National Welsh Rarebit Day (Celebrating the Poor Man’s Meat)

“So, what is Welsh rarebit or rabbit? Isn’t it some rabbit dish that tastes like chicken?”

That’s a logical assumption – the name of the dish is associated with rabbit so one would think that poor little Peter Cottontail would be incorporated into it somehow. But, that’s not the case at all. Wikipedia very graciously gives us the real scoop on what’s in this dish. “The first recorded use of the term Welsh rabbit was in 1725, but the origin of the term is unknown. It may be an ironic name coined in the days when the Welsh were notoriously poor: only better-off people could afford butcher's meat, and while in England rabbit was the poor man's meat, in Wales the poor man's meat was cheese.”

“Cheese? No rabbit?”

That’s right, folks. Cheese. Stout, hearty Welsh Cheddar Cheese in all probability. Welsh Rarebit is simply cheese over toast. Nary a tail twitching thumper in sight.

“So how’d the Rabbit/Rarebit thing come about?”

Good question. There are very few theories out there and even fewer facts that I can get my hands on. How I wish I knew a food historian. *sigh* Anyway, most of the info I could find tended to sway between one of these two ‘explanations.’

It was a tongue-in-cheek thing where the upper-class English were lording it over the Welsh – the Welsh couldn’t afford, shoot, or otherwise get a rabbit (considered a lowly food) – so they started referring to the cheese and toast dish of the peasants as “Welsh Rabbit.”

I also found this next little bit somewhere on the net but I can’t remember where so I’m not able to attribute the source. If it’s copyrighted, I do apologize and will remove it as soon as you let me know.

    This dish was originally known as Welsh rabbit, for reasons that aren’t exactly clear but that most agree were intended to imply rudeness to the Welsh. During the late 18th century, derogatory terms such as rabbit became frowned upon in polite company and the name evolved into rarebit, meaning a choice morsel. Today, rarebit has come to mean tasty morsels of bread covered in a mustardy cheese sauce.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s all well and good but come on, Cath. Melted cheese on toast? That’s it?”

Well, not quite, dear readers. I mean, think about it. If it was just melted cheese on toast it could be an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich. No, this dish, even way back in the “I’m so poor my meat is cheese” days, has always been a flavorful, filling feast. Various combinations of beer or ale, mustard, ground cayenne pepper or ground paprika and Worcestershire sauce were, can be, and still are used to make the Rarebit – these ingredients are considered traditional for the dish. However the sauce can be made into a real money dish by blending the cheese, mustard, and one or two other ingredients into a béchamel or Mornay sauce.

“This is a Welsh dish – why does it have its own US Food Holiday?”

After finding out the cheese on toast part I, too, was curious as to what made it so special to warrant its own holiday. Aside from the obvious ‘bringing our food heritage with us on the boat’ thing (for which I am profoundly grateful that all the immigrants did), I think the answers lie in the actual ingredients of this versatile dish. For example, depending on the amount of cayenne pepper used, it can be mild for toddlers or ‘hotted up’ for the most fiery loving palate. It can be made to taste differently just by the beer or ale used. It can be comfort food for the masses or tarted up for the hoi-polloi (who are they anyway?). It’s familiar and comforting. I mean, who doesn’t like cheese on toast?

I found this recipe at http://www.cooks.com. Why don’t you whip up a batch of this sauce, put it over toast and celebrate the poor man’s meat!

"CLASSIC" WELSH RAREBIT SAUCE
1/4 c. butter
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. dry mustard
Dash of cayenne
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
8 c. (2 lbs.) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. paprika
4 whole eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. stale beer or ale
Melt butter in top of double boiler. Stir in flour, blend well. Add ale or beer slowly. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Add mustard, cayenne, paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Add grated cheese, continue to cook until cheese melts, stirring occasionally. Stir eggs while adding a little of the hot mixture to eggs, then stir the cheese mixture while adding the eggs to it. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Until Tomorrow...

"You know I love to talk about food I'm going to eat while I'm already eating."


Grace, on the TV show Will & Grace