Beer (and cheese) for breakfast

Chesapeake Rarebit

Welsh Rarebit is classic beer fare, mating beer, Worcestershire sauce, and artisinal Cheddar cheese.

It's traditionally for breakfast, but I've also served it for football-watching, over chips.

Use a flavorful yet pale ale such as Clipper City Brewing's Pale Ale. And, for regional flair, top it with a dollop of crabmeat: that's Chesapeake Rarebit!

Avoid a very hoppy beer as its bitterness will be augmented when cooked. A dark beer can be used for toasted or chocolate notes, but avoid a very roasty or very hoppy ale or lager. As before, astringency may be accented in the cooking. The fruitiness of an ale is preferred; but a lager can be used. Just follow the hoppy/bitter suggestions.

The photograph is from a website - welshfoodie.com - which delves into the origin of the name: nothing to do with rabbit. The recipe included on the site includes egg, which I only offer as an optional ingredient. One of my favorite pubs in the greater Washington, DC area - Royal Mile Pub of Wheaton, Maryland - also uses egg in its rarebit.

Below is my recipe, inspired by Chef Bill Rothwell, who first created Chesapeake Rarebit - calling it Baltimore Rarebit - for the menu at Sisson's Brewpub in 2001.

I've whipped it up several times at beer demos for some local beer shops, without the crabmeat or egg.

Once, when using a fondue pot, I hadn't completely removed all of the foil covering the gel-fuel packet. There was a dramatic flame and I had to quickly douse the pot in a nearby sink.

I switched to safely handing out recipe cards.

1 lb. sharp artisinal Cheddar cheese, grated
6 oz Clipper City Pale Ale (from Clipper City Brewing)
2 TBS, butter
1 TBS, flour
1 TBS, Worcestershire sauce (fine vegetarian choices here as well)
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp. Tabasco
1/2 tsp. Old Bay
French bread, 1-inch slices
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten (optional)
1 spring onion, chopped (optional)
dollop lump crab meat (optional)

*Use a true cheddar; white (not yellow) and British, or substitute with a good American artisinal cheddar (e.g., Cabot, Grafton, Oak Spring Farms.)

1. In a double boiler or medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, whisk until smooth.

2. Add small handfuls of the cheese, then small portions of the beer. Mix together. Add the Worcestershire sauce, paprika, mustard, and Tabasco, and Old Bay. Stir constantly. Repeat until all the cheese and beer is added and blended to a smooth consistency. Stir in the SAME direction.

3. As an option, for a more breakfasty texture, remove a small portion, add to the beaten egg yolk, and blend well. Pour back into the cheese mixture and stir until the yolk is cooked.

4. Lightly toast both sides of the bread slices. Spoon some Rarebit over each slice. Broil for a minute or so until the top is bubbly and lightly browned. Remove. Serve immediately. For a regional touch, top with chopped spring onions and crabmeat: Chesapeake Rarebit.

5. This works best served immediately. Reheated, it may become stringy.

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Chef Rothwell's Mussels Cuvée Renée.