Raclette (French)

Raclette! (aka, awesome cheesy French goodness)

Traditional Raclette meal

OMG, I just discovered something delicious in France.  It's called Raclette (pronounced Rack-let) and it is kind of my new obsession.  It's a well known, but not too often eaten dish in France which consists of a special cheese called Raclette (hence the name) which is normally made in Switzerland, but also in France and apparently Michigan as well, go figure.  You also eat various meat cold cuts and cooked potatoes with it.  To make it you need to have a special grill, shown below.  They can be a bit pricey though.  I've seen ones in France just at a super market for about 49-75 euros a pop.  you might be able to find one for cheaper on eBay or Amazon though.  You have the top part with has a heating coil under the metal top so you can grill things on the big top part and then you place your cheese or meat in the little dished with handles and melt the cheese or cook the meat.  You can also place the potatoes on the top grill area to keep them warm. 

Raclette grill, with boiled potatoes on the top and Raclette
cheese melting below

This dish is something that all French people at least know about and most people have a Raclette grill, especially in places where they do a lot of skiing since it is a favorite thing to eat after a full day in the slopes.  But most families won't eat it all the time in the winter, maybe a few times a year only.  It is a winter dish, so you will not really see this eaten during hot months, as well as the cheese for it might not be as available in the summer. It's very hearty and keeps you full for a long time.  I felt like I needed to be rolled out the door the first time I ate it. 

So while Raclette is pretty self explanatory, for those of you who need a recipe for everything, here is my Raclette recipe written out.  I would say just get as much as you think you will need for each person.  I person can usually each about 6-8 oz of cheese, plus the same amount of meat then a few small sized potatoes.  Enjoy!

Traditional French Raclette

Various types of Raclette cheese per person; natural, pepper, or my favorite, smoked raclette.
Various types of cold cut meats like cured ham, pastrami, salami, plain white ham, etc.
Baked or boil new potatoes (I like to bake mine with some seasoned salt on the outside)
Gherkin sweet pickles (called cornichons in French)
Salt and pepper to taste


Setting the table: Set the table up with all the ingredients all pre-cut and sliced. Make sure your Raclette is cut into pieces not too big for your little cheese grilling trays on the grill. cut the slices about 1/4 of an inch thick.  Place the grill in the middle and turn it on to preheat while everyone takes their seat.  Once the tray is heated place the cooked potatoes on top to keep warm.  If you don't have much room on your dinning table, keep half the ingredients in the kitchen or on a near by table and top up the ingredients when they run low.

At the grill: Take a slice of cheese and place onto a pan and place under the grill to melt and bubble a little. In the meantime take a hot potato from the top of the grill and cut it into small pieces with your knife. Take the pan with the melted cheese and give it a shake to loosen the cheese and pour over your potato. Grind some pepper and salt over it if you like. Eat your cheesy potatoes while you prepare the next pan with some more cheese and place it back under grill to allow to melt while you are eating. In the meantime enjoy the company you have, sip your favourite drink or nibble on the array of food on the table, like the pickles and cold cuts of meat.  You can also grill the meats in the same was as the cheese.

Scraping cheese out of pan: The pans are usually non-stick and your melted creation will normal slide out after a little shake but if the cheese you are using gets stuck scrape it out with wooden Raclette spatulas that are included with good raclette grills. Or you can use a piece of bread.

Note: It's best to do several small batches of melting cheese instead of one big one because as the the cheese cools it hardens again.  You can heat another piece of cheese as you eat your ready batch of cheese and potatoes. 

Serve with: Salad, and French bread