Rabbit or Rarebit ?

Suffolk Rabbit
(so tasty, I ate a mouthful before I took the photograph)

When I was a small wee lad, I thought this snack was called Welsh Rabbit.  I didn't much like cheese in those far off days so thought Welsh Rabbit was the 'Devil's work'.

Nowadays I'm a great fan of cheese and toasted bread products. Yesterday, Toot and I had Welsh Rarebit for lunch, 'Mmmmm stuffed crust'!

Interestingly, my good friend Mr. Wikipedia, states that Welsh Rarebit appears in a cookery book first published in 1747 and in that publication is referred to as Welsh Rabbit.  The first reference to Welsh Rarebit does not appear until 1787 and 'Rarebit' is an etymological corruption of 'Rabbit'.

The attribution of the dish to Wales (Welsh) is thought to be connected to the popularity of baked cheese in Wales.  Welsh Rabbit may be an ironic name coined in the days when the Welsh were notoriously poor: only better-off people could afford butcher's meat, and while in England rabbit was the poor man's meat, in Wales the poor man's meat was cheese.

Pappa's Recipe for Suffolk Rabbit

Grate good quality cheddar cheese into a bowl. You can add a little grated smoked cheddar or a little parmesan if you wish.

Add a few dried chili flakes, half a teaspoon of caster sugar, salt, and black pepper to the grated cheese.

Add two teaspoons of grain mustard, a dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce and a enough beer to enable the grated cheese to be mashed into a paste.

As an option you can add a little anchovy paste to the cheese mixture. This addition converts the dish from Suffolk Rabbit to Buck Suffolk Rabbit.

Toast two medium slices of white bread.  Shop bought, pre-sliced bread is perfectly ok for this dish. Toast on one side only and then remove from the grill.

Spread the cheese paste mixture on the untoasted side of the bread.  Make sure the cheese paste is spread to the edge of the bread or the bread edges will burn before the cheese paste is cooked.

Place the uncooked side face-up under the grill and heat until all the cheese is cooked.  The mixture cooks from the outside of the bread to the middle, make sure the middle is cooked before removing from the grill.

Eat and enjoy whilst hot, drink the rest of the beer as an accompaniment!

Government Health Warning  'Toasted cheese can seriously damage your Health.'  Be careful not to over cheese or become spleeny!

"yup yup rabbit yup yup yup rabbit rabbit bunny jabber yup rabbit bunny yup yup yup rabbit bunny jabber yup yup yup rabbit bunny jabber yup yup bunny jabber rabbit"  Chas & Dave circa 1981