Irish Rarebit Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between a rabbit and a rarebit? ›

Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit (/ˈrɛərbɪt/ or /ˈræbɪt/) is a dish of hot cheese sauce served on toasted bread. The original 18th-century name of the dish was the jocular "Welsh rabbit", which was later reinterpreted as "rarebit", as the dish contains no rabbit.

Is welsh rarebit just cheese on toast? No! Cheese on toast is made by grilling slices of pure cheese on toasted bread whereas welsh rarebit is a grilled cheese based sauce made from cheese, flour, beer and often added egg.

Kentish Rarebit was a popular snack with fruit pickers in Kent's orchards. You can make this simple dish yourself by mixing cheese and sliced apple, layering on bread and popping it under the grill.

Welsh rarebit sauce typically includes butter, milk, beer, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, ground black pepper, all-purpose flour, salt, and Cheddar cheese.

Rabbits have never had a purpose as farm animals, meaning they did not have the same opportunity to become a popular meat in American households. Since rabbits never became a popular meat from the agricultural industry, a stigma was attached to the meat itself.

We've discontinued our Welsh Rarebit, Robert. We're glad you enjoyed it though and will take note that you'd like to see it back!

The Welsh rarebit recipe was made by slightly toasting bread, then melting either Cheshire or Gloucester cheese atop the bread and adding pepper and mustard. The Scotch version melted the cheese in a small dish with the pepper and mustard, mixed them together and then browned the mixture. It was served with toast.

Welsh rabbit and rarebit are the same dish – hot cheese served on toast – but the original 18th-century name was supposed to be a joke (there was no rabbit in it at all) so it became known as rarebit. This recipe, a Scots version, is based on one in Margaret Dods' The Cook and Housewife's Manual, published in 1828.

Rarebit makes a fantastic light supper or hearty snack to have at a pub after a few pints of beer. A simple mixture of sharp cheddar cheese, beer, cayenne, and mustard served hot on crisp toast can be topped with an egg, if you're in the mood for a runny yolk.

Classic Welsh, Buck Rarebit or Elegance. Elegance being Classic Welsh with addition of poached egg and rashers of bacon. Buck being just the egg added. Which ever you have you will not be dissappointed.

How do you make James Martin Welsh rarebit? ›

Put the cheese, mustard, Worcester sauce and Tabasco sauce in and stir until melted. Beat in the egg yolks and flour and gently cook for a further 2 minutes. Evenly spoon over the bread and bacon then spoon the cheese mix all over and bake for 5 minutes until golden and bubbly.

In restaurants, rabbit meat is often called “coney” or “lapin.” “Coney,” derived from the Anglo-Norman term, was commonly used in medieval England, while “lapin,” a French term, is widely used in contemporary fine dining establishments.

But are they really the same thing? Yes! As it turns out, both terms are correct since they are just different names for the same animal. The term "bunny" is more colloquial and informal, while the word "rabbit" is more scientific and formal.

If you want to be fancy I would say “Lapin”, which is French for rabbit, and looks better on a menu than “bunny burger”. During WWII, when there was a shortage of meat, my mother would serve rabbit, calling it chicken.

In different cuisines, rabbit meat may be referred to as “lapin” in French cuisine, “coniglio” in Italian cuisine, and “conejo” in Spanish cuisine.