Like making fire, shaking a signature cocktail and changing a tyre, cooking the perfect steak is a life skill every man needs in his day-to-day arsenal. Trouble is, every alpha male alive also thinks his steak is the best.

To really back up that claim, you need the ability to wax lyrical about different types of steak, why feed affects flavour and how the ageing process works. And yes, you have to serve up a piece of meat that is better than sex. Below, some of the UK’s best butchers and steak chefs explain it all, giving you a reusable clip of dinner party ammo that will serve you well for life.

Choosing Your Cut

The Shop

Selecting what’s going on your plate begins at your butcher’s door. “Take a moment to think about your shop. It should smell slightly sweet, the displays should be clean, as should the staff. A butcher who takes pride in his appearance will inevitably apply these principles to his work,” says Richard Turner, group head chef for Hawksmoor, one of the UK’s best steakhouses.

The Chat

It’s all about showing a bit of interest. Butchers are convivial chaps – they’re only too happy to talk about the types of steak on offer. “Ask what breed the animal is, where was it farmed, what it ate, how old it was at slaughter, how long it has been hung and – most importantly – if he has tasted it and if can he recommend it,” says Turner. “Enter a dialogue and treat it like a first date. It’s a life-long relationship you are after.”

The Selection

Steak, unlike chicken and pork, is a type of meat that you can tell a lot from, just by looking. There are plenty of visual cues to assess: “You want a deep red colour, which shows that it has been dry-aged,” says Grant Martin of boutique London butcher Parson’s Nose.

“There should be a slightly darker edge on the outside of the fat. This shows that it’s been aged properly and that the blood has passed through the meat with oxygen, causing the lactic acid build up that adds flavour to the meat. Steak that is sold too fresh after the kill is bright pink, tastes of very little and is tough to eat.”