THE LEGENDARY KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

There is nothing like a Kentucky hot brown from the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.   A Louisville tradition worldwide.  The Louisville hot brown has been featured in every major magazine and newspaper from Southern Living to the Wall Street Journal. The recipe below is how I make my hot brown.  You can read about the hotel and get the original recipe here:  The Hot Brown at the Brown Hotel.

The Kentucky hot brown is a great way to use up leftover turkey from the holidays or just make this treat anytime.

Ingredients (Makes Four Hot Browns):

1 ounce real butter or about 2 tablespoons

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 pint of heavy cream

1/4 cup (plus extra cheese to sprinkle over hot brown) Pecorino Romano Cheese or can use fresh grated parmesan cheese

Sliced roasted turkey breast (I just use however much I would want on a sandwich)

Salt and Pepper to taste (I like a lot of pepper on mine)

4 slices Texas Toast with the crust trimmed off

8 slices bacon, cooked till crispy or however you like it

4 Roma Tomatoes, cut in half or can use regular tomatoes

Paprika

Parsley

In a saucepan, melt butter and whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Cook for two minutes over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk in heavy cream and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes until mixture begins to simmer. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese until the sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For each Hot Brown, place one slice of toast in an oven safe dish and cover with slices of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and set them alongside the base of turkey and toast. Next, pour one fourth of the Mornay sauce to completely cover the dish. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino Romano cheese. Place entire dish under a broiler until cheese begins to brown and bubble. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.

The hot brown from the Brown Hotel is always served at Kentucky Derby Parties each year and is a truly original Kentucky recipe.

Note:   If you don’t have individual baking dishes that can go under the broiler, a metal pie pan works great or you can put several in a large baking dish and put under the broiler at one time.  Some recipes add sliced ham along with the turkey.

Enjoy!

Don’t Forget to Pin! 

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

Ham, Potato and Broccoli Casserole

Creamy Cauliflower Casserole

Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese

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