Rep Note:
Welsh Rarebit
12 April 2018
For a long time, I made Welsh rarebit following an old Gourmet recipe that got reprinted in one of the magazine’s invaluable collections of recipes for two. It called for grating some cheese, stirring in some Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and wine (or beer), spooning it atop a slice of ham or (cooked) Canadian bacon and a toasted English muffin half, topping it with minced green onion, and running it under the broiler. It was easy to do, but never altogether satisfying. That’s why I was ready to try something new when I came across a different approach in Judith Jones’s The Pleasure of Cooking for One.
A more orthodox preparation, Jones’s rarebit is made in a double boiler over simmering water. Into a tablespoon of melted butter, an egg yolk and a mixture of Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and wine (or beer) are poured and thickened; then the grated cheese is stirred in, a bit at a time. When all the cheese has melted, and the sauce is nice and thick, it is poured over toast. I’ve made it several times now, and, probably because of the egg, I don’t miss the meat at all. The recipe is easily doubled.
I really can never bring myself to call it “rabbit.”