I can't remember what city it was in, but it was in a department store restaurant that I was first exposed to Welsh Rarebit. It took me about 10 seconds to realize that this was the "Welsh rabbit" I'd heard of before. It sounded like it would be a little exotic and a bit savory, and goodness knows, it was one of those bland days when I could have used something savory, or even a bit gamey, in my life.

The more I think about it, the more I have the impression it was in a Lazarus department store, in Indianapolis. That doesn't make sense to me. I patronized the bar in their Castleton Square store almost daily for a period of months in 1974, but I can't recall that there even was a restaurant in that store, although I suppose there must have been. Maybe it was an L. S. Ayres store, instead?

A Promising Disappointment

In any case, was I got was a slice of Wonder bread, set diagonally in a fairly flat oblong bowl so that two corners stuck up in the air, with some warm Cheez-Whiz atop it. Needless to say, it didn't exactly hit the spot for "savory", but I was inspired by the dish. If someone did it right, Welsh Rarebit could be a rather zesty and satisfying meal, especially accompanied by a cold beer.

And if you understood how infrequently I drink beer, you'd understand how extraordinary that statement is. Beer calls for a salty food, and cheese sauces fit that description, and it calls for strong tastes. Adding some limburger to the cheese would be wonderful, if no other change was made, or perhaps some bacon.

And if you think about it, a Philly Cheesestteak is not that far removed from a Welsh Rarebit.

A Better Recipe

Alton Brown broadcast an interesting recipe for Welsh Rarebit in 2003. I won't claim that it's the ultimate Welsh Rarebit. There are far too many potential variations on this theme to allow any one recipe to claim top billing. On the other hand, I've never run across an Alton Brown recipe that wasn't tasty.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk in two tablespoons of flour. Whisk this constantly for 2 to 3 minutes without letting the flour brown, then whisk in a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and a half-teaspoon each of salt and pepper. (Alton uses Kosher salt. If you use table salt, as I do, you need less salt.) Add a half-cut of beer (Alton says to use porter) and whisk to combine. Pour in 3/4 cup of cream (I use half-and-half) and keep whisking until everything is smooth, and gradually add 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. After 4-5 minutes, the cheese will be melted and the sauce will be smooth. Add a couple of drops of Tobasco sauce (I prefer Sriracha), pour over toast, and serve immediately.

Alton says to use toasted rye bread. I like untoasted Italian bread instead.

Well, Bread

There's a lot of difference in Italian breads. The sliced loaves in the supermarket don't have the crust of bakery Italian breads, and some of them sneak in a sweetener; some of them even add shortening. There's a difference in the flour that is used, and the amount of time that the bread is raised will make a difference in the flavor as well.

You can't make really good Italian bread at home. They inject water into the oven while the bread is baking in commercial ovens, and you can't replicate that in the oven of a kitchen range. If you use bread flour, though, make your bread without any sweetener or shortening, you raise your dough at a fairly low temperature so that it rises slowly and for a longer period of time, and you bake it on a stone rather than in a loaf pan, you can come very close.

If you pick up a concrete pad at the home center, something about 16" square and 1.5" or 2" thick, that works well for baking pizza or bread on. There is a lot of moisture in that porous concrete, and the first time you heat it up in the oven, you'll generate tons of steam - so you 'll probably want to do this when the pad is the only thing in the oven. Once I'd done that the first time, I found that I could just leave the stone in the bottom of the oven. Because it adds thermal mass to the oven, it takes a little longer for the oven to warm up, but that also means that you end up with a more constant heat, instead of the oven cycling on and off while you're baking, meaning that everything tends to turn out a little better - and you don't have to find a place to store the stone where it remains clean.

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
Alton Brown - beer - Castleton Square - hearth breads - L. S. Ayres - Lazarus - Philly cheesesteak - porter - Sriracha - Tobasco