In Louisville, pronounced “Lou-a-vul”, and spoken rapidly, there is a classic old 1930-ish hotel built in the opulent style, and it’s called “The Brown Hotel”. Their signature dish is called The Hot Brown. Throughout our great state you will find The Hot Brown on a large percentage of menus, including all the state park dining room menus which is where I first found them. It was decades before I knew there was such a thing The Brown Hotel, or that this was their creation. Like so many, I have my version. And like so many, there has been a lot of experimentation.
The Hot Brown is an open face dish where there is toast, slices of ham and turkey, and a cheesy roux that covers it. On top is laid bacon, and, always, somewhere, a slice of tomato. It is cooked in the oven and served hot. And while there is plenty of leeway as far as the toast base (all those bread options), the ham and turkey (all those flavored options), the bacon crown (what kind, how much), and the tomato (I think at The Brown they use two regular slices and put them on the plate under the toast, because tomatoes disintegrate when heated in the oven. Most others I have seen, hundreds, put them on top.) The challenge though is the cheesy roux, the key to the dish. And I have honestly never tasted a hot brown where the sauce was as good as The Brown’s. But guess what? If somebody down there gets a load of mine, I wouldn’t be surprised if they called me, and requested a tutorial.
A “roux” is any sauce made by thickening milk or another liquid with either flour or corn starch. Corn starch is always your best option. For, say, two hot browns, I start with about a cup of whole milk in a saucepan, about an inch of unsalted butter (Land-o-Lakes, of course), 1/4 tsp of salt and heat it to boiling. (When the milk starts to boil and raise up in the pan, that “scalding” helps make the roux.) Then using about 1/4 cup of milk in a little glass, and two fairly heaping forkfuls of corn starch (Argo), stir them up. The starch will settle and you’ll need to re-stir the glass and get the residual off the bottom. Then pour the starch mixture about a quarter of the glassful at a time on to the roiling milk/butter mixture, while stirring constantly. Leave on low heat some to rewarm matters, then gradually add the rest of the starch mixture. It should thicken quickly. Turn off the heat. (Any unattended sauce or roux, with the burner on, will destroy the batch, and your best best then is to just start over.)
Next you add your idea on cheeses (mine in just a sec). Melt them into the roux, and low-to-medium heat will be needed, stirring very frequently. This will become very thick, of course, but then comes my ingenious concept. You can now add as much milk as you need to make it the cheesy roux consistency you want. If too dry the toast soaks up the juice and the dish is dry and pasty. And when the sauce is plenty thin, it augments the other ingredients in the dish, whether than being too heavy and a chore to eat much of. It could require a few cups of milk to get where you want, but leftover sauce keeps long in the fridge and can be used as a topping for veggies as a side dish for other meals, or even a future hot brown.
But what cheeses? I have tried so many. I would note that the roux at The Brown is fairly pale, so much yellow and cheddar you’d wonder if you’re off track. But there’s nothing wrong with getting the taste you like. So what I do is start with about and inch of the big Velveeta slab, about a half of a cup of shredded mild cheddar, and then a half of a cup of parmesan. Sharp cheddar is too flavorful. And don’t use the expensive parmesans, like Reggiano. The cheap, creamy stuff is perfect for this. The brand at our Wal-Mart is “Frigo”, and comes shaved, and it’s the best Parmesan I’ve had. Freshly grated Bel-Gioso, which comes in slabs, is good for sure. Oh, and a half-teaspoon of salt.
So to make the hot brown, I use an oblong or round ovenware dish and grease it with butter. I use well-toasted white bread, one slice, and put it in the ovenware dish and add regular unflavored ham and turkey, and few slices of both. Then pour lots of your cheesy roux until the stack of bread/ham/turkey is nearly awash. For the bacon I cut them in half and cook these pieces over medium heat, stirring very often such that they end up frying in their own grease. The bacon will foam up when it’s done. Scoop them onto a plate with a paper towel on it to allow the crispy bacon pieces to dry a little. Then I generously decorate the stack in the ovenware dish that is now awash in the roux, and of course bacon is always the main ingredient in any dish it’s in, and many times I have been near the end of a hot brown and there ain’t enough bacon to see me through. You’ll find a lot of places with offer but two, long whole slices 0f bacon, and I have to budget how much I eat as I go. I often ask for extra bacon, even at the Brown. So for Big Red’s Hot Brown, plenty of bacon.
Most of the time for the tomato we are out of season, and cherry tomatoes from the grocery are your best tomato flavor. I slice three 0r four in half and place them on either side of the ovenware dish. Then I grate a little fresh parmesan over the whole thing, and sprinkle with a little paprika to make it pretty. Then cook it in the oven, and not too hot. If you have time 375 degrees would be kindest to the dish. When the roux is bubbling it’s done. Serve hot.