Kentucky Hot Browns

Y'all, this is comfort food.  Meet the Kentucky Hot Brown.  In honor of the upcoming Derby, I just had to try my hand at this southern classic. The history of the Kentucky Hot Brown dates back to the roaring 1920's at the Brown Hotel in Louisville Kentucky.  Dinner guests would dance the night away and eventually request a midnight snack from Chef Fred Schmidt.  He dreamed up the Kentucky Hot Brown after guests grew tired of the normal fare of ham and eggs.    

A traditional hot brown is served on a piece of bread but this recipe calls for a biscuit base, which is really quite genius.  You know we southerners love our biscuits!  After the biscuits are baked and halved, pile on sliced turkey and the creamy cheese sauce.  Garnish with crispy bacon and slice of fresh tomato for the final touch.  The other great thing about these little hot browns is that they're the perfect party size and the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time, allowing you to assemble and broil just before guests arrive.

Serve these with my strawberry mint juleps and your party is off to a winning start!

***** Kentucky Hot Browns *****

(serves 2-4) adapted from here

// Ingredients //

6 frozen biscuits

1/2 lb. sliced turkey

1/2 cup cheese sauce (recipe below)

2-3 small tomatoes, sliced

2-3 slices bacon, cooked and diced.

// Instructions //

Bake biscuits according to package directions, allow to cool for few minutes and then slice in half.  Top biscuit halves with turkey slices.  Drizzle biscuits with cheese sauce and place under the broiler for 3 minutes or until cheese is toasty brown.  Remove from oven and garnish with bacon bits and tomato slices.  

***** Cheese Sauce *****

// Ingredients //

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan, grated

pepper to taste

// Instructions //

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Whisk in flour, stirring constantly for 1 minute.  Then gradually whisk in milk.  Bring to a boil and cook, whisking constantly until sauce is thickened.  Whisk in cheese, salt and pepper and remove from heat.

* This cheese sauce recipe makes a very large amount of cheese sauce.  I refrigerated the leftovers for use on pastas and other sandwiches but you could easily cut the recipe by half for a smaller batch.