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SG Archive: Welsh Rarebit
Phoney Coney
When I was around 10 my family visited Colonial Williamsburg. I only remember one thing from that trip: My first taste of Welsh Rarebit (or rabbit, the etymology is rather confused). It was at Chowning’s Tavern (I remembered that as well) and I adored it. Smooth unctuous cheddar with a hint of spiciness served on crisp toast and contrasted with the bright acid flavor of tomato. Seriously good stuff.
When I lived in northern Virginia a few years ago I made another visit to Williamsburg and again had rarebit at Chowning’s. To my complete surprise, the intervening 40 years (and the multitude of rarebits I had made) hadn’t affected my memory of the way that first experience tasted at all.
However, in the intervening years I’d developed a recipe of my own and it remains my favorite.
Welsh Rarebit
Serves 4.24 oz. sharp cheddar cheese — shredded
1 cup beer
2 tbsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
6 tbsp butterMelt butter in a heavy sauce pan over low heat. Add cheese a small handful at a time and stir until melted. (Note: The butter and cheese will tend to remain separate.) Whisk in half of beer. (This should combine the butter and cheese.) Add additional beer in small increments until mixture is a smooth sauce. Whisk in remaining ingredients.
Note: Depending on the cheese and your preferred consistency you may not need all the beer or may need a bit more.
Although toast is traditional, my favorite base for rarebit is homemade English muffins.
Try rarebit with…
No-Knead English Muffins
Tomatoes Parmigiano
Fried Okra
4 Responses to “SG Archive: Welsh Rarebit”
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Disclaimer: Most quantities in recipes are approximate. Adjust as needed according to your taste and experience. Unless otherwise specified, eggs are large and butter is unsalted.
So, does the beer cook off and is the alcohol content gone? Can I serve this to young people? Sounds easy and I can’t wait to make it but I have underage children.
Alice
Alice,
You never vook off all the alcohol in a dish – there is always a bit. However, let’s estimate how much alcohol is actually in the dish. Beer is typically 3 – 7 percent alcohol so let’s call it 5% and let’s guess that in the 15 – 20 minutes of cooking you reduce that by half to 2.5%. The total amount of the dish is about 3 cups including the beer so the beer is a third of it. Therefore the final alcohol content is .025 * .33 = .825% – less than 1% alcohol in the final dish.
What’s your beer recommendation? A lager? Something with a bit more malt to it?
Bill,
I particularly like Irish Harp lager.