Pub Classics · Wales / England-wide

Welsh Rarebit

Name: Welsh Rarebit
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 200g mature cheddar, grated; 50ml ale or stout; 25g butter; 1 tbsp flour; 1 tsp English mustard; few shakes Worcestershire sauce; 1 egg yolk; 2 thick slices sourdough, toasted; A fried egg each, for buck rabbits (optional)

The thinking person’s cheese on toast — a molten ale-and-mustard cheese sauce poured over toast and grilled until blistered. Add an egg and it becomes a buck rabbit.

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 20 min
Yield: Serves 2
Difficulty: Easy
Era: Georgian

Ingredients

200g mature cheddar, grated
50ml ale or stout
25g butter; 1 tbsp flour
1 tsp English mustard; few shakes Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
2 thick slices sourdough, toasted
A fried egg each, for buck rabbits (optional)

Method

Melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook 1 minute.
Whisk in the ale to a smooth paste, then melt in the cheddar over a low heat — never let it boil.
Off the heat, beat in the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and yolk.
Spread thickly over the toast, right to the edges, and grill at 230°C / 450°F for 3–4 minutes until blistered and bronzed.
Crown with a fried egg for the full buck. Eat while molten.

Oven temperatures are given in Celsius, Fahrenheit, fan and gas mark throughout. Quantities are metric, as cooked and written in the UK.