How To Make A Delicious Homemade Raclette Without The Fancy Setup

What could be more cozy for the wintertime and holiday party entertaining season than a melty dose of raclette cheese? With homemade raclette, you can transport yourself and your hungry guests to the snowy peaks of the Swiss Alps, warming up with a melty hunk of raclette cheese by the fire. But is it really necessary to have a tabletop raclette grill or griddle to emulate this Swiss restaurant experience at home? Not at all.

To take your store-bought raclette cheese to melty paradise, all you'll need are one of a few kitchen tools you likely already have at home. Simply turn to your oven's broiler or bust out everyone's favorite multi-use kitchen gadget, the air fryer. You won't exactly be able to duplicate scraping the melted cheese off the big fancy machine like the restaurants, but you'll definitely be able to recreate everything you're craving in taste and texture.

For the broiler method, all you'll need is a trustworthy cast iron skillet to hold your raclette. You'll want to cut your raclette into slices about a quarter inch thick to prepare for melting and cover the bottom of the cast iron skillet without leaving any space. You then have the option to top the cheese with your choice of fresh herbs, like rosemary or thyme, drizzle with olive oil or white wine, and pop it into the broiler until your cheese is hot and bubbling. Then enjoy to your heart's content. 

To make a raclette in the air fryer, make sure to first cook or air fry any ingredients that you plan to melt the cheese over, such as potatoes or root vegetables. Then, you can add the sliced raclette cheese into the air fryer to melt on top and finish it off at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit for three to five minutes. Now you have your raclette transformed into an easy weeknight one-pot meal!

Raclette is a semi-hard, salty-sweet cheese that pairs great with pickled vegetables like cornichons or gherkins. Feel free to include other salty, briny favorites like olives or cured meats. If you want to make a full side instead of just snack items, try making a homemade pickle-y pasta salad. Think as if you're building a cheese board with your sides and balance out the different textures and flavor profiles.

If you want to stay true to raclette's Swiss roots, you can choose to serve your melted raclette draped over Gschwellti, which are simply steamed potatoes. Or, boil, steam, or roast those potatoes how you like and scoop your delectable melted raclette on top. As for drinks, a white wine always pairs well with melted cheese. A sweeter, rounder, or even acidic white wine works great with this hearty cheese. Anything too dry and you won't get to balance out the heaviness of your rich, melted raclette. And voila, you've got homemade Swiss raclette without purchasing any fancy gadgets.