Hot Brown Sandwich

Hot Brown Sandwich

Serves 4

(America)

The hot brown sandwich was created at the Brown Hotel of Louisville, Kentucky in 1926, basically it’s an open-faced turkey and bacon sandwich covered in Mornay sauce which is broiled until the sauce begins to brown.   Alternatives to the classic includes using a combination of both shaved ham and shaved turkey, substituting sliced tomato for the pimentos, and using cheddar (sometimes called a Devonshire) or American cheese for the sauce.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg, room temperature and beaten

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup prepared whipped cream

8 slices toasted white bread, crust trimmed off

1 pound cooked turkey breast, thinly sliced
8 slices of shaved brown sugar bake ham

Grated Parmesan cheese for topping

1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained

8 bacon slices, fried crisp

Preparation

1.  Create a roux by melting  butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and gradually adding  the flour, stirring constantly, until smooth and free from lumps.

2.  Using the roux as a base create a white sauce base by gradually stirring  in milk until  the mixture comes to a gentle boil; remove the saucepan from the heat and add  the Parmesan cheese  stirring constantly until the cheese is melted and well blended.

3.  In a small bowl, beat the egg.  Temper the egg by gradually adding 1 cup of  the hot white sauce/parmesan mixture, 1/3 cup at a time, to the egg, stirring constantly.  Continue  the Mornay sauce by  gradually adding  the egg mixture to remaining sauce, stirring constantly until well blended; add salt and pepper to taste. Finally fold in the whipped cream to complete the sauce .

4.  Construct the Brown Sandwiches by placing two slices of toasted bread  next to each other on  metal or ovenproof  dishes to be used for service and placing  2 slices of  ham and a liberal amount of turkey on each of the toasted slices then continue by pouring a generous amount of the Mornay sauce over the turkey and finally sprinkling additional Parmesan cheese over that. 

5.  Complete the sandwiches by placing the entire dish(es) under the  broiler  of your oven until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, sprinkle with diced pimientos, cross two pieces of cooked  bacon over the top, and serve immediately.