Recipe
1910s Welsh Rarebit
Savory cheese sauce on toast: the quick supper and supper-club classic from Edwardian and Progressive Era cookbooks.
Context
Rarebit (sometimes rabbit) was cheese cookery at its simplest: melt, season, pour over toast.
Beer or ale lightened the sauce in many British versions; American books often used milk. Cayenne and mustard were the usual bite. It was a Friday or meatless supper long before that became a trend.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk or ale
- 2 cups sharp cheddar, grated
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- ¼ tsp cayenne or paprika
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- 4 slices toasted bread
- to taste salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in milk or ale until smooth and slightly thickened.
- Lower heat. Stir in cheese, mustard, cayenne, and Worcestershire until melted and glossy. Season.
- Spoon over hot toast and serve at once.