The Brown Hotel in Louisville, Ky., is famous for its Hot Brown sandwich.
Anne BralyWhat will you be doing with your leftover Christmas turkey? Chances are, you still have some in the freezer from your Thanksgiving meal or are trying to decide what you’ll do with it following Christmas dinner. If, like millions, you love a turkey sandwich better than any other turkey dish, why not rev it up a bit?
On a recent trip to Louisville, Ky., I was able to get one meal off my culinary bucket list. Ever since reading about The Brown Hotel in Louisville and its famous Hot Brown sandwich in a 1984 copy of GQ that was lying around my dentist’s office, I’d wanted to have a Hot Brown at the Brown.
Not being able to make the trip right away, I settled on making my own sandwich, and the results were pretty good. It’s not so hard to toast some bread or an English muffin and layer it with roasted turkey, Mornay sauce, a tomato and crisp bacon slices. So for years at some point between Christmas Day and New Year’s, it went that way when I made myself a Hot Brown.
But after finally having the chance to go to Louisville and taste one at The Brown Hotel, I think I was kidding myself. They are the masters. Mine were pitiful in comparison.
The history of the Hot Brown is one that began in the 1920s when tired, hungry patrons gathered in the hotel restaurant after a night of dancing and partying, looking for a bite to eat and a place to rest their weary feet. Wanting to serve them something besides eggs and ham, Chef Fred Schmidt took some bread, turkey and cheese and made a masterpiece that continues to be served to this day in the hotel’s two restaurants, as well as a much-loved order on the room-service menu.
Today, there are nearly 500 guests that visit the hotel each week and order Hot Browns, according to hotel spokeswoman Rachel Goldenberg. And during the week of the Kentucky Derby, sales are nearly doubled.
“We get many visitors who come through Louisville on their travels and say they have to experience the Hot Brown to mark it off their bucket list,” Goldenberg says.
But Hot Browns are not just a food for tourists; they are a staple for residents of Louisville as well.
“We have residents that come to the hotel for the Hot Brown going back generations, whether they are residents of the past coming back to visit, bringing out-of-town guests or just grabbing a Hot Brown for a mid-week lunch or dinner,” she says. “The Hot Brown is the ‘Ambassador of Food’ in Louisville, as bourbon is to a beverage in these parts.”
A word of advice now that I’ve visited the hotel and had an authentic Hot Brown: If you go, arrive hungry. It’s a huge sandwich. Order a salad and split the sandwich with another person. There. You’ve been warned.
Here’s the recipe, happily shared from the folks at The Brown Hotel. The recipe makes two sandwiches, which is easily enough for four.
Original Hot Brown Sandwich
1 1/2 tablespoons salted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup Pecorino-Romano cheese, plus extra for garnish
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste
14 ounces roasted turkey breast, sliced thick
4 slices Texas toast, crust removed and sliced in half diagonally
4 slices bacon
2 Roma tomatoes, halved
Paprika
Parsley
In a two-quart saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined to form a thick paste or roux. Continue to cook roux for 2 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk heavy cream into roux and cook over medium heat until cream begins to simmer, 2-3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino-Romano cheese until sauce is smooth. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper, to taste.
To assemble: For each Hot Brown, place one slice of toast in an oven-safe dish and cover with 7 ounces of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and two toast points and set them alongside the base of the turkey and toast. Pour half the sauce over the dish, completely covering it. Sprinkle with additional cheese. Place entire dish under a broiler until cheese begins to brown and bubble. Remove and cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top. Sprinkle with parsley and paprika and serve immediately. Makes 2 sandwiches.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.