I attended a Royal Ladies' Tea Society tea the other day where we were honoring our mothers. Each attendee was asked to bring a dish to complete the meal. My mom was born in Ireland and some of my favorite dishes of hers she learned to make at her mother's side. This is one of those recipes, which she made often as I was growing up. I have made it for my boys and they love it, too. They've even request it for lunch every once-in-a-while. It seemed the perfect choice to honor my mom at the tea.
This was usually served at lunch time on top of buttered toast, but sometimes we'd eat it on Ritz crackers, which is how I chose to serve it at the tea. There are only two ingredients and it's fairly simple to make, but it tastes great.
I begin by cracking my eggs into my saucepan (I use a pan big enough to allow room for stirring). I always use extra-large eggs. Hint: One way to check to see how fresh your eggs are is to drop them (in the shell) one-by-one into a glass of water. If they sink, they are very fresh, if they float, don't even crack them as they are bad; throw them out immediately as you don't want that smell in your house! If the eggs bounce a little before settling on the bottom of the glass, they are still good; only the floaters are bad. I'm not an Alton Brown or scientist, but I understand that as eggs go bad, the little pocket of air under the shell becomes a gas (which is lighter than air), thus causing the bad eggs to float! This test works so well, I don't pay any attention to the expiration date on the box the eggs come in!
You'll notice that I don't use any type of oil or butter in the pan, as the cheese provides enough oil so the mixture doesn't stick to the pan. Using either a whisk or a fork, I beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are combined.
After I grate the cheese, I add it directly on top of the eggs. I always use extra-sharp cheddar cheese when making this dish. The sharper the better as that's what gives Welsh Rarebit it's great flavor. One of my favorite brands is Cracker Barrel.
Once I mix the cheese into the eggs, I still see mostly cheese, but it is all covered with egg. Up until this point, I can leave the stove if called away. Once I turn the heat on under the pan, I'm committed to standing there and stirring until it's done!
At first, it seems as though nothing changes as I stir and stir. But the cheese does melt completely into the eggs; I just have to be a little patient. You'll notice the deeper color and that it has a thin layer of froth at the sides. If you don't stir constantly, the eggs can begin to cook before the cheese melts and then you'll just have scrambled eggs with cheese. It's also important to cook it over medium-low heat, otherwise you risk getting cheesy scrambled eggs.
I'm sure a chemistry major could probably tell you why, but I think it's interesting that, as long as I keep stirring the mixture, it doesn't begin to cook until all of the cheese is melted. I know it's cooking when I start to see some of it on the edge of my spoon (or Pampered Chef spoontula). As it cooks, I keep scraping the pan in different areas as if I was making scrambled eggs.
When it's finished it has a finer texture than scrambled eggs. It's ready to serve either on buttered toast (being of British descent, we used a knife and fork to cut a piece before eating it) or crackers (of course, everything tastes better if it sits on a Ritz! - sorry, I couldn't resist that). When I took it to the tea, I put it in a small crock pot to keep it hot. I used the smallest Pampered Chef scoop to put it on the crackers for the ladies. It is best hot, so I wish I had let them serve it themselves so it wouldn't cool down on the platter. It's a simple dish, but oh so good. Enjoy!
Welsh Rarebit
6 extra large eggs
12 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
In a medium saucepan, combine eggs and cheese. Over medium-low heat, cook this mixture, stirring constantly, until the cheese is melted. Continue stirring and scraping the pan, as if making scrambled eggs, until fully cooked and the mixture has a fine texture. Serve on buttered toast or crackers. Best when served hot.
I have spent the last several years trying to find my grandmother's welsh rarebit(She is from Lanarkshire). The only recipe I could find was the traditional cheddar sauce over toast. Your's has come closer to my grandmother's which also had bread cubes and milk/cream.I don't have proportions but mine is close. Have you heard of this version? Is there an exact recipe? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
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