What are the drivers of beef sensory quality using metadata of intramuscular connective tissue, fatty acids and muscle fiber characteristics?

•Cross-links are robustly associated with beef tenderness across experiments.•Cross-links are specifically associated with juiciness and flavour in Rectus abdominis muscle.•SFAs and MUFAs are associated with tenderness in Longissimus thoracis muscle only.•Lipids and fatty acids (except PUFAs) are associated with juiciness and flavour.•Muscle fibers, except IIA, are weakly associated with beef sensory qualities.