MELTINGLY TENDER, falling-off-the-bone beef short ribs are in the midst of a well-deserved revival; I see them on menus all year long. Call me old-fashioned, but I still find a hearty meal of short ribs most appealing in cold weather. Now is the ideal time.  This full-flavored cut belongs to that small, miraculous class of foods characterized by both drop-dead deliciousness and dead-simple preparation. Low, slow cooking tenderizes the sinewy meat while rendering the fat. Ask your butcher for his or her largest, leanest and meatiest ribs (ideally about 2 pounds apiece), and ask to have them cut in half crosswise. One 14- to 16-ounce piece, bone in, makes an ample serving.  You’ll find that virtually every recipe comes down to three simple steps: brown, braise and defat. Best of all, only the initial browning requires serious attention. Subsequently, the succulent ribs all but cook themselves. While simmering gently on the stove top or in the oven, the beef absorbs spices and aromatics from the braising liquid, which is, in turn, flavored and thickened by the rich collagen released by the bones.  Once the desired cut-with-a-spoon tenderness is achieved, defatting is easy. After cooling, simply refrigerate the ribs and their liquid for a few hours or, better still, for a couple of days. The fat will rise and congeal on top and can be skimmed off with a spatula. To serve, bring to room temperature and reheat (covered) in a 350-degree oven for about 25 minutes. This dish’s prepare-ahead nature makes it great for winter entertaining.  Another advantage of short ribs, for cook and diner alike, is their versatility. Here are three very different preparations: the classic one, which includes red wine and basic French aromatics, plus a ragù you can make with it to serve over pasta; a spicy Mexican-style variant enhanced with árbol chilies, beer, white beans and scallions; and my favorite, Shanghai-style ribs suffused with lemongrass, hoisin sauce, chilies and ginger.  Whatever you do, be sure to make extra. Short ribs lose nothing in the freezing and are a godsend when you have little time to cook, winter is behaving badly and you crave something to warm both body and soul.
Whether it’s a classic red-wine braise, fettuccini topped with rich ragù, a Shanghai-style platter fragrant with lemongrass and ginger, or a chili-spiked Mexican casserole, the magic ingredient is beef short ribs.