A Raclette Party Is Just What You Need This Winter
I haven’t come across a single winter culinary tradition that I don’t love – gingerbread, plum pudding , roasting chestnuts over a not-so-hot oven fire – but I may have finally met my favorite: the raclette dinner. . The winter tradition of grilling Raclette cheese is interactive, filling, communal, and a cheese lover’s delight. Spend an evening with family and friends this festive season and make the most of your time, which is always better with cream cheese.
Over the weekend I went to my first raclette dinner. It was the most cozy and fun way to spend an evening with friends. You may have seen raclette on your Instagram or TikTok feed, shaped like a half-wheel of cheese that bubbles and browns under a nearby heating element. The ring hand tilts the wheel and scratches the charred surface, and an incredible gooey clump of cheese slides off the wheel and accumulates on the plate, sandwich or fries. Like much of social media, it feels over-the-top, as if it was created purely for the food-shock factor, but raclette is a tradition that’s been enjoyed for much longer than the internet box in your hand.
What is raclette?
Raclette is a cow’s milk cheese that has the miraculous ability to melt into a savory puddle, but it’s also the name of an entire dish. The dish, which originates from the Alpine regions of France, Switzerland and Italy, showcases the extraordinary melting power of the cheese of the same name. You melt the cheese by direct heat from a nearby flame or, these days, an electric heating element. Spread it over boiled potatoes, sausage, gherkins, or break from tradition and spread a mound of liquid cheese over vegetables, pasta, or the nearest sandwich.
Products to pay attention to:
You can enjoy raclette at a restaurant, but it’s much more fun to do it at home with a group of friends or family. Don’t worry, you don’t need a fireplace and you don’t need to hold a block of cheese over an electric stove. You can buy fantastic raclette grills that include a flat cooking surface and small, angled, non-stick blades that allow you to melt pieces of raclette (like the ones above). There is a heating element under the pan lid and above the raclette spoons, so you can heat meat or vegetables and melt cheese at the same time. There are also models that only heat the cheese spoons from the bottom, but in this case you won’t get a browned and bubbly surface. You can buy an eight-person set for entertaining, or a smaller skillet with two scoops for a steady stream of melty raclette during cheese nights.
Raclette, how do you mean it?
You can buy raclette wedges at specialty cheese stores, but you can also find it at Trader Joes during the winter months. To enjoy raclette at home, add quarter-inch slices of cheese to metal spoons in an electric skillet. Place a measuring spoon under the heating element and let it cook while you assemble the salami, gherkins, onions and boiled potato slices onto a plate. In the time it takes you to do this, about two minutes, the cheese will turn into a puddle at the bottom of the ladle. Let it sit for another minute and you’ll notice a bubbly crust and a browned surface on the cheese. I love the crunchy, chewy texture that comes out of the cheese after it sits on the heat for a long time, so I let it sit for extra time. Remove the nonstick spoon from the heater and place the melted raclette on a platter of hearty appetizers. There’s actually no need for a scraper: the cheese flows out of the scoop by just tilting it and shaking it.
You can certainly enjoy it year-round, but raclette is typically a cold-weather treat. In many regions, this particular cheese is only widely available in winter, and since it requires constant high heat to melt, the immediate area tends to get warm. Raclette makes me think of bulky sweaters, mulled wine, and any edible carrier for cheese. I think this is the perfect activity for Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, or any time you want to pass the time until the early morning hours by snacking and connecting with the people you love.