English Rarebit (Toasted Cheese)
The name of this dish was cause for lively discussion on instagram. Is it a rarebit or a rabbit? Is it Welsh or English?
All my British friends assured me the dish is now referred to as a “rarebit.”
Whether or not it is English or Welsh likely depends on the eater’s locale. For clarity, I am calling it English Rarebit. No offense to the Welsh. Or anyone else.
What actually constitutes a rarebit, English, Welsh, or otherwise, is even more contested. Everyone agrees there must be cheese, ideally Cheddar, and thickly sliced bread, ideally white. From there matters get muddy.
Let me backtrack a bit. Jane Grigson, writing in English Food, cites one Mr. J. Byrom, who mentions eating “Welsh rabbit” in his journal. The year was 1725. By 1747, when Hannah Glasse publishes The Art of Cookery, Scotch, Welsh, and English Rabbits are differentiated. Notably, English Rabbits call for toasting the bread before pouring red wine over it. Only then is the cheese added.
The rabbit, or rarebit, was eaten as a light meal or served as a savory. The savory, that uniquely English course following dessert, was invented to accompany the last drops of wine. After World War II, both elaborate meals and the household servants who prepared them became less commonplace in Britain. The savory didn’t so much fall out of favor as move from the back of the meal to the front, where it became the appetizer. That said, people are less inclined to spend time frying or grilling when they could be socializing with their guests. This means many of the delicious savories once commonplace are now either restaurant fare or rarely encountered.
Having said this, do know that recipes for rarebit abound, and the above history barely scratches the surface of a beloved dish.
For all the cheese eating we do in America, we never hear about rarebit, much less eat it.
(Or I’m out of touch and everyone but me is eating rarebits?)
This is unfortunate: Rarebit is what grilled cheese can be if it tries really hard. Further, it does this with ingredients most of us have to hand: cheese, bread, beer or milk, mustard, and cayenne.
A few notes:
Do not be alarmed if the cheese mixture appears grainy. Keep stirring. It will find itself and smooth out.
I consulted several English cookbooks before making English Rarebit. Only Fergus Henderson cools the cheese mixture before toasting it. You need not, but it struck me as good advice: pouring a hot cheese mixture over room temperature bread could cause problems. To that end, I poured the cheese sauce into a Pyrex glass dish. While it cooled, I cleaned up.
You will find yourself with a cheesy pan. Soak it in warm soapy water cut with a little white vinegar. It will clean up easily.
Never put your camera in the sink. Ever.
A final note: As I was making English Rarebit, my husband was off performing a work-related site visit. He texted me to say he was coming home, and had not eaten since breakfast.
The perfect snack awaited him.
English Rarebit (Toasted Cheese)
I am indebted to Jane Grigson’s English Food, Fergus Henderson’s The Whole Beast, and Simon Hopkinson and Lindsay Bareham’s The Prawn Cocktail Years
Prep Time: About 45 minutes
Part of this time is allowing the cheese mixture to cool.
Servings: 2, easily doubled.
Please read notes, below, for discussion of variations and advice on cleaning up.
You will need a medium sized frying pan to make the cheese sauce. I used an 8 in/22 cm frying pan. You’ll also need a medium sized heatproof container to pour the cheese sauce into. I used a Pyrex storage container measuring 7x5inches/18x13cm.
I toasted the cheese under the broiler. To avoid drips, I put the bread on a tray.
2 thick slices white bread
1 ounce/15 grams unsalted butter
2 teaspoons Worcestshire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
tiny amount cayenne pepper (optional)
2-3 tablespoons Stout, Guiness, Porter, or milk
1 teaspoon English Mustard (I use Coleman’s)
4 ounces/125 grams Cheddar cheese, grated or shaved using a vegetable peeler
Place the pan over medium heat. Melt the butter.
Add the Worcestshire sauce, Tabasco sauce, cayenne pepper (if using), and mustard. Stir with wooden spoon to blend for minute or two. Let the mixture simmer gently.
Add the beer or milk, and then the cheese. Stir to blend. As the cheese melts, it may appear grainy. Keep stirring; it will smooth out.
If the mixture appears dry, add a little more beer or milk. Taste for seasoning; you might want to add a little more Worcestshire, Tabasco, Beer, or mustard at this point.
Stir just until the cheese mixture coheres. Taste for seasoning.
At this point you can pour the cheese mixture into a heatproof container to cool up to 24 hours, refrigerating it after about one hour. Or you can continue with the recipe.
Either way, when you are ready to eat, place the bread on a baking tray to avoid drips.
I toasted on one side, under the broiler. If you want to toast both sides of the bread, toast one side first, then proceed, below:
Using a knife or small spatula, spread the cheese thickly on each slice of bread and broil, watching it closely. When rarebit is browned and bubbling, eat.
Rarebit is traditionally served with the remaining ale used to make the cheese sauce. Some recipes suggest offering a bottle of Worcestshire sauce, too. Fergus Henderson, writing in the classic The Whole Beast, suggests offering diners a glass of port.
Rarebit is best consumed immediately.
Notes:
The cheese may be grated using a Microplane or handheld grater. I have carpal tunnel and prefer using a vegetable peeler.
Do taste as you go; I needed to add a bit more Worcestshire sauce and a bit of beer.
Simon Hopkinson and Lindsay Bareham’s recipe adds two egg yolks, making the recipe richer.
Fergus Henderson adds a tablespoon of all-purpose flour. If you fear your sauce might break, feel free to do so.
I made the cheese sauce in a regular metal pan, which I soaked immediately afterward in hot soapy water. I added a good dose of white vinegar to the water, which helped clean-up and left the pan quite shiny.
