Cheese toasties are one of the best comfort foods the British Isles have to offer. They’re not unlike their American counterparts, the grilled cheese, but it’s kinda like Zebras and Donkeys. Similar, but completely different animals.
I know, I know. I’m on a British kick lately. Yes, my blog is dedicated to Tex-Mex and Southern food. But this is a Texan British household, so just as often British favorites make it to our table.
You may not know this, but a few weeks ago, I won this amazing prize package from The Little Kitchen blog. I won $150 worth of KerryGold cheese and butter, plus this gorgeous Irish cooking cookbook. When the cheese arrived, just after new year, it was like Christmas all over again. Cheese is one of my favorite foods, and Irish Cheddar? Top of the freaking list.
Tweeting back and forth with KerryGold after the win, we somehow got on the subject of cheese toasties, and the tweeps behind the KerryGold twitter account have never had a cheese toasty. This is a crying shame. They inspired this post. And my dinner that night – so thank you, KerryGold. For all the cheese, and for reminding me of a delicious favorite.
I’ve had many grilled cheese sandwiches in my life, and they’re nothing like a good cheese toasty. There’s a time and place for each, but if you’ve never had a cheese toasty, you’ve got to try this next time you’re planning on tomato soup for dinner.
Start with really good bread. We picked up a loaf of whole grain white from Panera Bread, and had them slice it thick. Then, if you’re feeling really decadent, go for a couple different kinds of Irish cheddar. I grated KerryGold’s Reserve Irish Cheddar and Dubliner with Irish Stout into a bowl and mixed them. That’s right, I said stout. Beer and cheese? Beer IN cheese? You know it, baby. Mindblowingly delicious.
What you’ll need: Really good sandwich bread, Grated cheddar cheese, Butter, and Worcestershire Sauce.
Next, toast your bread ever so slightly. On like a 1 or 2. Just enough to make it stand up to the cheese and the Worcestershire sauce without getting soggy.
Butter your toast with really good butter, like KerryGold Irish Butter. Spread the grated cheese on top for full coverage.
When fully covered, sprinkle every so lightly with the Worcestershire sauce. You want just enough to bring out the flavor of the cheese, not soak the bread.
Turn the broiler (or as the English say, the grill) on. Place the bread on a baking sheet and place under the broiler. It should only take 2-3 minutes tops to cook.
Pull from the oven when you’ve got lovely bubble with color and the edges of the bread are toasted to your liking. It might be a KFJ (Knife & Fork Job) or you can let it cool a little bit and just bite right in.
You know what else? It goes GREAT with a cup of tea.
Have you ever had a cheese toasty before? Is this how YOU make it?
Cheese Toasty
Good quality sandwich bread
Butter to spread
Approximately 1/2 cup of good quality shredded cheddar per slice of bread
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Toast bread slices lightly. Spread with butter, then cover with shredded cheese. Sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce. Broil for 1-3 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and bread toasted to your liking.
Enjoy with a cup of creamy tomato soup on a wintery evening.
The winner of the electric tea kettle and tea package is JenniferA!
She starts every morning with Republic of Tea’s Ginger Peach Tea. I love that one too, it’s the closest to Whittard’s Peach tea here in the US. Congratulations, Jennifer! Please email me at amber at bluebonnetsandbrownies dot com by Monday night to claim your prize!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah. Mah. Gah.
I am officially STARVING. For serious. THis shall be mine…..
Yum! I love all things Kerrygold… and this looks like no exception. I have to find some of that cheddar.
Oh my gosh….that looks so comforting and delicious!
I have never heard of a cheese toasty either. Yummy! So great to see what you’re doing with your Kerrygold winnings!
This looks just perfect with all the snow surrounding us!
I’ve had lots of toasted cheese sandwiches, but never topped with Worcestershire sauce. I’m guessing that’s an important part of a cheese toasty. So I guess I’ve never had a cheese toasty. Looks great! I’ll have to give it a try!
Wheeee!! Thank you for the prizes and for this recipe – it is so up my alley. What’s not to love about bread, butter, Worcestershire, cheese and toastiness?? YUM!
I have never heard of this… but man is sounds delish!! Great job!
Guess what we are having for lunch? THIS!! We are so in love with Dubliner cheese. I buy huge hunks of it every time I go to Sam’s club. British or not, this looks amazing!
Come back and let me know how you like it!
Canadian, not British, but I grew up on these things -so, of course, my offspring had these way more often than ‘normal’ grilled cheese. We love it with crispy bacon on top (pre-cook the bacon to ‘almost’ the way you like it and drain excess grease on paper towels. Allow for the broiler to finish crisping. (my son loved pepperoni, so another option).
I used to work at a steak house and whenever we were hungry, we would put cheese on our homemade Ciabatta and toss it into the salamader! Love this idea and the addition of worcestershire sauce.
Ummm. I definitely want some of this. And, even though I’m GF and cow dairy free I’m going to find a way to have some. (Love the oven photo!)
That looks delicious, Amber. So simple but oh my…so cheesy!
Being British, I hate to tell you that this recipe is for cheese on toast, or more accurately because of the worcester sauce an easy version of welsh rarebit – Cheese toasties are a melted cheese sandwich, pretty much exactly like grilled cheese sandwiches in the US. Only difference I can think of is that we tend to use a toasty maker or panini press for ours, rather than frying/grilling. Still scrumptious though! :)
Dear Rachael,
I thank you for your reply. My husband is also British. He grew up in Blackpool, went to school at Oxford, and we lived together in Hertfordshire before moving back to the States. I know this is also called Welsh Rarebit, but what I’ve posted here is referred to as a cheese toasty by my husband, his family, and pretty much all our friends in Hertfordshire as well. I’m pretty sure it’s a regional thing, with different regions calling it different things. Much like here in Texas, the correct term is Carne Guisada, but the Brits call it “chilli con carne” – though I’d never walk into a British pub and tell them they’re using the wrong name.
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