It's only a little bunny rarebit

 I am not massively familiar with common British foods. I've never visited, and in my murky past I was more likely to visit an Irish pub than I was an English one. Authenticity, as you can imagine, varies. 

When I lived in Nashville there were a couple places I enjoyed and I really enjoyed bangers & mash. I found myself with a craving for it a couple months ago and met up a friend at an English pub uptown. For an appetizer, we enjoyed a Welsh rarebit.

Why the hell I haven't made this before I don't know.

A few weeks later, a friend posted this link. I hadn't heard of Two Crumbs up, but I found the concept fun, and then I came to their Scottish Rarebit recipe. It intrigued me because it used whiskey instead of beer, and I just had to try:

• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp Flour
• 1/4 tsp Mustard Powder
• 1 tbsp Whiskey (I used Jameson's)
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp Heavy Cream
• 2 cups Grated Scottish Cheddar (I might have used Irish, St. Andrew forgive me)
• 2 slices Sourdough Bread, cut in half

The method very simple:

Begin with a roux-- melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat until foaming, then add flour. Stir and allow to cook for a minute or two, until the smell of flour fades and you have a popcorn-smelling wet sand texture.

Add your remaining ingredients (except the bread, you silly K-nig-hts), and stir over medium-low heat until melted.

Keep your cheese mixture warm while you lightly toast your bread. Pour cheese sauce over bread and summon fire without flint or tinder-- ie toast the cheese with a blow torch or under a broiler. To avoid burning the toast, I suggest counting to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.

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The cheddar I had was a bit oily, so I ended up playing with the sauce a bit. A little more flour to soak up the oil, then a little more whiskey and cream to keep the right texture. I used Colman's mustard powder. I like that this had mustard powder so there wouldn't be acid from the vinegar in the sauce. I want more of that flavor next time. And there will definitely be a next time.

The tomatoes were tossed with a little salt, black pepper, olive oil, and thyme, then roasted at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes before I put the oven to broil for the rarebit.

Have you made rarebit? Share your experience!