Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich Recipe

Some people may enjoy their sandwiches cold, minimal, and in between two pieces of bread, but for those who prefer hot, packed, open-faced sandwiches, the Kentucky Hot Brown is naturally the perfect choice. This decked-out sandwich, invented at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, comes piled high with turkey, broiled cheese, thick tomato slices, hearty bacon strips, and a rich Mornay sauce to keep things nice and cheesy. It's an over-the-top sandwich lover's dream, and though it may be a regional specialty originating at a specific Kentuckian hotel in the 1920s, it's a widely-beloved dish that's not all too difficult to recreate at home.

Recipe developer Patterson Watkins can't help but sing high praises of the Hot Brown, and she herself has had the pleasure of enjoying one at the actual Brown Hotel in Louisville, so she knew exactly what she was doing in recreating the beloved sandwich in this recipe. "This, to me, is the perfect hot turkey sandwich — broiled cheese sauce, tender slices of roast turkey, crispy bacon strips, and vine-ripe tomatoes" all make for the perfect open-faced stack. Though it may be a little more involved than your typical turkey sandwich, the Hot Brown is absolutely worth trying, and if a road trip to Kentucky isn't quite in the cards, then this homemade version will surely do the OG justice.

Before you get into making the actual sandwich, you'll start by making a Mornay sauce which consists of butter, all-purpose flour, half and half, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, black pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. This sauce will eventually go on top of the sandwiches, for which you'll need thick, toasted country white bread, sliced turkey breast, grated Parmesan, sliced Roma tomatoes, cooked bacon, fresh parsley, and fresh chives. 

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Once melted, add the flour and whisk to combine the roux. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently.

Add the half & half to the saucepan, whisk to combine with the roux, and bring to a low simmer, whisking frequently until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Whisk until the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened (add a little extra half & half if the sauce becomes clumpy).

Preheat the oven to broil on low.

Place the toasted white bread slices on a medium baking sheet or in an oven-safe skillet.

Divide the sliced turkey between the bread slices.

Divide the sauce between the portioned turkey, generously dolloping each (you want each to be super saucy, no sauce spared).

Sprinkle the sauce with grated Parmesan and place the baking sheet in the oven.

Broil for 5 to 8 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and lightly golden in places.

Remove from the oven, divide the hot browns between plates, and top each with a few slices of tomato.

Divide the cooked bacon slices between the hot browns (2 per).

Right before serving, sprinkle the hot browns with fresh parsley and chives.

The whole point of a Hot Brown sandwich is to serve it, well, hot, which can present more of a challenge than one might initially think. That time in between broiling the cheese sauce and serving is crucial, so aside from being nice and speedy in the kitchen, there are a few other tips to keep in mind. "When restaurants serve hot browns, they do so in personal-sized casserole dishes or oven-proof skillets," Watkins explains. So if you happen to have such dishes in your own kitchen, use those instead of the baking sheet (but know that your sandwiches are going to be extremely hot once served). If you, like Watkins, don't have a plethora of mini casserole dishes stowed away in your cabinets, then your oven is your friend — turn off the broiling function once that step is completed, set the oven to 250 F, and keep the Hot Browns toasty in there until you're ready to fully assemble.

Another factor that plays into the timing of assembling/serving the sandwiches is whether or not you roast the tomatoes. Watkins opts to not roast them and instead add the slices after the broiling step, but you could add them after the turkey and put the cheese on top. This may help you serve your Hot Browns faster, too, since there will be one less step to do after broiling.

A Mornay sauce is a bechamel sauce with cheese thrown into the mix — in the case of this recipe for Hot Browns, Parmesan is the cheese of choice. Mornay sauce isn't incredibly hard to make, but it does take a certain level of finesse in the kitchen to avoid creating a clumpy roux or scorching the entire sauce. As Watkins explains, "It's all about temperature control and cheese." Don't crank the burner up as high as it goes, but rather keep it at a steady medium heat and make sure your roux never enters a hard simmer or boiling territory. "Reduce the heat to low if it starts to get bubbly and remove the saucepan from the heat to give a little cool down time before returning," Watkins advises, and be sure to whisk consistently to avoid any scorching at the bottom of the pan. 

Watkins also warns about pre-grated Parmesan cheese, which often has a coating of cornstarch to avoid clumping in the bag. This addition of cornstarch can present a challenge or at least a certain risk of your sauce becoming too thick or even clumpy. To avoid this risk, simply grate fresh Parmesan, but if the bagged stuff is your only option, you can still make the Mornay work. Increase the amount of half and half to 1 ¼ cups, and keep the carton on standby in case you need an extra splash or two to keep things smooth and clump-free.