Welsh “Rabbit”/ Rarebit Foodie Friday

Welsh Rabbit was a popular peasant dish and many of the Brits had their own version of it. But, taking issue with the Welsh, England labeled the lowly dish “Welsh” Rabbit.  It’s not clear how it was turned into rarebit, although, clearly, there is no rabbit in it.  It normally uses a wheat bread, but I found a nice sourdough loaf and that worked really well.

Welsh (Rabbit) Rarebit with Teriyaki-Marinated Skirt Steak (Prep. time 15 minutes plus 3 hours or more marinating time.  Serves 3)

Skirt Steak

1 lb. skirt steak

2 tbl. Garlic infused olive oil (if you don’t have it, just use regular olive oil and grate some garlic onto the meat

Salt/ pepper

¼ C. Teriyaki sauce

Welsh Rarebit

½ C. each shredded extra sharp, sharp and mild cheddar cheese

2 Tb. butter

2 Tb. flour

2 C. milk

1 tsp. mustard flour

Salt and pepper

½ bottle Stout beer

¼ onion finely diced

Thick slices of sourdough bread, toasted.

For the steak, liberally salt and pepper both sides. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and teriyaki sauce. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Welsh Rarebit sauce:  melt butter in a medium sauce pan.  Add diced onions and cook until onions are tender.  Whisk in the flour and cook a minute or two to get the raw flour taste out.  Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer.  Whisk in the cheeses when the milk sauce has thickened a little.  Add salt and pepper and mustard flour and stir in the beer.  Keep on low until ready to toast the bread and serve.

To cook the steak, bring a fry pan or grill pan to high heat.  Drizzle a little more olive oil in the pan and place the steak in the pan, fatty side down first.  Cook about 2-3 minutes until the meat has a good sear on it.  Turn and cook the other side another 2-3 minutes.  Check the internal temperature and remove the meat from the pan when it reaches about 130-140 degrees (rare) and allow the steak to rest 15 minutes before cutting thinly against the grain.  Use the same pan to saute some mushrooms for a side dish.

Serve the steak and mushrooms along the toast topped with the cheese sauce.