Welsh Rabbit (or Rarebit depending on who you ask)
As a child, I had the expected horrified reaction when I heard about “Welsh Rabbit” – you can’t eat bunnies! I was quite relieved when I found out that no cute bunnies come to a dastardly end in making this dish.
Decided I wanted something appetizer-y to go with the leftovers from last night and frankly was just looking for an excuse to make this. Now, this recipe definitely goes farther than just 4 pieces of toast – probably more like 8.
It’s goooooood. And the dog enjoyed it too, when he swiped one of the pieces of toast OFF MY PLATE. He loves cheese. He figured out the cheese that got flipped on the floor during the shredding also went into the pot on the stove and then over the toast. Points for being smart enough to figure it out. Bad dog for taking it off the plate. (He never does that.)
2 T butter
2 T AP flour
1 t dijon mustard
1 t worchestershire sauce
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 c porter beer (I used Guinness, though it’s not technically a porter, it seemed to work just fine.)
3/4 c heavy cream
6 oz (~1.5 c) shredded cheddar cheese
2 drops hot sauce (I used a garlic-chipotle hot sauce, and kinda went beyond 2 drops/shakes/shots, didn’t seem to be any adverse effects.)
Melt butter over medium-low heat, whisk in flour and cook/whisk for 2-3 minutes.
Whisk in mustard, worcestershire, salt & pepper until smooth.
Add beer, whisk to combine. (Let sit a couple minutes so it can heat back up.) Enjoy the rest of the beer while whisking and whisking some more.
Add cream, whisk to combine. (Let sit again.)
Gradually add cheese (small handfuls at a time) and stir/whisk constantly until melty/smooth.
Add hot sauce, one last whisk-in. Quick, start the toast!
Pour over toast and serve immediately.