Welsh Rarebit, or to use its original name, Welsh Rabbit, was a very popular dish in the tea rooms I used to run, for breakfast, brunch or lunch.

There are many different versions of this very traditional British dish but I am going to share the Welsh Rarebit recipe and Buck Rarebit recipe our customers enjoyed so much!

What is Welsh Rarebit?

Welsh Rarebit is a very superior form of cheese on toast and has been popular since the eighteenth century. It was first mentioned as Welsh Rabbit in 1725 and not referred to as Welsh Rarebit until 1781.

Hannah Glasse in her book ‘The Art of Cookery‘, published in 1747 gives recipes for Scotch Rabbit, Welsh Rabbit and English Rabbit, all of which are different version of cheese on toast. These eighteenth century rabbits have survived to the present day as Welsh Rarebit and although we now only have one name, the recipes are many and varied.

Every recipe contains cheese and bread but may include beer or ale, wine, milk, cream, eggs and different flavourings such as mustard, cayenne pepper and Worcester sauce.

Welsh Rarebit

Recipe by Scones Plus More

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, LunchCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

Adjust servings

+

–

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces / 225 grams / 1 cup grated cheese (a good strong mature cheddar)

• 2 eggs

• 1 teaspoon English Mustard (or to taste)

• Worcester Sauce – a good shake

• Your choice of bread, sliced and ready to toast – I used a white commercial sourdough loaf and my homemade seeded wholemeal bread. The rarebit mixture should be enough for approximately 8 medium slices of bread.

Directions

• Put the grated cheese, eggs, mustard and Worcester sauce into a food processor and process until you have a spreadable paste.
• Toast your bread.
• Spread a fairly thick layer of the rarebit mixture over your toast, making sure you cover all the edges.
• Put under a pre-heated grill until hot, bubbly and golden brown.
• Serve immediately.

Storing and Freezing Welsh Rarebit

Any leftover Welsh Rarebit mixture can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to three days. It also freezes very well.

Buck Rarebit, Sussex Rarebit and other variations

A traditional variation of Welsh Rarebit is Buck Rarebit, which is Welsh Rarebit topped with a poached egg.

While we were running the tea rooms we served our own variation – Welsh Rarebit with a layer of ham – which we called Sussex Rarebit. To make this spread a thin layer of the rarebit mixture on your toast, then top this with a layer of ham (preferably home cooked) and then a second layer of rarebit mixture. Then grill as before until golden brown.

Customers often requested their own variations and I have made rarebits with a layer of sliced tomatoes, or tuna, or smoked salmon, or sliced onions instead of ham. My own favourite is a rarebit with a layer of sliced tomato topped with a poached egg.

Welsh Rarebit and the Glucose Revolution

I have recently been reading ‘Glucose Revolution‘ by Jessie Inchauspe and trying to follow her advice. She is a French biochemist best known for creating simple glucose hacks to reduce blood sugar levels naturally, flattening sugar spikes.

I realised that this Welsh or Buck Rarebit recipe would make an excellent savoury breakfast for someone following her guidelines, especially if you use a high fibre bread such as my homemade seeded wholemeal bread. The cheese and egg combine protein and fat and if you include a layer of sliced tomatoes, sliced onions or wilted spinach, you have your vegetable fibre too.

Next time I will share my recipe for the wholemeal bread I mentioned above..

Until then…

Happy Baking!

Tanya