We had often talked about having it in Germany, as that's where Mike had his first experience with raclette. One of his host families had decided it would be fun for the American to try his hand at the raclette grill and it had left quite the impression. Unfortunately the opportunity never presented itself when we lived in Wolfsburg. More often than not, this fun twist on fondue is done for special occasions. Finally, on a cold winter night in December (though most definitely not as cold as it has been recently) we took our own raclette grill out so that I could finally try it.
The grill itself has a heating implement that cooks or warms food on the platform on top in addition to melting cheese that you place in the personal pans underneath. It also comes with scrapers for the pans that hearken back to the original way of scraping off melted cheese from the cheese wheel.
Traditional Raclette cheese is very mild in flavor and melts easily. We were able to find two kinds, although both came from France rather than Germany or Switzerland.
The cheese is always served with cooked potatoes -- skin on. We decided to add some thinly sliced steak and peppers to the meal.
Red onions and small pickles also make for great accompaniments. I also like mushrooms.
We had a very nice set up.
Everything smelled delicious as it cooked on the grill. You can also see the cheese melting below.
Once everything is cooked and the cheese is melted, you pile the food into the plates and scrape the deliciously melted cheese on top.
Make sure to grab a bite with all of the components!
Success!
Thus far, we've used the raclette twice... and just talking about it is making my mouth water. Maybe it will have to make an appearance again soon. Guten Appetit!
Okay, now I'm seriously hungry! I love the photo of everything piled on top-- YUM!
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