Welsh Rarebit Recipe

Every welsh rarebit recipe it seems is so different from the next.. who knows what the real original recipe was but here are some tasty variations that are sure to meet the standards of any scrutinizing palate.

Welsh Rarebit Recipe 1

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup beer
3 to 4 cups shredded orange cheddar cheese
2 teaspoon prepared mustard
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
Toast
Sliced tomatoes
Cooked bacon

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour. Whisk in milk and beer gradually; allow to thicken. Stir in cheese until melted. Add mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Quantities can be adjusted to suite individual tastes. Beer and Worcestershire sauce are essential to Rarebit flavor.

Cut toast into triangles. Alternate toast, sliced tomato and bacon, overlapping. Pour rarebit sauce over all.

Serves: Approximately 10.

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Welsh Rarebit Recipe 2

1 lb. New York cream cheese
1 heaping dessert-spoon corn-starch
1 egg
1/2 cup cream

Dissolve corn-starch in cream. Beat egg and add to mixture. Cut up cheese and pour in mixture. Put in double boiler and stir until melted and about to thicken. Add glass of beer or ale, continue to stir seasoning with salt to taste and adding paprika liberally. Stir until right consistency for serving. Serve on dark caraway rye bread or toast, as preferred.

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Welsh Rarebit Recipe 3

225g (8oz) Cheddar or Cheshire Cheese
2 Slices of Toast
½ Onion
2 tbsp Beer
1 tsp English Mustard

Pre-heat the grill.
Grate the cheese and onion then mix with beer and mustard.
Place half of the mixture on toast on each slice of toast.
Grill until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
Add sliced tomato or grilled bacon as an alternative
Top with a poached egg or two for a buck rarebit.

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Welsh Rarebit Recipe 4

8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
1 ounce butter
1 teaspoon dry mustard
pinch of paprika
1 tablespoon brown ale
4 slices toast

Heat cheese, butter, mustard, paprika and ale over low heat until melted. Bring to a simmer. Pour mixture over hot toast.

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Welsh Rarebit Recipe 5

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup porter beer
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 ounces (approximately 1 1/2 cups) shredded Cheddar
2 drops hot sauce
4 slices toasted rye bread

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes. Add hot sauce. Pour over toast and serve immediately.

Origin of Welsh Rarebit or "Welsh Rabbit" as some call it

In the 1950s, there was an attempt to find a biological agent which would eradicate rabbits. Naturally, the desire was to kill only those rabbits which were a pest, not pets. Testing a disease called myxomatosis on the Welsh island of Skomer, scientists discovered that its effects were confined to a single warren. They thought they had found the answer but when they tried it on the mainland it raged throughout the whole rabbit population of Wales, England and Scotland. What went wrong? The rabbit flea is a vector of myxomatosis and, for some reason, the (Welsh) rabbits of Skomer were (and still are) flea-free.

But to get back to the phrase... Welsh rabbit (1725) is certainly older than Welsh rarebit (1785) and was probably an ethnic slur based on the prevalence of cheese in the Welsh diet. Construing rabbit as rarebit (which makes more sense to Americans if you remember that the second r in rarebit is not really pronounced in standard British English) seems to be an attempt by the Welsh to deflect this slur. Thus we rarely find Welsh rabbit on Welsh menus while Welsh rarebit is commonplace.

There is a sign on the wall of "The King Ludd", a very old pub at Ludgate in the City of London, which identifies it as the site where the Welsh rarebit recipe was invented. ["Hah!" says Mike, the Welshman.]

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