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.