Raclette Recipe – How To Make A Raclette Dinner Party Like A European

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Raclette – Europeans’ favorite dish for the winter and holiday season!

As a European living in the US, the first thing I searched for when wintertime approached, was where to get a raclette grill from. Because there can be no winter or holiday season without having a delicious raclette dinner party!

And on that note, we want to bring this European traditional dish to you!

In our post Raclette Recipe – How To Make A Raclette Dinner Party Like A European we will explain everything you need to know about the famous European raclette dish, the ingredients you need for a raclette meal, and how to make raclette at home yourself.

Let’s get started, we hope you are hungry!

Raclette Recipe

How To Make A Raclette Dinner Party Like A European

What Is A Raclette Dinner Party?

The Raclette dish is originally a Swiss dish made from melted cheese. Especially for that reason, the Raclette cheese was created.

Raclette dinners are also very popular in France and Germany as well as in Austria. The dish is often eaten during the cold winter months, especially during the holidays. Germans also love to make Raclette dinners for New Year’s eve, for instance.

But Raclette dinners are not only for special occasions. In wintertime, Raclette meals are also very commonly eaten when you have a group of people together, as preparing for the meal is pretty easy and fairly quick and not to forget very delicious!

For a raclette dinner party, you need a special raclette grill, which is put in the middle of the table. On this grill, the Raclette cheese will be melted in little pans. On top of the grill, you can put all kinds of sides you like eating along with your cheese.

What Is The Best Cheese For A Raclette Dinner?

The best cheese for a raclette dinner is the original same-named Raclette cheese, which was made exactly for that reason. For the holiday and wintertime supermarkets in Europe stock up on Raclette cheese.

You will find Raclette cheese in the US as well, however, it’s not as widely available as in Europe and a special kind of cheese can get quite expensive.

A good source to find affordable Raclette cheese is Trader Joe’s. You can also find Raclette cheese online on Amazon.

igourmet French Raclette Cheese

BUY HERE	BUY HERE

Emmi Swiss Raclette Cheese

1 pound	2.5 pounds quarter wheel
BUY HERE	BUY HERE

German Cheese Slicer 

BUY HERE

Sliced Raclette Cheese

BUY HERE

ALTERNATIVES TO RACLETTE CHEESE

You don’t necessarily need Raclette cheese to make a raclette party. Other cheeses will work too for a raclette dinner. You should look out for a cheese with a high-fat percentage so it will melt nicely.

You should also pick a flavorful, preferably aged cheese. The more flavor the cheese has, the more tasty the raclette will be.

Good alternatives for raclette cheese are: Gouda, Cheddar, butter cheese, Camembert, Mozarella

How Much Raclette Cheese Do You Need Per Person?

When we throw a raclette dinner party we calculate about 250 grams per person, but always buy more and end up making a second raclette dinner the following day. 🙂

But in general, a good amount of raclette cheese is around 250 grams per adult person.

Other Raclette Ingredients

What Is Traditionally Served With Raclette?

In Switzerland, the original raclette dish is typically served with potatoes, cornichons, and pickled onions. These are the basic and original ingredients.

However, the options to add sides to the raclette dish are endless. You can add whatever you feel like to make raclette. It may not be the original raclette recipe anymore, but it is very common to add on to make the raclette meal to one’s liking. You can even go a bit crazy and make a sweet raclette dish with cheese, honey, and pears. It’s really good! 😉

A must-have for us is eating raclette along with a good and crunchy baguette.

Below is a list of common ingredients for a vegetarian raclette and a raclette with meat.

Raclette recipe pro tip: To spice the raclette dish up a little bit, you can also add salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika powder.

Can You Cook Meat On A Raclette?

Yes, some people also like to cook meat or even seafood on the raclette grill. You can use all kinds of meat or fish.

It’s best to cut small pieces or thin slices, so the cooking time doesn’t take too much time.

Raclette Grill To Use For A Raclette Dinner Party

Originally, you would melt the Raclette cheese wheel on an open fire and then scrape off the melting side and serve the cheese over the traditional raclette ingredients.

Nowadays, however, a raclette grill is used to make the raclette dinner. Restaurants commonly use an electric cheese melter. The cheese is put under a lamp and will start to melt. One can then scrape off the raclette cheese.

Original Raclette For Cheese Wheel

For private raclette dinner parties, tabletop raclette grills are used most of the time. These tabletop raclette grills come with a grill top and 8 little pan dishes to melt the raclette cheese in.

Raclette Grill For Up To 8 People

A few years ago it was not that easy to find a raclette grill in the US. This has changed and making raclette dinner parties got quite popular in the US as well now.

You can find plenty of tabletop raclette grills online on Amazon now.

Drinks To Accompany A Raclette Dinner

Since the raclette dish is very cheesy and heavy, a glass of light white wine like a Riesling or Chardonnay is perfect for a raclette dinner party. White wine is preferred over red wine because of the tannin and acidity of the wine.

Personally, we love red wine, and even though red wine is much heavier than white wine, we still drink red wine when having a raclette dinner. Grape varieties such as Sangiovese or Pinot Noir have little tannin, but a little more tartaric acid and hence go great with a raclette dinner too.

A little Schnaps at the end of the meal helps with digesting the fats! 🙂

Authentic German Mulled Wine: Glühwein Recipe From A German

What Dessert Goes Well With A Raclette Meal?

A dessert that goes well with a raclette meal, would be any dessert that is on the lighter side. We personally always crave something fruity after eating a lot of raclette cheese. For instance, a fruit sorbet or a light parfait or Panna Cotta will make a great dessert to finish off the raclette evening.

Raclette Recipe For The Ultimate Raclette Dinner Party

Raclette Recipe

Ingredients

Raclette Cheese

• Raclette Cheese (250 grams of cheese per person!)
• Alternatives: Gouda, Cheddar, butter cheese, Camembert, Mozarella

Raclette Sides

Vegetarian Raclette Sides

• Boiled/steamed potatoes
• Baguette bread
• Mushroom
• Pickles (cornichons)
• Onions / green onions
• Bell peppers
• Corn & baby corn cobs

Raclette Sides With Meat

• Pancetta
• Salami
• Ham
• Prosciutto
• Bacon
• …

Meat Add-Ons

• Beef
• Pork
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Seafood
• Shrimps, prawns
• …

Spices

• Salt, pepper, garlic, paprika powder

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Instructions

1. Boil or steam the potatoes
2. Cut the raclette cheese or alternatives into slices that fit the little pans and place them on a plate
3. Cut the vegetables for the raclette sides into small cubes/slices and serve them in little bowls
4. Put raclette cheese and sides of your choice into the little raclette pans to start melting the cheese. It’s ready when the cheese is melted and has a little crust.
5. You can place more sides and/or the meat on the grill top as well, along with slices of bread and potatoes.
6. Voila! You have made raclette!

Bon appétit!

Raclette Recipe

How To Make A Raclette Dinner Party Like A European

We hope you found our raclette recipe helpful and that we could inspire you to host a raclette dinner party at home yourself.

🧀!

Follow our adventures on Instagram! @piscoandbier

GERMAN RECIPES

• German Feuerzangenbowle Recipe & Set (Fire Tongs Punch)
• Raclette Recipe – How To Make A Raclette Dinner Party Like A European
• Authentic German Mulled Wine: Glühwein Recipe From A German