Welsh rarebit

Ingredients

Sauce

• 250 gmature Cheddar or Caerphilly, grated
• 25 gbutter
• 25 gplain flour
• 150 mldark ale or stout
• 2 tspEnglish mustard, or 1 tsp powder
• 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 1egg yolk
• black pepper
• a pinch of cayenne

Toast

• 4thick slices good bread, sourdough or a farmhouse loaf

To serve

• more Worcestershire sauce
• a sharp salad
• pickled onions

Optional

• a poached egg on top, which makes it a buck rarebit

Directions

1. Use a genuinely mature Cheddar or a good Caerphilly. Grate it rather than slicing it, so it melts evenly. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook it for 2 minutes without colouring. This is the single most useful thing to understand about the dish.
2. Add it a little at a time and whisk smooth before the next addition, or it will lump. Use a dark ale or a stout, which has the malt sweetness and bitterness the sauce wants.
3. Let it simmer for a minute or two to cook out the flour and to take the raw edge off the beer. Now take the pan off the heat before the cheese goes in. Add the grated cheese off the heat and stir until it melts into the sauce. The residual warmth is enough, and this is where most attempts go wrong.
4. Stir it until it is smooth and glossy. The sauce should taste aggressively savoury and sharp on its own, since the bread mutes it considerably. Let the mixture cool slightly. It should be thick enough to spread rather than pour.
5. Toast the bread on both sides first. Toasting both sides before the sauce goes on is what keeps the base from going soggy, and it is a small step that makes a real difference. Use thick slices of good bread with some structure. Take it right to the crusts.
6. Put it close under a very hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes. Watch it constantly, since it goes from golden to burnt in seconds. Serve it immediately, with more Worcestershire sauce.
7. Cut it into halves or fingers and eat it hot. It is a supper dish, a savoury course and a pub lunch, and it takes fifteen minutes.

Technique

• Welsh rabbit is the original name and rarebit a later correction.
• The flour roux is what stops the cheese splitting.
• A buck rarebit has a poached egg on top.

Substitutions

• Milk in place of ale, which is milder.
• Any sharp hard cheese.

Variations

• Buck rarebit, with a poached egg.
• With leeks softened into the sauce.
• Made with a strong blue cheese.

History

Recorded from 1725 as Welsh rabbit, a mocking name suggesting melted cheese was the only meat a poor Welshman could get.

Frequently asked questions

What is Welsh rarebit?

Welsh rarebit is a snack from United Kingdom: mustardy cheese-ale sauce grilled over toast. Recorded from 1725 as Welsh rabbit, a mocking name suggesting melted cheese was the only meat a poor Welshman could get.

How long does Welsh rarebit take to make?

Welsh rarebit takes 10 min of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Welsh rarebit?

Yes, within limits. Milk in place of ale, which is milder. Any sharp hard cheese.

What is the most important thing to get right in Welsh rarebit?

Use a genuinely mature Cheddar or a good Caerphilly. Grate it rather than slicing it, so it melts evenly. Melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook it for 2 minutes without colouring. This is the single most useful thing to understand about the dish.