There was a time when lunch counters, school cafeterias, and kitchen tables across America served sandwiches that most people today have never even heard of. Some were born during the Great Depression. Others popped up in hotel kitchens and factory break rooms. A few were so strange they sound made up. But here’s the thing — many of them were actually really good. And one in particular, the Kentucky Hot Brown, deserves a spot on every dinner table this year.
The Kentucky Hot Brown started at a dance
Back in the 1920s, the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, threw huge dinner dances every single night. Around 1,200 guests would show up, dance for hours, and then order the same boring ham and eggs at the end of the evening. Chef Fred Schmidt got tired of making the same plate over and over again. So in 1926, he came up with something new — an open-faced turkey sandwich smothered in a rich cheese sauce, topped with tomato, bacon, and a hit of paprika. He called it the Kentucky Hot Brown.
The sandwich became an instant hit. It sparked a whole trend of fancy hot sandwiches at hotels and clubs across the country. Pittsburgh’s Stratford Club made a Turkey Devonshire. The Mayfair Hotel in St. Louis created its own version called the Prosperity Sandwich. Hot sandwiches covered in creamy sauces were everywhere in the late 1920s. But as the decades passed, almost all of them faded away. The Brown Hotel still serves it today, but outside of Louisville, most folks have never tried one. That’s a shame, because it’s honestly one of the best open-faced sandwiches ever made.
Why this sandwich disappeared from menus
The Hot Brown was a product of its time. Fancy hotel dining rooms with live orchestras and late-night suppers were a 1920s thing. When the Great Depression hit, people couldn’t afford to eat out at hotel restaurants anymore. The lavish dinner dance culture that gave birth to the Hot Brown basically vanished overnight. And while cheaper sandwiches — like mock ham salad and banana sandwiches — took over during hard times, the Hot Brown was left behind as a relic of a fancier era.
The other problem? It’s not exactly a grab-and-go lunch. Making a proper Mornay sauce takes a few minutes, and the whole thing needs to go under the broiler before serving. That’s more effort than slapping some turkey between two slices of bread. Fast-casual dining and quick lunch spots had no room for something this involved. But at home, where there’s no rush and an oven is right there, the Hot Brown is surprisingly easy to pull off. It takes about 30 minutes total, and the result is way more satisfying than a regular turkey sandwich.
What makes the Mornay sauce so good
The Mornay sauce is what separates a Hot Brown from every other open-faced turkey sandwich. It’s basically a cheese sauce made from butter, flour, milk, and a mix of Parmesan and Gruyère. The sauce starts as a simple roux — butter and flour cooked together — and then milk gets whisked in slowly until it thickens. Once it’s smooth and creamy, the cheese goes in and melts right into it. The whole process takes less than ten minutes. It sounds fancy, but it’s really just making cheese sauce from scratch.
Some people swap in different cheeses, and that works fine. Sharp cheddar is a popular choice. The original recipe at the Brown Hotel uses Pecorino Romano for the finishing dusting on top. The key is getting the sauce thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but still pourable. Too thin and it’ll make the bread soggy before it even hits the broiler. Too thick and it won’t spread evenly. Once it’s right, it gets ladled over everything and the whole plate goes under the broiler until it’s bubbly and golden brown.
Leftover Thanksgiving turkey works perfectly here
One of the best things about the Hot Brown is how well it handles leftover turkey. Got half a bird sitting in the fridge after Thanksgiving? This is the move. Thick slices of roasted turkey are ideal for this sandwich. They hold up well under the heavy sauce and don’t fall apart when broiled. Some people even make the Hot Brown their official day-after-Thanksgiving tradition. It beats another plain turkey sandwich by a mile, and it puts those leftovers to genuinely good use instead of just reheating the same plate.
That said, deli turkey works in a pinch. Just stack it thick enough so it doesn’t disappear under the sauce. The original recipe calls for fresh-roasted turkey breast, but honestly, whatever turkey is available will do the job. The Mornay sauce and the bacon do most of the heavy lifting here. Even rotisserie chicken can stand in if there’s no turkey around. The point is that this sandwich is flexible and forgiving, which makes it great for weeknight dinners when the fridge is full of random leftovers that need using up.
