4 Classic Meals You Might Find In An English Pub
If you're heading out to an English style pub (such as Four Mile Bar & Grill brewery), you should take the opportunity and try one of their meals. Here are 4 examples of classic English pub fare.
Ploughman's Lunch
This is a cold meal that consists of buttered bread, slices of cheddar cheese, onions and pickles. Some pubs will include hard boiled eggs. There is some debate as to the origin of the name. Some people believe that the name derives from old ploughman who drove the horses in England. They would have a midday meal of beer, bread, and cheese. Others point out that the idea of a cheese and bread tray was popularized by the Dairy industry as a means of promoting dairy consumption. No matter what the origin, the meal is now a pub staple. If you're not looking for a big, heavy cooked meal, then the Ploughman's Lunch is a great pick.
Welsh Rarebit
Welsh rarebit is a type of grilled cheese. It is made by making a cheese sauce and covering a slice of bread with the sauce and then toasting it in an oven. The sauce is made by melting cheese with mustard, beer (normally an ale), pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. The bread is then covered in the cheese sauce and baked until the cheese sauce firms up and bubbles.
Many pubs will traditionally serve Welsh Rarebit with a fried egg and raw onions.
Shepherd's Pie
This is a classic English dish that you will find in most pubs. It is also sometimes called a cottage pie. The dish starts when the cook sautés ground beef, minced onions, and spices such as thyme, in a saucepan. Once the beef is cooked through, and the onions have caramelized, the ingredients are transferred to a casserole dish. A topping of mashed potatoes is added to the beef. This is then placed in a broiler or hot oven until the potatoes are crisp on top.
Toad In The Hole
Toad in the Hole is the name of a dish that is made by baking sausages in a batter of Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding is a savory pudding; more similar to bread than the sweet puddings you might be used to. The batter is poured into a hot casserole dish and the sausages are added. The dish is then placed back into the hot oven and baked until the pudding rises .When the dish is done cooking, the portions are served up on a plate with a brown gravy and mashed potatoes.
This dish gets its colorful name from the way the sausages seem to "peak up" out of the cooked pudding, resembling toads peaking up from the water.