COLE?S COOKING A TO Z by Annette Gooch

Beef short ribs are thrifty, flavourful cuts from the end of the rib area (on the upper half of the steer) or the short plate (on the lower half).

Not to be confused with more expensive beef back ribs, the short ribs are excellent when properly browned and tenderised by cooking them in moist heat: braising them in a tightly lidded pot, baking them (uncovered) in liquid, or slow-simmering them in broth for a soup or stew.

Supermarket meat departments can generally supply either of two types of beef short ribs: English-style, which are longer because they?re cut parallel to the single bone running through each piece, or flanken-style, which are shorter (and meatier) and contain several cross-cut bones.

When purchasing beef short ribs, keep in mind the high proportion of bone to meat. A pound of ribs yields one or two servings.

Following thorough browning in the oven, these meaty little ribs bake in a tangy barbecue sauce for another hour or more. At the end of the baking time, they should be tender and delicious.

BARBECUE SAUCE

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil or butter

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

teaspoon salt

teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

cup ketchup

1 cup water

In a 1 -quart saucepan, cook onion in olive or butter until soft. Stir in garlic, salt, chili powder, brown sugar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and water. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

For additional culinary information and recipes from Cole?s Cooking A to Z, e-mail AtoZculinarysocietyofamerica.com.