Flavors · Louisville

Hot Brown

Open-faced sandwich of turkey breast and slices of bread topped with a creamy cheese sauce, gratinéed and finished with bacon and tomato. It was created in a hotel in Louisville in 1926.

Traditional dish from Louisville, Kentucky

Also known as: Kentucky Hot Brown

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Hot Brown — Louisville, the United States
Hot Brown
Hot Brown — Louisville, the United States
Hot Brown
Hot Brown — Louisville, the United States
Hot Brown
Hot Brown — Louisville, the United States
Hot Brown

Hot Brown — Louisville, the United States

The Hot Brown was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1926, in the kitchen of a major downtown hotel. According to the story told in Louisville, the chef created the dish for guests who danced late in the ballroom and wanted something heartier than eggs and ham.

It is an open-faced sandwich, eaten with a fork and knife: crustless slices of bread, thick-cut roasted turkey breast, and a creamy cheese sauce, the Mornay type, on top. The dish is placed in the oven until the sauce is gratinéed and then receives strips of bacon and slices of tomato.

The Hot Brown became the dish most associated with Louisville and appears on the menus of the city’s restaurants, especially during the Kentucky Derby season in May.

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Where it comes from

Louisville , Kentucky

Ingredients

Crustless sandwich bread, roasted turkey breast, cheese sauce (Mornay), bacon, tomato, paprika.

How it is eaten

Hot, served on a plate, eaten with a fork and knife.

When it is eaten

All year; very popular during the Kentucky Derby season in May.

Your questions

Questions about Hot Brown

What is the Hot Brown?

It’s an open-faced turkey sandwich topped with gratinéed cheese sauce, bacon and tomato, created in Louisville.

When was the Hot Brown created?

In 1926, in the kitchen of a downtown Louisville hotel.

How do you eat the Hot Brown?

Hot, with a fork and knife, because it’s an open-faced sandwich covered in sauce.

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