Welsh Rarebit (or Is It Rabbit?), A Great Comfort Food

From what I've read over the years, and don't ask me where at the moment, the real name of this dish is "Welsh Rabbit," with "rarebit" simply being a variation. Why it was/is called "rabbit," is unknown, as it has nothing to do with that animal, nor does it have ANY meat in it. Furthermore, it seems to have nothing to do with the Welsh either, in the national sense, but it is rather, from what is known, an English dish. Check the "Word History" below, as "Welsh" had more meanings prior to the modern era, one being "foreign" and another being "inferior," but whether either of these meanings ties in with the name of the dish is not known.

For those unaware, "Welsh Rarebit," the name I'll use, is a cheese sauce eaten over toast. "Apparently" it was developed in England in the early 1700s. There are many variations to the recipe, which generally involves melting fairly sharp cheddar cheese and mixing it with beer, butter, mustard, a bit of cayenne pepper, some Worcestershire sauce and egg (added after the sauce is taken off the heat). The variations include: using sharp American cheese, or Velveeta or Velveeta-style cheese, in place of the cheddar. Also small amounts of other cheese, like blue cheese of some type are added by some (to keep the English theme, use English Stilton, a type of blue cheese). Some use dark beer, some use light beer (in color, not calories), some use milk instead, or cream. Just to make a point, I just looked at an English cookbook I have and the recipe uses cream, not beer. For mustard, an old recipe I once had (I can't find it now) used dry mustard, and in fact, that recipe was the recipe I used the first time I ever made Welsh Rarebit (it used ale, but did not specify light or dark). Others use yellow mustard, while some use brown mustard. Some melt the butter and mix in some flour to make a roux which is used to thicken the sauce by adding the other ingredients to the roux and gradually heating it until all are mixed in and thickened. As to spiciness, I often use Asian chili paste (with no garlic), rather than cayenne pepper, but some recipes call for some hot sauce. Some add a small amount of tomato paste or ketchup, but most recipes I've seen do not use either, although I use ketchup. Some recipes use whole eggs, others call for just egg yolks. As for the toast, some use rye, some use wheat and some use white bread.

 If you've never eaten Welsh Rarebit, or if you've only had the store bought variety, to see what you might like, here's what I'd suggest, as I make a streamlined version of rarebit often, but just for one serving: get a small microwave-safe dish (even a cup), put in a couple slices of sharp American cheese (broken up a little so it melts easily), or a couple of slices of Velveeta cut into cubes. Add about a teaspoon of ketchup, a dash or two of Worcestershire, a little less than a tablespoon (but more than a teaspoon) of milk (I use evaporated milk) or cream, or half and half, a little sprinkle of cayenne (I use about a quarter teaspoon of chili paste), and a little squirt of brown mustard (I use the squeeze bottle, but use what you have; and yellow is fine). Put it in the microwave for less than a minute (if you have the more powerful microwave, maybe it will only need 30-45 seconds). You will want to watch the dish through the window to be sure it doesn't boil over, as I know from experience. I use a cup and I often, but not always, sit an over-sized microwave safe lid on top (it's from a larger microwave dish I have), just to be sure it doesn't spatter. Check to see if the cheese is melted, but if it's not completely, but is close, just stirring it through the hot mixture should complete the melting; otherwise, give it a few seconds longer. Stir it well to mix everything together and pour it over your slice of toast. This version will keep you from the involvement of opening beer; beating eggs, then mixing them with a little of the mixture to temper the eggs so they won't scramble, then blending them into the melted sauce; or melting butter and mixing in flour to make a roux, as this sauce should be adequately thick.  Once you see how you like this version, or not, you can try some of the other variations from above in small servings like this, before you move on to making larger amounts, and perhaps trying out the more elaborate style. Remember, if you use cheddar, it can often get grainy when melted.

Many years ago on the television comedy "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," the main character, Gomer, eats Welsh Rarebit at a little restaurant. He later sleep walks, going to his sergeant and giving him a piece of his mind. A cousin of mine believed the story, but I doubt any such thing will happen to you if you eat Welsh Rarebit, although I ate rarebit three days ago and I got pulled over in the middle of the night by a policeman, whom I promptly told off. After I got out of jail I thought about Gomer Pyle, my cousin and the Welsh Rarebit. Maybe there IS something to that story; after all, I got pulled over, but I don't have a car! How will I explain this to the judge at my court date next week? Hahahaha

In the first photo, I used some fresh sliced serrano chili pepper in this Welsh Rarebit.

 

WORD HISTORY:
Welsh-This word goes back to the name of a Celtic tribe, the "Volcae," the Latin rendering, but who "presumably" called themselves by a similar form. Why they used this word for themselves is unclear, although "some" believe it is linked to the ancestor of modern English "wolf," "perhaps" because they hunted wolves? Lived close to wolves? (Maybe they were ..."Dancing With Wolves" ... hey, maybe they were ahead of their time.) Anyway, Old Germanic borrowed the word as "walhiskaz," and it was a general term used by Germanic for "Celts." The word seems to have taken on the more generalized meaning "foreigner;" that is, "non-Germanic," as later, the meaning varied, depending upon which non-Germanic people was living next to a particular Germanic group: Germanic people in western Europe used it for various Celtic elements present there,^  southern Germanic groups used it for Romans, who lived to the south of them, and the Germanic Anglo-Saxons of England used it for "Welsh," a people on the far western side of Britain, who are a Celtic people, but who do not use any form of this word for themselves, as they call themselves "Cymry" (meaning "countryman"). Anyway, the Germanic term gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "wielisc," which meant the more general "Britons, non Anglo-Saxons," and also the derived "wealh," meaning 'foreigners." Since the Anglo-Saxons used many of the Celtic Britons as servants, the word also took on the meaning, "servant, a non-free person," and that notion later evolved into the meaning "inferior." By the way, in German, "Kauderwelsch" means "gibberish;" that is, "speech that cannot be understood, speech that is foreign to one," which comes from the notion of "foreign," and German also even uses a verb, "welschen," to mean, "to speak in an unintelligible way or language."

^ Swiss Germans use "Welschland" to mean the French speaking part of Switzerland. As with other modern national groups, the French descended from a mixture of people, but the basis of the French came from Celtic people long ago. Whether modern DNA will change (or has already changed?) that historical assumption remains to be seen. My point here is only that the German population of Switzerland long ago called the French part of the area by that name, which simply ties in with Germanic people often calling Celtic people by that name.