It's Hot Brown Time!

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It's Hot Brown Time!

Unread postby brendaj » Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:23 pm

Hey Folks,
If y'all will forgive me, I'm trying to make up for shouting out about Bobby Flay's Hot Brown Throwdown. It was pretty lame. Sorry about that...

But pretty soon, we're all gonna have a boat-load of leftover turkey. No better time for a Kentucky Hot Brown. The Hot Brown was created by Brown Hotel Chef Fred K.Schmidt in 1926. Here's Cissy Gregg's (The Courier-Journal's late food editor) recipe, and it's supposed to be the original. Note the Cheddar cheese...

Louisville Hot Brown
4 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
8 slices toast, with the crusts cut off
Slices cooked chicken or turkey breast
Crisp-fried bacon, crumbled
Mushroom slices, sauteed

Saute onion in butter until transparent; add flour and combine. Add milk, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Cook on medium heat until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Add cheese and continue heating until they blend. Remove from heat.

Put one slice of toast in each of four oven-proof individual serving dishes. Top each piece of toast with slices of chicken or turkey. Cut remaining toast slices diagonally and place on sides of sandwiches. Ladle cheese sauce over sandwiches. Place sandwiches under broiler until sauce begins to bubble. Garnish with crumbled bacon and sauteed mushroom slices and serve immediately.
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It's only fitting that I am finishing that bottle of WT 12 yr. old as I type this...
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Last edited by brendaj on Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
As a Kentuckian, I consider it my civic duty to drink Bourbon, smoke and bet the ponies. Its a tuff job, but someone has to do it...
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Unread postby cowdery » Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:41 pm

That definitely sounds better than the recipe on the Brown Hotel's web site.

Plus any Cissy Gregg recipe is authentic by definition.
- Chuck Cowdery

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The Beaumont's Version

Unread postby brendaj » Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:45 pm

While I don't buy into their swiss roux for the sauce, The Beaumont Inn is an icon in Bourbon country. So I guess they have the right to make their Hot Brown any damn way they please... :P

The Beaumont Hot Brown
3 oz. sliced turkey breast
1 slice toasted bread
2 slices of tomato
2 slices of bacon, cooked & drained

Sauce
2 oz. butter
3 oz. flour
3/4 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
Salt & white pepper to taste

Heat butter and add flour. Whisk and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Slowly stir in milk and cream. Whisk in cheese until melted. Let the sauce cook slowly for 30 minutes, it should be very thick.
Quarter toast and place in oven-safe dish. Top with tomato slices and turkey. Cover with cheese sauce and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Top with bacon.
As a Kentuckian, I consider it my civic duty to drink Bourbon, smoke and bet the ponies. Its a tuff job, but someone has to do it...
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Unread postby brendaj » Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:10 pm

Well Hey Chuck!
Yepper, you just can't go wrong with Cissy. I have 3 of her old recipe mags from my Great Granny. The whole cheese thing has always been a bone of contention with me. I remember eating them at the Brown for lunch while shopping at Stewart's with my Granny. The sauce was definately cheddar based. But now everyone and their brother has a different version. I've even had broccoli and country ham stuck in there.

Have you had John Castro's Not Brown? (He's the other brother... :wink:)
He cooks for Winston's, and does a seafood version with fried green tomato. Really excellent, but not a Hot Brown.

Hope you're looking forward to a great Thanksgiving!
As a Kentuckian, I consider it my civic duty to drink Bourbon, smoke and bet the ponies. Its a tuff job, but someone has to do it...
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