Welsh Rabbit or Welsh Rarebit?

A Welsh rabbit or rarebit is one of the great English dishes. It even made its way into the great French chef Auguste Escoffier’s Cookbook, but then it does have 2,973 recipes in it! In Northern France you will still often see “un Welsh” on the menu. By the way, Auguste Escoffier uses the name Welsh Rabbit rather than Welsh Rarebit in my edition.

In Mrs Beeton’s original 1859 Book of Household Management, which has only about 1,350 recipes in it, she lists both a Scotch rare-bit and a Welsh rare-bit, which are so similar as to be almost identical. It would appear that in those times it was sometimes served as a kind of fondue which you dipped your bread in whilst at other times it was just a simple cheese on toast.

Welsh Rabbit and a nice glass of English beer - what better way tgo finish a meal?

 According to Wikipedia, the name Welsh Rarebit dates back to 1725 but it also states that the origin is unknown. Many think that it is originally an English dish and the name is intended as a slur on the poor Welsh who couldn’t afford meat and thus just ate cheese on toast unless they had hunted a rabbit. Similarly the other popular savoury dish Scotch Woodcock was named as a slur on the Scots as they also couldn’t afford meat and thus had to have scrambled eggs on toast with anchovies unless they had hunted some game. It appears that the name should really be rabbit and that the word rarebit is just a corruption of the original word. I have seen reference to an English Rabbit that includes red wine, presumably because the English don’t make much red wine! The Welsh claim the dish, Welsh Rare-bit, as their own and there is some evidence for this as they were known as great cheese eaters and one of the earliest British mentions of cooking cheese is in a Welsh cookbook.

A Buck rarebit is a variant on the Welsh rabbit but with a lightly poached egg on top. Other good variations include adding bacon, ham or anchovies on top of or underneath the cheese. I have not tried a variation on Irish Rabbit that is topped with onions, vinegar and pickles, or a very old recipe that has beef and horseradish underneath the cheese sauce.

Originally, Welsh Rabbit would have been served at the end of a meal as a savoury dish for the men after the dessert, perhaps with a glass of port. Nowadays, it would be a snack or light lunch or supper.

Recipes vary quite a lot but most include toast, cheese, beer or ale, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and mustard. Some include butter, flour or milk and I have even seen double cream, onions, sage and eggs in the recipes. Many today would add Worcestershire sauce and the Irish would tend to use Guinness or other stout rather than the beer or ale.

As for the cheese, I would tend to stick to Cheddar (West Country Farmhouse of course) but you might also try Lancashire or Cheshire or if in Wales why not Caerphilly.

If you don’t have any other recipe, why not try this simple one:

Welsh Rabbit Recipe for 2 or 4 depending on their appetite

4 slices of good white bread
200g of grated cheddar cheese
A generous splash of about 50 ml of any beer or ale (a dark winter ale works particularly well)
1 heaped teaspoon of ready made English mustard
A good pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder
Salt and black pepper to taste

Put all of the ingredients except the bread into a saucepan, mix and heat gently whilst stirring until all of the cheese has melted and melded together with the other ingredients. Don't let it bubble too much. Meanwhile lightly toast the bread. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the toast and grill until bubbling and beginning to brown. Serve quickly.

As for a wine pairing, if not drinking a port, you should probably go for a white wine or, perhaps more traditional in England, Cider. Perhaps, best of all, drink the rest of the bottle of ale you made the sauce with.  Remember the old saying - "beer after wine and you'll feel fine"; thus beer with the cheese course is always an option.