Louisville Hot Browns Recipes

LOUISVILLE HOT BROWNS

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, then drain on paper towels.
• Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to make a thick roux. Add the milk and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan, reduce the heat to low and whisk in the egg until the sauce is thick (do not boil). Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
• For each Hot Brown, place 2 bread slices side by side in a small flameproof baking dish. Cover the bread with about 1/4 pound turkey and place 1 or 2 tomato slices alongside. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup cheese sauce over the turkey and bread. Sprinkle with more parmesan and broil until the sauce is bubbly and speckled brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the broiler, cross 2 strips of bacon on top and sprinkle with parsley and more parmesan. Serve immediately.
• Photo by John Nation

LOUISVILLE HOT BROWN

Steps:

• Make the cheese sauce:.
• In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook mixture, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add milk and continue to stir. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil. Cook for 1 more minute. Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in cheeses, mustard, Tabasco sauce, and salt. Cover and keep warm.
• Cook the bacon:.
• In a large skillet, cook bacon over high heat until crisp and brown -- 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel to drain. When bacon is cool, crumble or coarsely chop.
• Make the sandwiches:.
• Preheat oven broiler. In a large ovenproof dish, arrange toasted bread slices and layer them with turkey and tomato slices. Sprinkle with pepper and spoon cheese sauce on top. Place the sandwiches under broiler and cook until sauce begins to brown lightly -- 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with bacon, and serve immediately.

LOUISVILLE HOT BROWNS

Steps:

• Preheat broiler.
• Chop onion.
• In a heavy saucepan heat butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook onion about 3 minutes, or until glassy.
• Add flour, stirring until smooth.
• Add milk, salt, and pepper and simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth.
• Add cheese and remove pan from heat.
• Whisk sauce until cheeses are melted.
• Thinly slice mushrooms.
• In a skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and saute mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until golden and any liquid given off by mushrooms is evaporated.
• Season mushrooms with salt.
• In each of 4 ovenproof individual serving dishes top 1 slice of toast with 2 slices turkey or chicken.
• Diagonally halve remaining slices of toast and "bracket" each sandwich with 2 halves.
• Ladle cheese sauce over sandwiches and broil 4 to 5-inches from heat until sauce begins to bubble and brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Crumble bacon.
• Top each sandwich with bacon and mushrooms.
• Serve sandwiches immediately.

ORIGINAL HOT BROWN

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour with a whisk or fork, and continue to cook and stir until it begins to brown slightly. Gradually whisk in the milk so that no lumps form, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Mix in 6 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and then stir in the beaten egg to thicken. Do not allow the sauce to boil once the egg has been mixed in. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.
• Preheat the oven's broiler. For each hot brown, place two slices of toast into the bottom of an individual sized casserole dish. Cover with a liberal amount of roasted turkey and tomato slices. Spoon sauce over the top of each one and sprinkle with some of the remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Place the dishes under the broiler and cook until the top is speckled brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the broiler and arrange two slices of bacon in a cross shape on top of each sandwich. Serve immediately.

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
• Gradually add flour, stirring constantly, until smooth and free from lumps.
• Gradually stir in milk until sauce comes to a gentle boil, stirring constantly; remove from heat.
• Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted and well blended.
• In a small bowl, beat egg.
• Gradually add 1 cup of hot cheese sauce, 1/3 cup at a time, to the egg, stirring constantly.
• Gradually add egg mixture to remaining sauce, stirring constantly until well blended; add salt and pepper to taste.
• Fold in whipped cream.
• For each Hot Brown sandwich, place two slices of toasted bread on a metal (or flameproof) dish.
• Cover the toast with a liberal amount of turkey.
• Pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey.
• Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese.
• Place entire dish under a broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly.
• Remove from broiler, sprinkle with diced pimientos, cross two pieces of bacon over the top, and serve immediately.

LOUISVILLE HOT BROWN

Steps:

• Saute onion in butter until transparent, add flour and cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Add milk, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.
• Cook on medium heat until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.
• Add cheeses and continue heating until they blend.
• Remove from heat.
• Put one slice of toast in each of four oven-proof individual serving dishes (I used our 1980's stoneware dinner plates).
• Top each piece of toast with slices of chicken or turkey.
• Slice remaining toasts diagonally and place on sides of sandwiches.
• Ladle cheese sauce over sandwiches.
• Place sandwiches under broiler until sauce begins to bubble.
• Garnish with crumbled bacon and sauteed mushroom slices and serve immediately.

KENTUCKY HOT BROWNS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rub the turkey with 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160 degrees F, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 15 minutes before chopping; the internal temperature will rise to 165 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, place the bacon on a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees F. Coat the tomatoes with the remaining 2 teaspoons vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes cut-side up on a separate parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until they start to dehydrate and wrinkle, about 45 minutes.
• While the tomatoes are cooking, start the Mornay sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the flour and stir continuously so the roux doesn't scorch, about 2 minutes. When the milk starts to simmer, slowly add it to the roux, stirring continuously so lumps don't form. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the cheddar and roasted peppers and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the broiler. Distribute the bread cubes evenly among four 6-inch cast-iron gratin pans (or use disposable pie plates or other small pans). Cut the turkey into 1/2-inch pieces; discard the skin and bones. Divide the turkey evenly among the pans. Spoon the Mornay sauce over the turkey, then top with the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the parmesan and bacon and broil until golden and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.