Raclette - no equipment

[lame username]

Saw some raclette at Whole Foods and had to buy a small block. I've been interested in it for a year or so, but haven't plunged to buy a grill or "melter". And, I'm certainly not going to light a fire in the fireplace in a 95^o South Louisiana summer night. I'm anxious to try it, however. Should I hold it near my Iwatani torch, put it under the broiler?

[lame username]

Maybe I can just put in on the patio table, and it will melt on it's own.

[heidih]

David Lebovitz mentions using a broiler (near bottom of page) in his Raclette blog post here. Seems that would not create too much kitchen heat.

[TheTInCook]

Second the broiler.

That's what I did when I experimented with raclette and potatoes. Had to toss the remainder of the raw cheese. It stank too much for the roomies.

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

You can also try cutting a slice and cooking it on a very hot cast iron pan.

It crisps up nicely..good on its own.

[cmling]

If you don't do it right, it won't be raclette. But some interesting possibilities have already been pointed out.

[ScoopKW]

I have the raclette equipment. I could do anything the Swissmar can do with a griddle and a small toaster-oven broiler. If Alton Brown were to inspect my kitchen, the only thing he'd be able to take me to task for is the raclette oven, which only gets used once or twice a year.

I'm planning on breaking the sucker out July 4, just because I haven't used it in two years.

[FrogPrincesse]

My friend does not have a machine either so she cuts the raclette into slices that she places in a pirex dish, and then melts them in the oven at high temperature.

A microwave could work too.

[lame username]

Thanks, all, for the great ideas.

[janeer]

I just use the broiler as in this post: My link

[Kouign Aman]

Heidi's grandpa didnt have a special raclette oven either. He melted the cheese on a fork by the fire. Me, I'd rather use a burner, the toaster oven or the broiler, just so I could turn the heat off again quickly, when done.

[heidih]

Heidi's grandpa didnt have a special raclette oven either. He melted the cheese on a fork by the fire. Me, I'd rather use a burner, the toaster oven or the broiler, just so I could turn the heat off again quickly, when done.

That is always my immediate mental picture when I think about the dish. Small wonder The poor original poster is in a heat spell so I did not want to torment her - I do want to try it fireside in cooler weather.

[Kouign Aman]

I liked the microwave suggestion.

Still gotta boil the spuds tho.

[TheTInCook]

hahaha

I just realized I did it all wrong the one time I did it. I sliced it, put it on top of diced boiled potatoes, and then broiled it. Forgot to do the broil and scrape thingy.

[lame username]

TheTInCook - bet it was tasty anyway. I'm home alone for lunch today; I'll close the curtains, try it your way, and no one (except readers of this topic) will know.

[Kouign Aman]

I guess it all depends whether you want the flavor, or if your main goal is to play with your food (always fun, but often not convenient). I like the slice and broil idea.

[heidih]

How did it turn out?

I wanted to share something interesting I noted in the Time Life Foods of the World "A Quartet of Cuisines" volume today regarding raclette. It says that the word is taken from the French "racler" which mean "to scrape" and that several kinds of semi soft cheeses can be used. They say (from the perspective of 1970 publish date) that the only similar cheese imported to the U.S. is done so as "raclette". Based on your experience with the cheese and the vast array of cheese we often have available today, perhaps you could try another cheese of similar character. If you find one that is similar I would be interested in the type.

[heidih]

And more info from the book mentioned above regarding an at home method:

It calls for preheating the oven to 500 for 10 minutes and heating some heat proof dinner plates. Cut the cheese into 1/8" slices and fan out on the plates after they have heated for a few minutes. Then place the super hot plates onto the floor of the oven for a minute or so. The cheese should be bubbling a bit and looking smooth. They caution against letting it brown at all. The inferno plates are then removed and served with a few boiling potatoes, pickled onions, and sour pickles alongside. There is a caution to place something heatproof under the plates as they will do some damage.

[lame username]

My block was so small for a trial, I only got two 1/8" slices out of it. I put them in a gratin dish under the broiler until they were bubbling, but not quite brown. (I was hungry and didn't want to wait any longer. I love browned cheese, but per the websites I've seen, just bubbling with a crust beginning to form seemed appropriate.) My husband (and therefore myself) has been on the paleo type diet for a while so there are few starches in the house. No potatoes; but I keep a stash of emergency whole wheat crackers for charcuterie meals. I had some slices of salami from Whole Foods to go with, and just scooped up blobs of cheese with the crackers. Oh my goodness! What a wonderful flavor. Hot, gooey, fragrant cheese. I will definitely do this more properly in the winter by the fireplace with potatoes, cornichons, and onions. Diet be damned! I greatly appreciate all the helpful suggestions in response to my question. (The version of raclette I found at Whole Foods was Herve Mons, not sure how authentic it is, but it was delicious.)