The bacon and tomato are not optional
Every part of the Hot Brown matters, but the bacon and tomato are what bring it all together. The crispy bacon adds a salty crunch that cuts through the richness of the cheese sauce. And the tomato slices add a little brightness and acidity that keeps the whole thing from feeling too heavy. Chef Schmidt included both in his original 1926 recipe, and there’s a good reason they’ve stayed put for almost a hundred years. Skip them and the sandwich just feels like it’s missing something important.
Cook the bacon until it’s really crispy. Floppy bacon won’t work here because it’ll just steam under the broiler and turn chewy. Thick-cut bacon is the best choice. For the tomatoes, use firm slices so they hold their shape. Roma tomatoes are great because they don’t have as much water content. The tomato slices go on top of the turkey before the sauce, and the bacon gets placed on top of everything right before broiling. That way the bacon stays crisp and the tomato softens just enough under the heat.
Choosing the right bread makes a difference
The bread is the foundation of any open-faced sandwich, and with something this saucy, it needs to be sturdy. The original Hot Brown uses thick-cut white bread, toasted. That’s it. Nothing fancy. The toast needs to be firm enough to hold up under the weight of turkey, tomato, sauce, and bacon without turning into mush. Regular sandwich bread is too thin and will dissolve the moment the Mornay sauce hits it. Thick Texas toast-style slices or a good sourdough work really well here.
Some folks use sourdough or even a rustic country loaf cut into thick slabs. Whatever bread gets used, toast it well. A light golden color isn’t enough — it needs to be firm and dry enough to resist getting soggy for at least the time it takes to eat. Consider giving it a light brush of butter before toasting for extra richness. The bread should be the quiet, reliable base that lets everything on top really shine without falling apart halfway through the meal.
The broiler does the final magic
Here’s where the Hot Brown goes from a regular sandwich to something special. After everything is assembled on an oven-safe plate or baking dish, the whole thing goes under the broiler for about three to four minutes. The high heat turns the Mornay sauce bubbly and golden. It gets those beautiful brown spots on top that make it look like it came from a real restaurant. The broiler also warms the turkey through and softens the tomato slices just enough without making them mushy.
Keep a close eye on it though. Broilers are intense and things can go from golden to burnt in about thirty seconds. Position the oven rack about six inches from the heating element. The sauce should be bubbling and have light brown spots when it’s ready. Once it comes out, finish it with a sprinkle of paprika and some fresh parsley if there’s any around. That final dusting of Pecorino Romano cheese on top is what the original recipe calls for, and it adds a sharp, salty punch that ties everything together perfectly.
Other forgotten sandwiches worth trying too
The Hot Brown isn’t the only sandwich that got left behind. Welsh rarebit — basically a beer-cheese sauce poured over toast — was a lunch counter favorite through the 1970s. Braunschweiger, a German liver sausage spread on bread with mustard and pickles, was a lunchbox staple for decades. Even the Fluffernutter, that sticky peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff combination from New England, has faded to near obscurity. All of these were once common, everyday meals that millions of people ate without thinking twice about them.
Some old-school sandwiches disappeared because their ingredients became expensive, like the oyster club sandwich. Others vanished because the times that created them — like the Great Depression’s emergency sandwich made of hard-boiled eggs and peanut butter — were thankfully over. But sandwiches like the Hot Brown didn’t go away because they were bad. They went away because people forgot about them. And that’s the easiest kind of wrong to fix. A quick trip to the grocery store and about thirty minutes in the kitchen is all it takes to bring any of these back.
How to serve this at a dinner party
Want to really impress people at a casual dinner? Make Hot Browns. They look fancy, taste incredible, and nobody will expect them. Most guests will have never heard of the dish, so there’s a built-in conversation starter right on the plate. Serve them on individual oven-safe dishes so each person gets their own perfectly broiled sandwich. Add a simple green salad on the side to balance out the richness. It’s the kind of meal that feels special without requiring hours of work in the kitchen.
The sauce can be made ahead of time and reheated gently on the stove when it’s time to assemble. The bacon can be cooked in advance too. That means when guests arrive, the only real work left is stacking the sandwiches and running them under the broiler for a few minutes. It’s a low-stress meal with a high-reward payoff. Pair it with a cold beer or a glass of white wine and it becomes the kind of dinner people talk about for weeks. Not bad for a sandwich most people have completely forgotten about.
