Kentucky Hot Brown - Low-carbed

[PaminKY]

On the Fourth of July menu thread I mentioned making Hot Browns and was asked for my recipe so instead of burying this tasty indulgence I thought I would make a new thread for it. I modified the recipe to save carbs by using glucomannan instead of flour to thicken the sauce but it wasn't too bad carby to begin with other than the toast which I have found I don't need anyway. Here's my recipe:

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

4 Tbs salted butter
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup grated pecorino romano cheese, grated
½ tsp glucomannan
Salt & pepper to taste
6 slices bacon (I like to precook mine in the microwave, getting 2 slices well done and the other 4 about ¾ done)
4 slices fresh tomato
Thin sliced cooked turkey breast
Thin sliced country ham (optional but I like them better with some country ham, you can also use regular ham or what we like to call “city ham”)
2 slices toasted bread (optional I don’t use bread on mine but I do use Healthy Life white bread for my husband)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat over to 375.

Melt butter over med-low heat in a 2 qt. non-stick saucepan or any other type saucepan. Add cream, sprinkle glucomannan over top and whisk in thoroughly. Stir in romano cheese and leave on low heat until cheese has melted and sauce is creamy, stir quite often and be sure not to let it scorch. Add salt & pepper to taste. Sauce needs to be relatively thick and since I don’t like to overdo on the glucomannan if I need it thicker I will add more romano or even some grated parmesan (green can kind is okay).

Cut toast on the diagonal and lay in oven proof dish so that it looks like this ><. I use glass pie plates, one is 8” for me and the other 9” for my husband. I’ve also used aluminum pans for easy cleanup. Lay a few layers of turkey and ham over the bread, crumble up the two well done pieces of bacon over the meat. Pour thick layer of sauce over everything (you want to totally cover everything up with the sauce). Put a thick layer of shredded cheese over the sauce. Criss-cross two slices of bacon over each dish and then lay two slices of tomato over the middle of the criss-cross.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes and then turn on the broiler to crisp up the bacon and really melt the cheese, watch it carefully while under the broiler.

Enjoy!




And a bit of history about the Hot Brown:

The History of The Brown Hotel's "Hot Brown"
With so much to boast - award-winning dining, breathtaking turn-of-the-century architecture, and attentive, caring service - some may wonder, "Why the Hot Brown?" Here is the history behind this now legendary dish…

In the 1920's, The Brown Hotel drew over 1,200 guests each evening for its dinner dance. In the wee hours of the morning, the guests would grow tired of dancing and retire to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Diners were growing rapidly bored with the traditional ham and eggs, so Chef Fred Schmidt set out to create something new to tempt his guests' palates. His unique creation was an open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and a delicate Mornay sauce. Exemplifying our unending dedication to serving our guests, The Hot Brown was born!

And now The Hot Brown - a Louisville tradition with worldwide appeal - has been featured in Southern Living Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, NBC's Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, as well as being included as a regular entry in many of the finest cookbooks.

[rosethorns]

Thanks Pam. I'm glad you put it in it's own thread. They get so lost so easy.

[Barbo]

So happy that you posted your recipe for Hot Brown's.
Must confess that until Bobby Flay had a 'Throwdown' with
Brown's "Hot Browns", I never knew anything about this recipe.
Being born on the West Coast and never going to Kentucky,
this was a wonderful surprise. My mouth watered watching them
make this famous sandwich. I don't remember who won the throw-
down but I wondered if anyone ever low carbed it. Well know
I know and I thank you Pam.

YUM

[buttoni]

Yes, I didn't see your other post. This sounds really good. I love anything open-faced with gravy.

[Tilly]

Saving this for cooler temperatures, but sounds sooo good, creamy and filling! Thanks for sharing and enlightening me as to what they are. Never heard of them.

[TBipp]

Thanks so much for posting, Pam. I confess that this is one of those menu items that it is challenging for me to pass up because so few restaurants offer Kentucky Hot Browns. With your recipe, it will be much easier for me to say no, because I now can fix it for myself. I am in Missouri so we see Kentucky Hot Browns on an occasional menu or as a special.

