Welsh Rarebit Ultimate Cheese on Toast
Welsh Rarebit is the ultimate cheese on toast, a rich sauce with English mustard and Worcestershire sauce, grilled until golden and bubbly.
My rarebit sauce omits beer, mainly because this is my favourite indulgent breakfast, but the liberal sprinkling of Worcestershire sauce and mustard means it lacks for nothing in the flavour department!
Welsh Rabbit
Welsh rarebit is a strange old beast of a recipe. For years, I thought it was cheese on toast with a bit of Worcestershire sauce, which it was back in the 18th century.
It evolved over time to become a "spiced" cheese sauce that was slid under the grill.
As a dish, it so often gets called Welsh rabbit, for good reason, that name predates the rarebit version by about half a century.
It is thought that the "Welsh" part of the name was used in a pejorative sense; how true that is, who knows. The implication was that only the Welsh would call cheese on toast "rabbit", odd really when you consider that we are a nation that loves toad in the hole and spotted dick!
But enough history, it is glorious! The cheese sauce is not dissimilar to the one used in the outrageously indulgent chicken parmo from Middlesbrough and my cauliflower cheese pasta bake.
The cheese sauce starts life as a classic bechamel, much like the French classic cod mornay, and my smoked haddock gratin.
But it gets a healthy dash of flavour thanks to English mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
Two ingredients that form the base of many British "devilled" recipes, I have both in my devilled mackerel fillets and devilled mushrooms on toast recipes.
I usually round mine out with a fried egg and turn it into a buck or golden rarebit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cheese should I use?
As far as I am concerned, there is only one cheese for this recipe, and that is a really good, sharp, properly matured British cheddar cheese.
Feel free to play around with additions and blend in cheese like Cheshire or Lancashire for acidity. Wensleydale mixes a little sweetness with the acidity, but stick with cheddar as the base flavour.
Is this vegetarian?
Worcestershire sauce is made with anchovies, so out of the box, no, it is not.
You could replace the Worcestershire sauce with Henderson's relish, which is a similar condiment with a vociferous following. I use it in place of Worcestershire sauce in my vegan and vegetarian dishes, where I would typically use Worcestershire sauce. You could also use mushroom ketchup.
Do I have to use English mustard?
We so often fall into absolutes. I prefer really pokey English Mustard in my rarebit. But you should absolutely use what you like!
Dijon is the least pokey of mustards, but you could use German mustard or even whole-grain mustard in this recipe.
Why is there no beer in this recipe?
Many traditional Welsh rarebit recipes call for beer, and it is a lovely addition.
However, as I have alluded to above, this recipe for me is usually a late-morning indulgent breakfast/brunch... and my days of beer for breakfast are a long way behind me!
I do use beer in the topping for my smoked haddock rarebit recipe, so if you are curious, you could take a look there!
What does the egg yolk do in the sauce?
The egg yolk adds a wonderful sweetness and glaze to the cheese sauce when you slide it under the grill.
Serving Suggestions
As I have mentioned above, I like to serve my Welsh rarebit with a fried egg, it turns it into a buck rarebit.
It is fantastic for a late breakfast, and it is a cracking hangover remedy, but it works well as a light but calorific meal at any time of the day.
It's not a dish that I serve with a side, you could of course add a side salad, and it is great with some slices of good fresh tomato.
I am, however, rather fond of adding some chutney or pickle on the side.
I've used everything from my red cabbage chutney and apple chutney to piccalilli and even a big dollop of Branston pickle.
Equipment Used
I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/sStovetop.
- Grill or broiler.
- Small 12-15cm or 4-6" milk pan.
- 18cm or 7" saucepan.
- A small frying pan large enough to fry 2 eggs if you are making buck rarebit.
- Butter knife.
- Grater.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Welsh Rarebit Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 ml Milk 1¼ Cup
- 30 g Butter 2 tablespoon (plus extra for buttering toast)
- 30 g Plain Flour ¼ Cup
- ½-1 tablespoon English Mustard (prepared)
- 1-2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (use Hendersons relish or mushroom ketchup if you are vegetarian)
- 75 g Cheddar Cheese ¾ Cup
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 4 Slices Bread
- 2 Large Eggs (for frying if you are making buck rarebit)
- Oil (for frying eggs if needed)
Instructions
- Heat the milk in a small pan until just before the boiling point.
