The Hot Brown

This recipe is spot on and stays true to the original Brown Hotel recipe. As someone who does not like turkey, the rich, creamy mornay sauce made it delightfully palatable. The sauce was perfectly smooth and silky and tasted like an elegant white country gravy. Pecorino cheese makes all of the difference in the world. It’s pricey, but well worth the indulgence. I believe I added at least 1/4tsp. or more of black pepper, about 1/8tsp. nutmeg(I love nutmeg), and skipped the cayenne pepper. I used up some leftover turkey, so I didn’t make that part of the recipe. A thick Texas style toast is a must--buttered and grilled in a skillet until golden brown. Then assembled as directed. So good! Did I mention it’s rich? Mmmm!

I live in Louisville Ky and have had the hot brown at the Brown Hotel and it is amazing! I made this hot brown and it was ok but not like the original. The 2 tablespoons of salt it calls for I'm so glad i didn't put that in this recipe! I used 1 teaspoon instead and it was very salty!! For one thing you have the salt from the cheese too. I'm a salt lover but this was so salty. Other than that it was just ok.

Made it exactly like chef John said. It was wonderful and easy!

Wonderful, I did not have the 'de provencia or what ever spice it called for. I found bakery bread with that in it, which added a wonderful flavor. Yummy

another winner from chef john. i followed the recipe exactly and it was very tasty. the only snafu was that i discovered my broiler is on the fritz when i went to finish them so i had to finish them using the hot oven. regardless it was still extremely tasty. i used the pecorino romano but i could definitely see where a good sharp cheddar would work too.

Another excellent recipe from Chef John. The Mornay needed quite a bit of seasoning, and I ended up using at least 3/4 cup of Romano to get it just right. I've never been to Louisville to have the original, so I have nothing to compare against, but the final result was really really good! That tomato is just PERFECT in there. I have a lot of turkey and sauce left over, so I'm going to try a few modifications tomorrow. I think I'll try using toasted rye or pumpernickle bread and slice the turkey a bit thinner and add a few thin slices of ham. Can't wait. I highly recommend this recipe.

Very good recipe! I will say that I have had the pleasure of enjoying a hot brown served at the Brown Hotel, and this recipe nailed it! I did not have all of the exact ingredients that it called for, so I used what we had on hand. I substituted milk in place of the heavy cream, bacon pieces in place of the cooked bacon, I used shredded cheddar cheese in place of the other cheese, and cherry tomatoes instead of regular garden tomatoes. We had cooked turkey tenderloins the night before, and I wanted to use up our leftover, but with a little more creativity than just sticking it back in the oven and heating it up. This was perfect! Even with all of my substitutions, the recipe turned out great! My husband really liked this one as well! I will look forward to doing this one again and using the original ingredients for which it calls. We found this to be a great comfort food on a cold and damp Spring evening.

I made it exactly the way it said, next time i will make all 4 in one baking dish

Thank you Chef John! I made this Hot Brown post Kentucky Derby. The only change I made was to add a pinch of paprika to the Mornay sauce and again to the top of the Hot Brown; furthermore, I did not add any additional pecorino romano cheese to the top of the Hot Brown. The lack of the later addition probably accounts for the non plus of the browning on the top of my dish as it lacked the fat to accommodate a proper brown.

Thanks, Chef John! Another winner (no surprise). Perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers.

Made as directed except used Parmesan reggiano as I could not find pecorino romano, and used half and half instead of heavy cream. It was decadent as is... would have been way to rich using heavy cream. This was fantastic... so good. We will definitely make this again and again.

I lived in Evansville, IN, and often traveled to Louisville on business. No trip to Louisville was complete without lunch at the Brown Hotel experiencing their famous open face sandwich. Chef John’s interpretation is quite good, although I eliminated the added salt the second iteration. (I believe that the saltiness of the pecorino Romano cheese and the bacon add sufficient salt to this dish.

Delicious treat! Next time I think I'll try spreading a bit of mustard on the bread.