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Louisville's legendary open-faced sandwich: thick-sliced roasted turkey piled on toast, blanketed in bubbling Mornay sauce, crowned with crispy bacon and ripe tomato, then broiled until gloriously golden and irresistible.
In 1926, chef Fred Schmidt at the Brown Hotel in Louisville faced a problem. The late-night dancing crowds wanted something more substantial than the tired ham and eggs everyone else served. His solution was audacious: pile roasted turkey on toast, blanket it in Mornay sauce, top it with bacon and tomato, and run the whole affair under a broiler until it blistered and bubbled. The Kentucky Hot Brown was born, and Louisville has never recovered.
This is not a delicate sandwich. It arrives at your table crackling and bronzed, the sauce pooling at the edges of the plate, the bacon shattering when you cut through it. You need a knife and fork. You need an appetite. The Mornay sauce must be properly made: a béchamel enriched with good Parmesan and a bit of sharp cheddar, seasoned boldly enough to stand up to the turkey without overwhelming it.
I've served this to guests from both coasts who arrived skeptical of Kentucky's claim to a regional classic. Not one has left the table unconverted. The Hot Brown demonstrates what American cuisine does best: take familiar components, treat them with care, and create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Quantity
1 pound
thick-sliced
Quantity
8 slices
thick-cut
Quantity
4 slices
Texas toast or thick-cut Pullman
Quantity
2 medium
sliced 1/4-inch thick
Quantity
for garnish
chopped
Quantity
4 tablespoons
Quantity
1/4 cup
Quantity
2 1/2 cups
warmed
Quantity
1/2 cup
freshly grated
Quantity
1/4 cup
grated
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
freshly grated
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon
Quantity
1
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| roasted turkey breastthick-sliced | 1 pound |
| applewood-smoked baconthick-cut | 8 slices |
| sturdy white breadTexas toast or thick-cut Pullman | 4 slices |
| ripe tomatoessliced 1/4-inch thick | 2 medium |
| fresh parsleychopped | for garnish |
| unsalted butter | 4 tablespoons |
| all-purpose flour | 1/4 cup |
| whole milkwarmed | 2 1/2 cups |
| Parmigiano-Reggianofreshly grated | 1/2 cup |
| sharp white cheddargrated | 1/4 cup |
| nutmegfreshly grated | 1/4 teaspoon |
| kosher salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| white pepper | 1/4 teaspoon |
| cayenne pepper | 1/8 teaspoon |
| large egg yolk | 1 |
Arrange bacon strips in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Place in a cold oven, then set temperature to 400°F. Bake until deeply golden and crisp, 18 to 22 minutes. Starting in a cold oven renders the fat slowly and produces the crispest results. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve for assembly.
Toast your bread slices until deeply golden on both sides. You want sturdy, almost over-toasted bread here. It must support the weight of turkey and sauce without dissolving into mush. Set aside while you build the sauce.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the foaming subsides, whisk in the flour all at once. Cook this roux for two full minutes, stirring constantly, until it smells faintly nutty and looks like wet sand. Do not let it color. A white roux makes a clean, elegant Mornay.
Remove the pan from heat. Pour in the warm milk in a steady stream while whisking vigorously. This prevents lumps. Return to medium heat and cook, whisking frequently, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. It should leave a clear trail when you drag your finger through it.
Remove sauce from heat. Stir in the Parmesan and cheddar until melted and smooth. Season with nutmeg, salt, white pepper, and cayenne. Whisk a spoonful of hot sauce into the egg yolk to temper it, then whisk that mixture back into the pot. The yolk enriches the sauce and helps it brown beautifully under the broiler.
Position your oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler element. Preheat the broiler to high. Place each toast slice on an oven-safe plate or in a shallow gratin dish. Divide the turkey evenly among the toasts, piling it generously. You want height here. Ladle Mornay sauce over each sandwich, covering the turkey completely but leaving the corners of the toast peeking through. Those exposed edges will crisp under the broiler.
Place the assembled sandwiches under the broiler. Watch them closely. In 3 to 5 minutes, the sauce will bubble vigorously and develop golden-brown spots across the surface. The edges will begin to caramelize. Remove the moment you see deep bronzing. The sauce continues cooking from residual heat.
Working quickly while everything is still bubbling, cross two strips of bacon over each sandwich. Tuck two or three tomato slices alongside the bacon. Scatter chopped parsley over the top. Serve immediately on the same plate it broiled on. Warn your guests: the plates are hot and the first bite will burn your tongue. It's worth it.
1 serving (about 450g)
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