Famous Hot Brown

The Hot Brown is Louisville’s gift to the open-faced sandwich world, born in 1926 at the Brown Hotel as a late-night dish for tipsy ballroom dancers. Almost a hundred years later, it’s still the single most famous thing in Kentucky cuisine after bourbon and horses.

The foundation is a creamy Mornay-style sauce made with melted American cheese, beaten eggs, and a touch of cayenne for warmth. It gets ladled over toasted bread points and sliced chicken (or turkey, in the original) arranged in a sunburst pattern, then crowned with crisp bacon strips and showered with Parmesan and paprika before a quick broil.

What comes out of the oven is a bubbling, browned, indulgent plate that demands to be eaten with a knife and fork.

Pro Tips

• Use turkey instead of chicken to stay true to the original Brown Hotel recipe.
• Whisk the beaten eggs into the hot sauce off the heat to prevent scrambling. Temper them by adding a ladle of warm sauce to the eggs first if you’re nervous.
• Toast the bread until quite crisp. Soft toast collapses under the weight of the sauce and turns the dish to mush.
• Use oven-safe plates or shallow gratin dishes. Standard dinnerware can crack under the broiler.
• Watch the broil step constantly. The cheese top goes from golden to scorched in seconds.

Variations

• Add slices of fresh tomato under the sauce for the modern Louisville version.
• Garnish with a few sliced pimentos or pickled jalapeños for color and a vinegar lift.
• Serve with a glass of bourbon-based Old Fashioned for the full Kentucky experience.