Welsh Rabbit

A pre-broiler Welsh rabbit: no sauce, no beer, just a slab of cheese toasted over the bread. The whole trick is heat from above so the cheese browns before the toast burns.

• SalamanderA salamander was an iron plate on a long handle, heated red in the fire and held over food to brown the surface. An overhead grill or broiler set high does the same work, or a kitchen blowtorch if you have one.
• Gloucester cheeseThe recipe does not specify single or double Gloucester; both are firm cow's-milk cheeses that melt smoothly without separating badly. A mild farmhouse Cheddar or a Cheshire behaves similarly; avoid pre-shredded cheese, which is dusted with starch and melts grainy.
• "Toast a slice of cheese"Cut the cheese a good quarter-inch thick, in one piece rather than grated. Toast one side of the cheese first and lay that face against the bread, as the recipe directs, then brown the second side. Thin slices simply run off.
• The breadA close-crumbed white loaf, cut thick, toasted dry on both sides before buttering. Soft sandwich bread collapses into grease under a slab of melting cheese.
• TimingUnder a hot broiler the cheese blisters in two to three minutes. Left longer it separates and the fat pools; pull it while the surface is spotted brown and the body still just holds together.
• MustardPeriod mustard was dry powder mixed with water, sharper and more volatile than a modern jarred mustard. English mustard, mixed fresh and used sparingly, is the closest match; add it after cooking as directed, not before.
• "Covered"The instruction to serve covered means under a heated dish cover, to keep the cheese fluid on the way to the table. A warmed plate and immediate serving accomplish it now.
• YieldOne slice per person as a savoury at the end of a meal, or two as a light supper.