Food: It's time we beefed up our red meat steaks

Although today's restaurant menus reflect our healthier eating habits as chefs continue to come up with interesting vegetarian and seafood options, everyone will surely accept that we are still a nation of carnivores at heart.

Red meat continues to be the prime menu choice for many of us when eating out and subsequently, most chefs will feel that their dinner menus seem unfinished without the inclusion of a steak.

And with the massive rises in fuel and livestock costs over the past few years, the best cuts of beef may now be priced at the luxury end of the market, but this still doesn't seem to deter those weekend diners who insist on their well-earned steak after a hard week.

As far as cuts of beef go, the relatively low in fat fillet or sirloin have usually tended to be the traditional Friday night favourites, but the mark of a good steak isn't necessarily how lean it is. If you ask most chefs to recommend a steak, they're liable to plump for a rib-eye, which in previous years would have been dismissed as a fatty, cheaper cut.

Chefs have discovered that the marbling of fat through the meat gives it a stronger flavour as well as basting the meat naturally during the cooking process. Of course, the laws of supply and demand being what they are, the once cheap but newly-fashionable rib-eye will now set you back as much as a sirloin.

Rump is a popular and more affordable cut, though chefs often marinade it for 24 hours before cooking to add flavour and combat any toughness in the meat.

Once you're satisfied that you've chosen a decent cut of meat, there are still one or two cooking tips that you may want to follow. Temperature can be fairly important - applying heat to a heavily chilled piece of meat can cause it to toughen up, so take your steaks out of the fridge for at least half an hour before cooking.

Seasoning is also an area where you should take care. While the meat can benefit from a sprinkling of black pepper and perhaps finely chopped garlic, avoid flavouring with salt before cooking as this can draw out the moisture. Most chefs like to sear their steaks in a very hot griddle-pan. Allow them to rest for three to four minutes, then flash them under the grill before serving.

Of course, whatever cooking methods you prefer to use, serving the perfect steak is almost entirely down to your butcher. The quality of the meat is the number one factor and this can depend on variables such as age and sex of the animal, as well as the butcher's policy of hanging, storing and cutting. As a steak for dinner is no longer a cheap proposition, you may as well seek out a reputable supplier who can give you your money's worth by telling you a bit about what you are paying for.

As even dedicated carnivores know, red meat - although not without its health benefits - should be eaten in relative moderation.Surely that's all the more reason to make it a culinary event.

Andy McGregor is chef/proprietor at Blonde Restaurant, 75 St Leonard's Street, 0131-668 2917