set to launch at Byron Hamburgers on April 24.

The new patty, called the Flex, consists of 70 per cent British beef and 30 per cent sautéed mushrooms, and is a first on the casual dining scene.

The idea is to appeal to the growing number of food lovers who identify as flexitarian, with a third of Brits admitting to consciously reducing their meat intake due to changing tastes and lifestyles.

The Flex burger (Byron)

Alongside the Flex, Byron is adding the Reflex to its burger lineup, which is served with a more decadent line up of toppings. However diners can request the Flex patty to be swapped into any of the burgers on Byron’s menu.

“The Flex and the Reflex burgers have been created because our customers want them,” said Paul Mason, Head of Food at Byron.

“Whether it be for health or sustainability reasons, there’s lot of people who are more conscious about the amount of meat they’re eating right now. I wanted to create a burger that makes it easy for our customers to make a simple switch but keep all of the flavour of our proper classics.”

But of course the most important question is, how does it taste?

In what will be considered good news for some, you can’t taste the mushroom and there’s no slimy texture - it’s as juicy as you’d hope a beef burger would be, but simply feels a little lighter.

Whilst Byron’s Flex burger may be the first of its kind to hit the UK high street, the restaurant chain is not alone in the move to combine meat with more sustainable ingredients.

Earlier this year, Waitrose launched a new range of meat products that are around 25 to 35 per cent fruit, vegetables or pulses.

Waitrose's pork, chickpea, spinach and tomato sausages

The range, which includes pork, butternut squash & kale sausages and meatballs made from chicken, cauliflower, peppers, onion and chickpeas - was introduced to offer customers healthier options.

However they’re also an attractive choice for anyone conscious of eating more sustainably.

At the end of the day, giving up meat isn’t something everyone wants to do. Perhaps flexitarian meat products are the solution.