This famous open-faced, broiled sandwich originated in 1926 in Louisville at the Brown Hotel by a chef who served it to the vast late night crowds of dinner and dancing partyers after a day of horse racing excitement. I was in Louisville this week, hungry for a Hot Brown and was sorely disappointed with the soggy, soppy version with ham as well as turkey at Frank's Steakhouse, where our group ventured for dinner. "Hot Browns" are on the menu in many Kentucky restaurants so it wasn't unrealistic, I thought, to find an acceptable version without going to the Brown. I had a fabulous Hot Brown at a conference at a Lexington Marriott a few years ago, and a really dismal version on a BB Riverboats jazz brunch cruise recently. Maybe I'm expecting too much from a pretty simple recipe. http://www.bbriverboats.com/
Some versions use American or cheddar cheese in the white sauce, and that is fine by me. Whatever cheese, it makes a wonderful lunch or brunch dish. Just try not to use processed deli-stlye turkey. This is the official Brown Hotel recipe: http://www.brownhotel.com/dining/hot-brown.html
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, room temperature and beaten
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup prepared, unsweetened whipped cream
8 slices toasted white bread, crust trimmed off
1 pound cooked turkey breast, thinly sliced
Grated parmesan for topping
1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
8 bacon slices, fried crisp
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 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 toast with liberal amount of turkey. Pour generous amount of sauce over turkey. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese. Place entire dish under 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.
Makes 4 servings of 2 open-faced sandwiches each.
http://www.bb/ Riverboats.com is a nice one-time experience, a leisurely Ohio River cruise on a riverboat. The food is marginal - probably because it is cooked on land and brought aboard.So, if you go, go for the experience and not for fine dining. Ours was a Sunday brunch cruise and I must say that several co-diners liked the breakfast casserole that was a baked version of the Hot Brown, not knowing what it could have/should have been. I thought it was horribly soggy and institutional-tasting and it took me a few minutes to realize what the damp, bland stuff was supposed to be. It was the only really awful thing on the buffet.