I am lucky as I can cook just about anything, but when I see a menu item that is rarely offered or a dish that is a lot of work to prepare, I will splurge: homemade gnocchi or Kentucky Hot Browns being perfect examples!

Now I know a low carb Kentucky Hot Brown is within reach!

[PaminKY]

I made these again for dinner last night (so good!) and wasn't happy with my original recipe so I revised it a bit. Here's the revised version



KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

5 Tbs salted butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
3/4 tsp glucomannan
Salt & pepper to taste
6 slices bacon (I like to precook mine in the microwave, getting 2 slices well done and the other 4 about ¾ done)
4 slices fresh tomato
Thin sliced cooked turkey breast
Thin sliced country ham (optional but I like them better with some country ham, you can also use regular ham or what we like to call “city ham”)
2 slices toasted bread (optional I don’t use bread on mine but I do use Healthy Life white bread for my husband)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat over to 375.

Melt butter over med-low heat in a 2 qt. non-stick saucepan or any other type saucepan. Add cream, sprinkle glucomannan over top and whisk in thoroughly. Stir in romano cheese and leave on low heat until cheese has melted and sauce is creamy, stir quite often and be sure not to let it scorch. Add salt & pepper to taste. Sauce needs to be relatively thick and since I don’t like to overdo on the glucomannan if I need it thicker I will add more romano or even some grated parmesan (green can kind is okay).

Cut toast on the diagonal and lay in oven proof dish so that it looks like this ><. I use glass pie plates, one is 8” for me and the other 9” for my husband. I’ve also used aluminum pans for easy cleanup. Lay a few layers of turkey and ham over the bread, crumble up the two well done pieces of bacon over the meat. Pour thick layer of sauce over everything (you want to totally cover everything up with the sauce). Put a thick layer of shredded cheese over the sauce. Criss-cross two slices of bacon over each dish and then lay two slices of tomato over the middle of the criss-cross.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes and then turn on the broiler to crisp up the bacon and really melt the cheese, watch it carefully while under the broiler.

Enjoy!

[TBipp]

Thanks for the update, Pam and for bumping this.

By the way, I was in KY just last week!

[PaminKY]

Originally Posted by TBipp

By the way, I was in KY just last week!

So was I, LOL. Did you go to Keeneland?


The fall leaves are beautiful this year and this weekend I going to see my parents who live in the foothills of Appalachia. I only live the next county over from them but the mountains in the county they live in are beautiful.

[CreekWatcher]

I was inspired a while back by the Bobby Flay Throwdown to make a low carb version of the hot brown--and did not impress myself. (Don't remember now exactly what I did.) But I might try again with your version, perhaps put half on some Kevin recipe lc bread and sample the other half plain.

[TBipp]

So was I, LOL. Did you go to Keeneland?

Actually, no. I was south towards Richmond and Brodhead. First visit and very pretty.

[KCSoccer]

Oh, yum! I love Hot Browns. This is on the menu for next week.

Thanks, Pam!

[PaminKY]

Originally Posted by TBipp

So was I, LOL. Did you go to Keeneland?

Actually, no. I was south towards Richmond and Brodhead. First visit and very pretty.

Richmond is in the county next to where I live.

[Jakelilydad]

This sounds wickedly good. Can I ask, though, what the difference is between "City Ham" and "Country Ham"? Is Country Ham dryer?

[PaminKY]

Originally Posted by Jakelilydad

This sounds wickedly good. Can I ask, though, what the difference is between "City Ham" and "Country Ham"? Is Country Ham dryer?

City ham is like any regular ham you can buy to cook or what most of the ham in the deli case is. Country ham is where the whole intact ham (back leg & shoulder of pig) and shank including the bone and any skin or fat that has been coated with sugar or salt (cured) and hung for while to age.
Country ham is dryer but has a wonderful flavor.

[Jakelilydad]

Got it. Thanks. I thought it was something like that when I have seen the terms in food catalogs, but nice to be sure.