Short cuts - includes recipe - short ribs

Sunset, July, 1999

Beef short ribs are tasty, but they're also full of long strips of connective tissue. This tough stuff melts away if you give ribs the long, slow cooking treatment. You can get to the ribs' rich flavor faster, however, if you cut them Korean-style, with strategic slashes parallel to the bone. Pulled out to a thin layer - butterflied - and browned quickly on the barbecue, the meat is juicy and tender, and the gristly strips can be trimmed off easily with a sharp steak knife. The diagram below is an end view of the rib showing how to make the cuts.

Korean Barbecued Short Ribs

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes to marinate ribs

NOTES: Buy ribs with bones whole, not cracked. Serve with dressed bitter greens or braised bok choy and rice.

MAKES: 4 servings

4 beef short ribs (about: 1 lb. each)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1. Trim thick outer layer of fat from ribs; discard. Rinse meat and pat dry.

2. On the meaty side of each rib, 1/4 inch in from the edge opposite the bone, make a cut the length of the rib, down into meat but not quite through it (a). Turn the rib over. About halfway between bone and first cut, make another lengthwise cut almost through meat (b). Flip the rib over again and make a third lengthwise cut parallel to and around the bone almost through meat, leaving bone attached (c). Pull out to unfold meat.

3. In a 1-gallon heavy plastic food bag, combine soy, sherry, sugar, and ginger; shake to mix. Add short ribs to bag, seal, and turnover to coat meat with marinade. 4. Set bag in a bowl; chill at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day, turning several times. Remove: ribs and discard marinade.

5. Lay ribs, pulled open so meat is flat, on a barbecue grill over a solid bed of hot coals or high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds). Close lid; open vents for charcoal. Brown meat, turning once, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter.

Per serving: 728 cal., 73% (531 cal.) from fat; 44 g protein; 59 g fat (25 g sat.); 2.8 g carbo (0 g fiber); 628 mg sodium; 164 mg chol.