Kentucky Hot Brown Garlic Bread
This Kentucky Hot Brown Garlic Bread is perfect for your Kentucky Derby party this year! It showcases all the tasty ingredients of the Kentucky Hot Brown, but garlic bread style! Turkey, crisp bacon, tomatoes, a creamy Mornay sauce and cheddar cheese all atop some tasty garlic bread! It's to die for!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Garlic Bread
- 1 loaf Italian or ciabatta bread
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp. fresh garlic, finely minced
- 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
Mornay Sauce
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Hot Brown
- 8 slices bacon
- 1/2 lb. sliced deli turkey
- 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups freshly shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
Instructions
Garlic Bread
- In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic, and parsley until well mixed. Use a serrated knife to cut the bread in half lengthwise. Spread the cut sides of the bread with the garlic butter mixture. Place bread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
Mornay Sauce
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, being careful not to brown. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a low boil, whisking constantly until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add grated Pecorino Romano. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm and set aside.
Hot Brown
- Place rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add bacon to a medium skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Top each of the the garlic breads with a few spoonfuls of your Mornay sauce. You'll use the remainder later. Then you'll top the sauce with the sliced turkey (evenly distribute), about 1/2 cup of the shredded cheddar on each, some of the cooked bacon and chopped tomatoes.
- Evenly sprinkle on the remaining shredded cheese and drizzle with a smidge more of the Mornay sauce. Bake the garlic bread for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and bubbly.Remove the bread from the oven and let stand five minutes before cutting into slices. Serve with extra warm Mornay sauce for dipping, if desired.
Notes
I used a loaf of ciabatta bread for this recipe, but you can also use a loaf of Italian bread.
To save time on the day you're serving the bread, you can cook your bacon ahead, as well as your Mornay sauce. If you do make the sauce ahead, store it in an airtight container with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. It can be made 1-3 days ahead of time and then just warm a bit before using.