Plenty of great sandwiches have been lost to time, and most of them don’t deserve to be forgotten. The Kentucky Hot Brown is the perfect place to start bringing them back. It’s simple enough for a weeknight, impressive enough for company, and delicious enough to earn a permanent spot in any recipe rotation. So next time that leftover turkey is staring back from the fridge, skip the plain sandwich and give the Hot Brown a try. A hundred years of history says it’s worth the effort.
Classic Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich
Course: DinnerCuisine: American4
servings15
minutes20
minutes520
kcalThis legendary open-faced turkey sandwich smothered in creamy Mornay sauce and crispy bacon is the forgotten comfort food everyone needs to try.
Ingredients
4 thick slices of white bread or Texas toast
1 pound sliced roasted turkey breast
8 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked until crispy
2 medium Roma tomatoes, sliced into thick rounds
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, warmed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
1/2 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika plus extra for garnish
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Directions
- Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until very crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the strips to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. The bacon needs to be fully crisp so it holds up under the broiler later.
- Toast the bread slices until they are firm and golden brown on both sides. Regular toasting is not enough here — the bread should be dry and sturdy so it can support the sauce without getting soggy. Set the toasted bread aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly for about one minute until the mixture turns a light golden color. This is the roux, and cooking it removes the raw flour taste.
- Slowly pour in the warmed milk while whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Continue whisking over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Keep the heat steady and don’t rush this step.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese, Gruyère cheese, and paprika. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir until both cheeses are fully melted and the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Turn on the broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heating element. Place the toasted bread slices on an oven-safe baking dish or individual oven-safe plates. Pile the sliced turkey generously on top of each piece of toast.
- Lay the tomato slices over the turkey. Ladle the Mornay sauce evenly over each sandwich, making sure to cover the turkey and tomato completely. Place the crispy bacon strips on top of the sauce in a cross pattern.
- Sprinkle extra Parmesan cheese over the top and place under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes. Watch carefully — the sauce should be bubbly with golden brown spots when it’s done. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with paprika and fresh parsley, and serve immediately.
Notes
- The Mornay sauce can be made up to a day ahead and stored in the fridge. Reheat gently on the stove while whisking, adding a splash of milk if it has thickened too much.
- Leftover Thanksgiving turkey, deli turkey, or even rotisserie chicken all work well as substitutes for fresh-roasted turkey breast.
- For a sharper sauce, swap the Gruyère for sharp cheddar cheese. The original Brown Hotel recipe finishes with Pecorino Romano instead of Parmesan on top.
- Do not walk away while the sandwich is under the broiler. It can go from perfect to burnt in under 30 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Kentucky Hot Brown sandwich?
A: A Kentucky Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich created in 1926 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. It features sliced turkey on toasted bread, topped with tomato slices, a creamy Mornay cheese sauce, and crispy bacon, then broiled until bubbly and golden. It’s a warm, rich, comforting sandwich that’s been a Louisville tradition for nearly a hundred years.
Q: Can I make a Hot Brown with chicken instead of turkey?
A: Absolutely. Rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken breast works as a great substitute for turkey. The Mornay sauce and bacon provide most of the sandwich’s character, so the protein can be flexible. Just make sure to slice or shred the chicken thick enough so it holds up under the sauce and doesn’t get lost during broiling.
Q: What is Mornay sauce and is it hard to make?
A: Mornay sauce is a classic cheese sauce made from a base of butter, flour, and milk (called a béchamel) with melted cheese stirred in. It takes less than ten minutes to make from scratch. The key is to whisk constantly while adding the milk so no lumps form, and to use freshly grated cheese for the smoothest result.
Q: What kind of bread works best for a Hot Brown?
A: Thick-cut white bread toasted until very firm is the traditional choice. Texas toast and thick sourdough slices also work well. The bread needs to be sturdy enough to hold up under the heavy sauce, turkey, and toppings without getting soggy. Avoid thin sandwich bread, as it will fall apart almost immediately once the sauce is added.
