Kentucky
Hot Brown...a Derby Favorite!
The Hot Brown was invented and made
famous at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Ky
by Chef Fred Schmidtt. Back in the 1920's
the Brown Hotel had about 1200 guests each night for dinner and dancing into
the wee hours of the morning. The partiers would get hungry and tired and
would end up in the hotel restaurant for a bite to eat. They were getting
tired of the same sandwiches and wanted something a
little different so Chef Schmidtt created the 'Hot
Brown' and it was an instant hit. Here is what you will need to
make two Kentucky Hot Browns:
3/4 lb thinly sliced roasted turkey
breast
6 slices bacon cooked crisp
4 Tbs
butter
4 Tbs
flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
dash of cayenne
2 cups half and half cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
four slices of toasted bread (Texas Toast or Italian
Bread)
First make a mornay sauce, which is just a fancy schmancy word for a white sauce with some Parmesan cheese
in it. Melt the butter and flour together and cook the flour just a
little, slowly add the half and half, salt pepper, and cayenne. You
can do this on the stove top or I do it in the microwave. Whisk it
together and bring to a gentle boil and then turn it down and whisk
again. If doing it in the microwave, microwave
on high about 3-4 minutes and whisk until smooth.
Add the
Parmesan cheese and whisk to melt and blend until smooth.
Toast the
bread and arrange it like this. If you are using Texas Toast, you can
just use one piece. I prefer this Italian bread for this.
These are
placed under the broiler, so either arrange them in
individual serving dishes that are ovenproof or in a baking dish and then
transfer them to a plate with a wide spatula. Stack the turkey slices and
pour the sauce over each one.
Place two
slices of tomatoes on each serving. Place under the broiler until they
are starting to brown and are bubbly. When they come out place three
strips of bacon crisscrossed on each and sprinkle with more Parmesan.
Kentucky
Hot Brown!