The Kentucky Hot Brown is an amazing sandwich that was born at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, sometime in the "Roaring 20s." (The hotel is still there!) The hotel's chef, Fred K. Schmidt, created and added the recipe to the usual late-night menu. The sandwich caught fire with the guests and became the hotel's signature.
The original Kentucky Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich with turkey and bacon, covered in Mornay sauce (relax, it just means white sauce with cheese), baked until bubbly and golden brown.
The sandwich is now a classic in Kentucky cuisine and is usually served with thin tomato slices and garnished with parsley. (Yay for parsley, AKA green magic in my book!)
It's an open-face, sit-down, eat-with-a-knife-and-fork sandwich, which is not what we need for a stand-up and schmooze social event like a Kentucky Derby party. Today, it's been reinvented as a delicious three-or-four-bite slider!
A Kentucky Hot Brown is rich and indulgent, the kind of sandwich you'd like to take home to meet your dad. Oven-roasted turkey, crisp bacon, and that scrumptious cheese sauce are amazing, but when reinvented as sliders, they become a moveable feast!
All the same, goodies, but nestled inside a sweet Hawaiian bun, then brushed with a buttery, savory, and ever-so-slightly sweet glaze, dotted with poppy seeds, and baked to a golden brown, it is a whole new culinary experience!
Begin by cooking eight to twelve slices of bacon until crisp. In my opinion, the best way is to bake it in the oven. Put the cold bacon on a rimmed baking sheet covered with foil or parchment paper.
Bake it at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. It will take a little longer if you use a 350- or 375-degree oven. Drain it on paper towels.
Grab a package of those indescribably delicious King's Sweet Hawaiin Rolls and unwrap them. Slice through the whole dozen with a bread knife, splitting them into top and bottom buns that are still attached, and lay the bottom half in an eleven by seven-inch baking dish.
Layer thinly sliced oven-roasted turkey on the buns, keeping the turkey inside the edges. It's tempting to really pile it on, but don't overdo it. It will help keep the sandwich together as it bakes. It's ok to nibble.
Next, add the bacon. You can crumble it if you like, but I cut each strip into four pieces so every bite would have a good crunch. Oh, how I do love bacon!
In a small saucepan, melt two tablespoons of butter, then stir in two tablespoons of flour and cook over medium heat, whisking as you go, until the flour and butter are well combined. Add a cup of milk or light cream and continue cooking and whisking until the sauce thickens.
This is a basic white sauce that also has the fancy name of bechamel sauce. To make it into Mornay sauce (cheese sauce), add up to a cup of grated cheese and stir until the cheese melts. I used 1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese, a little less than a half-cup of grated Parmesan, and a pinch of nutmeg.
Use what you have. The sandwich originally called for Pecorino Reggiano cheese or Gruyere, but I was too tired to find them in the grocery store. And don't go getting all snooty and start spouting fancy sauce names. It's basically cheese sauce, and it's really good!
Put that sauce on the turkey and bacon and try to stay inside the lines.
Slice two Roma tomatoes thin. Romas are a nice, firm tomato that is small in size, so a slice fits pretty neatly on top of each bun. Put them on top of the cheese sauce.
We are ready to put the lids on these yummy sliders and get them in the oven to bake!
In a microwave-safe measuring cup or small bowl, melt three tablespoons of butter with two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon or so of poppy seeds, andtwo2 teaspoons of brown sugar. Brush this lavishly on the buns and give them a few minutes to soak it up.
Now lightly cover the pan with foil and pop it in a 375-degree oven for about 15 minutes. Then uncover the pan and let the sliders bake for five more minutes or so until they are toasty golden brown.
Use a serrated knife to separate the buns into twelve individual Kentucky Hot Brown sliders, then stand back and watch a whole pan of them disappear!
You may also enjoy making hot cheese and ham sliders or cheeseburger sliders! Any of them would be a welcome addition to your Kentucky Derby party spread! Be sure to check out my Cranberry Bourbon Slush and Benedictine Spread, too!
This recipe makes the famous kentucky Hot Brown sandwich into sliders so they can be a grab and go delight!
* The original recipe calls for Pecorino Reggiano cheese or Gruyere, but you can use whatever you have: cheddar, Swiss, Mozzarella, Parmesan, etc.
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