Farmstead Cheeses and Wines: Jeff’s Blog

I’m a big fan of Rarebit - a simple to prepare dish that’s perfect on a cold wintry night. The official name of the dish is Welsh Rarebit, with the second word pronounced as if it were in the hare family.

Dating from the 18th century, Rarebit is a sauce made from a mixture of cheese and butter, poured over buttered toasted bread. The sauce may also be made by blending cheese into a
béchamel (a Mornay sauce).

Rarebit is normally made with Cheddar cheese, although I like it with Gorwydd Caerphilly, a Welsh cheese with lemony notes.

Here’s a few recipes:
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 beer3/4 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.

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon mustard powder, or to taste
½ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
¾ cup strong dark beer, like Guinness
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
1 pound Cheddar, Double Gloucester or other English cheese (or other good semi-hard cheese, like Comté or Gruyère, or a mixture), grated
4 to 8 pieces lightly toasted bread.

Put butter in a saucepan over medium heat and, as it melts, stir in flour. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and very fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and cayenne, then whisk in beer and Worcestershire sauce.

When mixture is uniform, turn heat to low and stir in cheese, again stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a broad container to set (you can refrigerate for up to a day at this point).

Spread mixture thickly on toast and put under broiler until bubbly and edges of toast are crisp. Serve immediately.

**Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend was a newspaper comic strip written and drawn by Winsor McCay beginning in 1904, published in the Evening Telegram.

The Rarebit Fiend strips were amusing morality plays, meant to comment on the dangers of overindulgence, focusing on various people who have a passion for various foods - often, but not always, Welsh Rarebit.

Each strip features a different protagonist known as the Rarebit Fiend (who is rarely named in the comic strip, and who changes from strip to strip) in the course of strange dreams and nightmares. Upon awakening, the protagonist blames his dreams on eating the rarebit, or whatever other food he ate, thus exacting the price for their folly.