Recipe Louisville's Culinary Icon, The Hot Brown

mjd

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Source: Louisville Famous Dish | The Hot Brown Recipe | The Brown Hotel


Fun-filled Fact: In the 1920's, The Brown Hotel drew over 1,200 guests each evening for its dinner dance. By the wee hours of the morning, guests would grow weary of dancing and make their way to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Sensing their desire for something more glamorous than traditional ham and eggs, Chef Fred Schmidt set out to create something new to tempt his guests' palates. His unique dish? An open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and a delicate Mornay sauce. The Hot Brown was born!


LOUISVILLE’S CULINARY ICON, THE HOT BROWN

Servings: Two hot browns

INGREDIENTS

2 oz. Whole Butter

2 oz. All Purpose Flour

8 oz. Heavy Cream

8 oz. Whole Milk

½ Cup of Pecorino Romano Cheese

Plus 1 Tablespoon for Garnish

Pinch of Ground Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to Taste

14 oz. Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast, Slice Thick

4 Slices of Texas Toast (Crust Trimmed)

4 Slices of Crispy Bacon

2 Roma Tomatoes, Sliced in Half

Paprika

Parsley


DIRECTIONS

In a two‑quart saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Continue to cook roux for two minutes over medium‑low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk heavy cream and whole milk into the roux and cook over medium heat until the cream begins to simmer, about 2‑3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until the Mornay sauce is smooth. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

For each Hot Brown, place two slices of toast with the crusts cut off in an oven safe dish – one slice is cut in half corner to corner to make two triangles and the other slice is left in a square shape - then cover with 7 ounces of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and two toast points and set them alongside the base of the turkey and toast. Next, pour one half of the Mornay sauce to completely cover the dish. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino Romano cheese. Place the entire dish in the oven. Suggested bake time is 20 minutes at 350º. When the cheese begins to brown and bubble, remove from oven, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.

Source: Louisville Famous Dish | The Hot Brown Recipe | The Brown Hotel
 
Hah, that's on our menu list in the next day or 2. We found some roasted and smoked turkey in the deep freeze and first thing that popped into my mind was a hot brown.

And the above is the way I've always made them.
 
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I was born in Kentucky, but will someone kick me to the curb and hate me if I use turkey dark thigh meat? Otherwise, I really like this recipe and want to try!

(The family and I moved to New York City when I was two. I doubt I was consulted...)
It's good whatever meat you.use, and I won't because we use mixed. I was born in KY too.
 
I could have used a Mint Julep to cut the richness. Only made it thru half. Breakfast.

I used multigrain Texas-cut bread. Also, used small on-the-vine tomatoes and cut them in horizontal thirds after cutting the top and a bit of the bottom off. Cleaned out a bit of the goop too.
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My breakfast was the other half of the Hot Brown from dinner last night. Hate to say it, but it was much.better than last night, which was good, but this was the best tasting leftover I've ever had.

I'm making an extra 1 from now on for breakfast the next day. Seriously, it was a fantastic leftover.
 
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