Authentic Kentucky Hot Brown Food

KENTUCKY HOT BROWNS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Rub entire breast with butter and season with salt and pepper. Place in a small roasting pan and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 155 degrees F, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
• Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, bring to a boil and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and the flour has cooked out, about 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in cheese and cook until the cheese has melted. Season with nutmeg and salt and pepper, to taste.
• Whisk together the eggs, milk and salt in a medium bowl. Dip each slice of bread in the mixture and let sit about 30 seconds, or until completely soaked through.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Cook 4 slices of the bread at a time until golden brown on both sides. Remove and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bread.
• For assembly:
• Preheat broiler. Place the egg bread on a baking sheet, place under the broiler and heat on both sides for 20 seconds just to warm through.
• Top each slice of bread with 2 to 3 slices of turkey and 2 slices of tomato, ladle sauce over the top and divide the cheddar cheese and Parmesan over the top of each slice. Place under the broiler and cook until bubbly and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven, top each slice with 2 slices of bacon and sprinkle each slice with chives and parsley.

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to absorb all of the butter. Slowly whisk in the milk, and 6 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Stir in the egg to thicken the sauce, but do not allow to boil. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat remaining tablespoon of butter in a small skillet. Saute mushrooms in the butter until soft. Set aside.
• Preheat your oven's broiler. For each Hot Brown, place two slices of toast onto a heatproof plate or dish. Cover the toast with about 1/4 cup sauteed mushrooms and a couple of tomato slices. Place a liberal amount of turkey onto each Hot Brown, and pour an even more liberal amount of sauce over. Smother that baby. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese over the top. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
• Place the entire dish under the broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, criss-cross two slices of bacon on top, and serve!

HOT BROWN

Steps:

• Prepare the sandwich: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 4 bread slices in half diagonally. Divide the remaining 4 whole slices among four individual 7-by-9-inch (or other similarly sized) baking dishes (see Tip), and place 2 pieces of halved bread on opposite sides of the bread, positioning the longest side of each triangle closest to the whole slice of bread. The formation will look like a two-way arrow. Nestle a piece of tomato on either side of the whole slices of bread, forming a square shape with the bread triangles. Divide the turkey slices among the whole slices of bread. Transfer the casseroles to the oven to toast as you prepare the sauce.
• Prepare the Mornay sauce: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until mixture forms a roux. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, 2 minutes. Whisk heavy cream and milk into the roux and cook over medium until the sauce begins to simmer and thicken, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano until the sauce is smooth. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove the dishes from the oven and pour the Mornay sauce over each, smothering the meat, bread and tomatoes.
• Sprinkle additional Pecorino Romano on top of each dish and broil until the cheese begins to brown and bubble, 4 to 5 minutes, working in batches, if necessary.
• Remove from the broiler and cross 2 slices of bacon over each dish. Sprinkle with parsley and paprika, and serve immediately.

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

Steps:

• Melt butter and add enough flour to make a reasonably thick roux (enough to absorb all of the butter). Add milk and 6 tablespoons Parmesan. Add egg to thicken sauce, but do not allow to boil.
• Remove from heat. Fold in whipped cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• For each Hot Brown, place 2 slices of toast on a metal (or flameproof) dish. Cover the toast with mushrooms and thinly sliced tomatoes, then cover with a liberal amount of turkey. Pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey and toast. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan. Place entire dish under a broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, cross 2 pieces of bacon on top and serve immediately.

AUTHENTIC KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

Steps:

• Heat butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk, slowly cooking for about 4-5 minutes. Whisk in cram and milk and continue to heat. Whisk in cheese, slowly, until melted. SEason with salt and pepper. Simmer for about half an hour (sauce will be thick).
• Quarter the toast and place in 6" ramekins, or any oven-safe dish. Top with turkey and tomatoes. Cover with the sauce (be generous, it's good!). Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or so.
• Garnish with bacon slices and serve hot.

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.

SHEILA'S DERBY DAY HOT BROWN

Steps:

• Prepare bacon: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Lay out slices of bacon (do not overlap). Sprinkle with black pepper, brown sugar and cayenne (as your taste dictates - I only used a touch of cayenne for a hint of heat). Bake for 10-12 minutes until nice and crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, while bacon is cooking, make cheese sauce. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add onion and mushrooms. Saute until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft. Stir in flour, 1 T. at a time, and cook for about 1 minute. Season with salt and white pepper. Slowly stir in milk (about 1 cup at a time) until it is fully incorporated and flour is well-blended. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture has thickened. Add cheeses, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to blend well. Remove from heat and set aside.
• To assemble sandwiches, Preheat broiler. Toast bread slices to a medium-golden color and lay out on shallow-rimmed baking pans. (You will probably need 2 to fit all the bread slices.) Divide sliced turkey breast evenly among the bread slices, folding to fit on the bread. Ladle reserved cheese sauce over turkey and toast. (I used a ladleful for each sandwich.) Slice tomato in 8 slices and place on top of sandwiches. Slice bacon slices in half and set aside. Place each baking pan under broiler, one at a time, and broil until browned and bubbly. After removing from broiler, put bacon slices on top (arranged in an X) and serve.
• Note: Any leftovers reheat very well. You can just run them under the broiler again or bake in a 400-degree oven for a few minutes.

HOT BROWNS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan cook the onion in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is softened, stir in the flour, and cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk, scalded, in a stream, whisking vigorously until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the cayenne and salt and pepper to taste and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is thickened to the desired consistency. Strain the sauce through the fine sieve into a bowl and add the Sherry and Cheddar, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
• Arrange the toasts in a baking pan and divide the turkey among them. Top each sandwich with a tomato slice and 2 slices of the bacon and spoon the sauce evenly over the sandwiches. Sprinkle the sandwiches with the Parmesan and broil them under a preheated broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the tops are brown and bubbly.

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN SLIDERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Without separating rolls, cut the package of rolls in half horizontally; arrange bottom halves in a greased 11x7-in. baking pan. Spread mayonnaise evenly across the bottom halves. Top each with turkey, bacon, pimientos, Gruyere and Parmesan cheese. Replace top halves of rolls. , In a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved; drizzle over sandwiches., Cover and bake 25 minutes. Uncover; bake until golden brown, 5-10 minutes longer.