The Creamy Sauce That Turns Your Turkey Sandwich Into A Louisville-Style Classic

America's home to a broad selection of iconic regional sandwiches, ranging from a Maine-style lobster roll to a Philly cheesesteak, with a signature sarnie in every state. In Louisville, Kentucky's noted induction is the hot brown, a broiled open-faced dish that originated during Prohibition. Creamy, decadent, and flavorful, this meal layers roast turkey atop crispy white bread, complemented with ingredients like lightly broiled tomatoes, bacon, as well as cheese. Especially essential is a smothering of creamy mornay sauce, which takes the dish from a turkey sandwich into definitively Kentucky hot brown territory.

This creamy liquid consists of flour, butter, and milk, meaning it's essentially a béchamel in its foundation. However, mornay sauce is further differentiated from béchamel by the addition of melted cheese, traditionally of a Swiss variety. Specific to a Kentucky hot brown, cooks often integrate the salty notes of Pecorino Romano cheese and occasionally a sharp white cheddar. 

Whisked into the sauce after the creamy base has already formed, these bold-flavored cheeses serve as a crucial cornerstone flavor. The sauce is drizzled atop the other sandwich components, and the Kentucky hot brown is broiled to completion, finalizing the iconic rich and creamy dish.

Certainly, you can whip up mornay sauce to make a faithful Kentucky Hot Brown sandwich recipe, an application that won't disappoint. However, don't rule out using this flavorful thick sauce to enhance simpler sandwich builds, too. Roast turkey – the sandwich's star protein — goes terrifically with this dairy-based sauce, even without bacon, tomatoes, and other accouterments. So whether you're using up Thanksgiving leftovers or opting for store-bought roast turkey slices, toast some bread, throw on the bird, then round it out with the sauce on top. It's a pairing that makes for a satisfying meal.

A Kentucky hot brown is often enjoyed as a brunch dish, so even if you don't stick to the fully fleshed-out version, integrate ingredients often enjoyed during morning time. In addition to bacon, you could fry up an egg and trade the standard toast base for an English muffin. Or for a rendition a touch more inventive, wrap pieces of turkey into fresh crepes, then cover everything with mornay sauce. Stuffed with onions and mushrooms, such a dish lends the pairing a French touch, yet still showcases the beautiful combination of turkey and mornay sauce.