- Melt the butter over a medium heat without foaming and then add the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the milk a little at a time, stirring constantly until a smooth white sauce is created.
- Throw in the cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and cheese and keep stirring until melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the egg yolk.
- Lightly toast both sides of the bread, I like to butter my toast, in for a penny in for a pound 😉
- Then spread on the cheese sauce topping and return to the grill until nicely caramalised.
- If you are making buck rarebit, fry your eggs and serve them on the grilled rarebit.
Where I come from the depths of rural kent, my mum and Nanny used to mix egg yolk cheddar chives and whatever they had in the pantry and toast it to. Nanny always put a dash of sauce in here sometimes a bit of home made beer to. God knows what you would call it but by God did it taste wonderful. So many happy memories of cheese on toast xx
Beer is a relatively common ingredient in variants of Welsh rarebit, but I typically have this as an indulgent breakfast and my days of mixing beer and breakfast are long behind me 🙂
I have welsh rarebit every day for breakfast.. I add crumpled bacon and musrooms.... love it..Silver Grill, Higbee's was the best.
I like to try different recipes of this
Yowsers, every day, now them's some goals! Enjoy 🙂
Totally forgot the mustard because you don't mention where to add it in the recipe. 🙁 Still yummy, but mustard would've made it pop.
So sorry about that, I tidied up the methodology not so long ago and it would seem it went a little too far. I've added it back in, hopefully you went back for another remake with mustard. Thanks for the heads up.
Cheese on toast with an egg was my favourite Sunday evening meal at my parents house before catching the evening train back to London. You have just turned it up several notches. Love the idea of an egg on the spicy rarebit!
Oh my! What a delicious recipe! I love how simple but delicious it looks. SOmetimes classic recipes are the best.
you are wrong about Worcestershire sauce, while i agree about other versions and copycats of that sauce there is a sauce like it that is to yorkshire tastes better, hendersons relish made in sheffield can be substituted for it and works great.
its sometimes just called yorksire relish, but hendersons is the name on the bottle most yorkshire supermarkets stock it but Morrisons stock it country wide, its worth a try james martin uses it, if its good enough for him its good enough for us.
lol, I do hope that is written with a sense of sarcasm and mirth 😉 I know Henderson's relish and as with all things there will be likers and detractors, I very much prefer Worcestershire sauce and even more so in Rarebit, for me it just is not right without it. That does not mean that is the only way to cook it, just the way I prefer and advocate. Whilst James Martin may like Hendersons, chefs as varied as Fergus Henderson and Gordon Ramsay prefer Worcestershire sauce in theirs 😉
On a practical note, my site reached people in 87 different countries over the last 30 days, Hendersons being available in Morrisons in the UK does not make it a particularly viable ingredient recommendation for a global readership whereas L&P has Global Distribution.
@Brian Jones, how about h.p. sauce. house of parliament, or in the states a1 sauce.
I'm a Brummie and the HP sauce factory was not far from home growing up and I love the stuff on a sausage sandwich, but it is not for me in Welsh rarebit... but there are no right and wrong answers in food, if you like it knock yourself out 🙂
Can't believe that for my whole life i always thought this was a rabbit stew 🙂
lol, yes the name is very deceptive.
Cheese on toast with an egg was my favourite Sunday evening meal at my parents house before catching the evening train back to London. You have just turned it up several notches. Love the idea of an egg on the spicy rarebit!
Apparently, it is a really traditional dish but one I had never heard of... It is now my favourite way to serve it... Even more indulgence 😉
Oh my! What a delicious recipe! I love how simple but delicious it looks. SOmetimes classic recipes are the best.
Thanks Julie, I do love this recipe! Naughty but very very nice 😉
Still a staple in the west country - although the quicker melt cheese with Worcester on toast approach is more prevalent.
So glad you found this, I've just filmed a video for this last weekend... Cheese on toast with a splash is more common for me too, but it is worthwhile treating myself occasionally 🙂
This would be my ultimate comfort breakfast, definitely a must try, pinned!
It is very very good 😀
No one eats Rarebit on this side of the Atlantic, which is odd, cosidering the amount of fat we love to have here. I'd love to give it a go.
I think it is now relatively un common in the UK too although it was very popular once upon a time. I love it a really luxurious breakfast treat, infact we had it for breakfast today 😉
@Jeff the Chef, the odd canadian with british and irish roots