French Christmas Planning: Raclette

[STEbbq]

Our French exchange student has told us that her family has Raclette for Christmas so that is what we are planning. barelfly

https://eatlittlebird.com/how-to-make-raclette/

https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/raclette-the-cheese-dish-youve-never-heard-of/

Has anyone made this before?

I guess my question is can this be done without investing in the custom tabletop grill?

Hamilton Beach Electric Indoor Raclette Table Grill, 200 sq. in. Nonstick Griddle Serves up to 8 People for Parties and Family Fun, Includes 8 Warming Trays, Black (31612-MX) https://a.co/d/iaP2i9q

Our exchange student can advise on the cooking and food choices I’d imagine but she just uses one of these Raclette grills so I am looking for alternatives before investing the moola.

[STEbbq]

Hmmm.

https://www.thenest.com/content/7564483-how-to-make-raclette-without-a-grill

[barelfly]

I love it! Such an experience!

As for options? It’s not the same cooking style, but it reminds me of a fondue type cook. The price on the raclette grill isn’t bad, would you use it again?

or, a lodge CI grill for the protein and veg and a small pot for the cheese melt if you dont want to spend on the grill?

that’s a hard one, but still pretty cool to see what your student does for the holiday! Thanks for sharing this and can’t wait to see what you end up doing.

[STEbbq]

I agree it is not bad price wise. There are cheaper ones too. It is more of a storage (always an issue!) and use question. We have never had it before so not sure if we will make it again. The link in the above post has a few options for oven and microwave too. The CI and pot also sound good.

[STEbbq]

Ultimately, I will probably take all of these ideas and see if she thinks it will meet her standards for the meal without the grill. I am a tad surprised Amanda hasn’t signed off on the grill though as she has a massive drawer of cheese that she may or may not have thought about melting.

[STEbbq]

I mention the cheese to Amanda and she is like I could be convinced on the grill. Ha.

[mnavarre]

Seems like something you could do in a toaster oven, honestly. OTOH, that racelette grill seems like it could be handy during inclement weather if you have the space.

[STEbbq]

No toaster oven! But I’d probably have to get rid of something to fit it in somewhere.

[hoovarmin]

Note to secret Santa - STEbbq needs a raclette grill.

[Uncle Bob]

As noted it's an experience thing, fun to do..............at least once..........but not earth shattering enough to justify the equipment purchase (for us anyway). We borrowed a sterno fired device with dedicated pan arrangement, supposedly authentic, so that was our "cheap" way out. To bring some joy to your student's Christmas is a different justification formula. My guess is there are probably a bunch of devices sitting on pantry shelves within driving distance of your home that the current owners would love to get rid of to regain the space. You just need to figure out how to tell them you're on the look out for one.

[STEbbq]

I know none of our neighbors have anything similar so I went the eBay route. FB and Craigslist had nothing.

[Donw]

Why not take the idea of a Raclette meal and adapt it to what you do best. Melt the cheese in something, keep it hot over sterno or a hot plate, grill or smoke items on your cookers and maybe serve it in courses. Buy some great charcuterie items from a specialty shop to serve. I admire your efforts in making your exchange student feel at home however as we often had/have guests from aboard we never attempt to make an authentic meal from their country. We serve either something entirely new to them or an adaptation of one of their dishes but with a twist. Just my 2¢

[barelfly]

This would be fun as well, adapting to what your style of cooking is, but keeping the ingredients similar.

[texastweeter]

We have it fairly often. I boil boil diced taters in salt water. Then put them in ramekins and top with slices of the cheese. Heat them under the broiler and then torch them. The way I had it, is they charred one side of the hunk of cheese, then scraped it off onto boiled taters, and this was my way of recreating that.

[radiodome21]

I might have to give this a try. My wife and I used to go to a fondue restaurant in Lincoln Park when we were dating and always liked it. I could the kids liking this. I’d probably use the broiler myself though.

[STEbbq]

There is a least one Raclette grill I saw that had a fondue pot as part of the package so that could be a good option.

[RobertC]

A couple of years ago we were at a raclette dinner with one of those tabletop grills when it shorted and went out. Our friend just switched to using the oven broiler. The advantage of the tabletop grill is that you can sit and talk at the table while everyone grills their cheese to exactly their preferred degree of doneness. The oven broiler meant our friend wasn't at the table and was eyeing the entire platter and shuttling back and forth. So if the goal is to eat, the oven is fine. If the goal is to sit at the table and talk and laugh and drink wine and eat smelly cheese, the tabletop grill is pretty handy.

Another option (and the traditional way) is to start a fire in the fireplace, place the raclette on a metal pan, edge it right up to the flames, and scoop off hot dripping melted smelly cheese with the potatoes.

[Carolyn]

Never mind and nevermind again. Ha. After going back and reading the above posts, my suggestion to use a ramekin was already suggested.

[STEbbq]

Thank you RobertC for your note there. One thing I did not think about was the party or social aspect of the dinner. I didn’t want to lose that experience for her either.

The grills available on Amazon all looked similar except for the Swissmar brand which is much higher quality. That is reflected the price which was $140 or so for comparable units that would be about $60. I was able to find a used Swissmar unit off eBay for $62 shipped so I think that will work nicely for us. If needed, we can probably flip it on FB marketplace or maybe here for the same amount if we don’t plan to use it again.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

I wanna see pics of the completed project....sounds awesome

[STEbbq]

This is the same unit I bought off eBay for $62. There are a bunch well under $100.

Swissmar KF-77041 Classic 8-Person Raclette Party Grill with Reversible Cast Aluminum Non-Stick Grill Plate/Crepe Top, Black https://a.co/d/7OHHKd9

[Huskee]

There's a cheesery up in northern MI that my wife & I get Raclette from and it's awesome. We've done the melt-it-all-over thing, but honestly I prefer it off the block with red wine. Either way, great stuff. It might be a Swiss cheese, but it is most definitely not "Swiss cheese".

[STEbbq]

We know about the Raclette cheese and she will give us instructions on what else we need to get.

[STEbbq]

I did mention I bought the grill to her and the alternatives we’ve discussed such as the oven etc. and she definitely felt the other options were more weird so we made the right choice everyone. She did mention to her mom that we were doing this and now her mom is excited because we have never done it before. She’s already said we can make it all the time and in the cold weather, it will be great. Needless to say, you can see the layers involved here. This will be fun guys!

Unit I found on eBay:

Swissmar KF-77041 Classic 8-Person Raclette Party Grill with Reversible Cast Aluminum Non-Stick Grill Plate/Crepe Top, Black https://a.co/d/7OHHKd9

[RobertC]

Best wishes for a memorable time!

Last year we hosted an Italian high school student for the academic year, and she appreciated every effort we made. It was a great experience both for her and for us, and sharing food is a fast path to that.