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Oh um, hi! I maybe made us the best lunch ever.
No, not maybe, I totally think I did. I mean, the honey bourbon bacon pretty much says it all.
It’s Derby season, which to me really just means, bring on all the southern food with an extra side of chocolate bourbon pecan pie. PLEASE.
It seems that every year about the end of April/early May I get a little annoyed that there are three foodie days back to back. Don’t get me wrong, I love back to back celebrations and all, BUT well, there is just not enough time to make all the recipes. You’ve got the Kentucky Derby May 1st, Cinco de Mayo May 5th and then Mother’s Day May 10th.
See, not enough time!! For me, it’s always a toss-up on which flavor to go for, but I will not lie, Mexican pretty much always wins.
Today’s kind of different though since I feel like I am combining a little bit of each. You’ve got the Mexican inspired spicy jalapeño-cheddar spiked biscuits, paired with the sweet Southern flavors of the classic Hot Brown toppings. Kind of awesome, right?
I promise it is.
The biscuits are actually adapted from ones that I made a few years back. To this day, they are still one of my favorite breads to make for BBQ’s and such. They are buttery, sweet, spicy and cheesy with just the right amount of crumble. It’s kind of like when you find the perfect cookie recipe, but with biscuits.
And I know from experience that you do not mess with a good thing, so I kept the biscuits pretty much the same. Really though, the biscuits are what make these Kentucky Hot Brown sandwiches. Well, the biscuits and the bourbon bacon, but maybe that’s kind of obvious. I am not normally all that into bacon, but when you make it sweet, spicy and extra crispy… plus a little boozy, I am so game. Besides, the bourbon and the honey just felt so southern and Kentucky-ish, I just had to go for it.
The rest is your basic, but delicious Hot Brown. I just used turkey from the deli, which I am not sure is really an “acceptable” thing to do, but I did, and I quite in enjoyed it too.
That’s probably mostly due the fact that I pretty much smothered my turkey in mornay sauce. Yeah.
Also, instead of warming my tomatoes in the oven, I placed them fresh right on to my biscuits, since I am not the biggest fan of warm tomatoes. For me, they either have to be roasted to a crisp or just eaten fresh. Since the heirlooms are oh so pretty, I went with fresh. SOO GOOD I tell ya.
Oh, and I do feel that I should mention that those drinks are not really what they seem to be. It was like ten in the morning the day I made these and well, liquor just didn’t seem appropriate at that hour…
Jalapeño Cornbread Biscuit Kentucky Hot Brown with Honey Bourbon Bacon.
Ingredients
Biscuits
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon each, salt + pepper
- 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 in jalapeños, deseeded (I left some of my seeds ) and diced
Hot Brown (filling)
- 8 slices thick cut bacon
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk, I use 2%
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- pinch of salt + pepper
- 3/4 pound sliced turkey, I just used deli turkey
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- fresh basil + salt and pepper, for serving
Instructions
Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. Using a fork, pastry blender or your hands, add butter pieces to the flour and mix until coarse little crumbles remain. Whisk together the buttermilk, egg and and honey and pour into the flour. Stir with a spoon until just combined, not overmixing. Use your hands if needed to bring the dough together. Fold in the cheddar cheese and jalapeños.
- Use a 1/4 cup measure to drop batter onto a nonstick baking sheet, or press dough on a sheet of parchment paper or cutting board, then use a biscuit cutter to shape the dough into rounds. Brush with buttermilk. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown.
Hot Brown (the filling)
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange bacon strips about 1 1/2 inches apart. In a small bowl mix together the maple syrup, bourbon and cayenne pepper. Brush the mixture evenly over both sides of the bacon. Bake 14 to 16 minutes until bacon is browned and crisp. Transfer to a piece of wax paper to cool. Do not place the bacon on paper towels as it will stick to the towels. Halve the slices.
- Meanwhile, to make the mornay, heat a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until the milk thickens. Add in the parmesan and cheddar cheese and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Keep the sauce over low heat to keep warm.
- Preheat the broiler to high.
- Slice the biscuits in half horizontally and place the bottom halves on a baking sheet. Divide the turkey among the biscuits. Spoon a little of the mornay sauce over the turkey. Place the pan under the broiler for 30 seconds to 1 minutes or until the mornay sauce sauce is all bubbly. Remove from the oven and top each biscuit with bacon, sliced tomatoes and a sprig of basil. Sprinkle with salt + pepper and then add the top half of the biscuit. Enjoy warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
But once you hit noon, all bets are off and you should probably just make Julep. <– Take that Wednesday.
I’m in love with this recipe. Thank you very much!
Kisses, from Brazil 🙂
Thanks Philip!!
Hello I made this recipe and was very good. I recommend
Thanks Anna!
Hot Brown (the filling)Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange bacon strips about 1 1/2 inches apart. In a small bowl mix together the maple syrup, bourbon and cayenne pepper.
But ingredients:
Hot Brown (filling)
8 slices thick cut bacon
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon sriracha
_ I guess you could use either combination…
What delight, I live in Brazil but always visit your blog as it has the best recipes rsrsrsr already noted the recipe then I come tell how was rsrsrsrsr!
kisses …
I’m not an experienced baker. The biscuits fell apart in our hands while eating. I followed the recipe exactly, but there must have been something I didn’t think to do to explain the crumbles our meal became. It was delicious, but saddening.
Hmm, So sorry they crumbled! Did you do anything a little different?
Just made it and it was divine! It was pretty easy to make too, even with the biscuits, which is always a plus. Now I’m just trying to talk myself into waiting to eat a second serving!
SO excited you loved it! THANKS!!
Now THIS is how you do Derby! Well done, lady!
Thank you so much, Aida!!! Hope you are having a great week! 🙂
What an excellent way to enjoy Derby week!!
I’ve never heard of hot brown sandwiches before? Did you make the term up or have I just been under a rock my whole life? Either way, these sandwiches look amazing! I’m definitely going to be making these biscuits soon…
I’m obsessed with those biscuits and what great looking sandwiches! Perfect Kentucky Derby lunch!
Holy crap. Honey Bourbon Bacon? Yes please. I’m in. I’ve never done anything for the Kentucky Derby, but this has me wanting to change that…
where did you adapt recipe from??? The ingredients list honey but the directions say maple Syrup…… Be honest not your creation..
Honest, my creation. The bacon was adapted from MY bacon recipe I posted last year. Please do not make assumptions on things you know nothing about and if you have nothing nice to say, than please don’t say it.
This makes me wish it was the weekend already. I think I need this in my stomach on Saturday morning. Yum!
I can see why you would make that broad statement about the best lunch ever.
Perfectly delicious. It would make a great breakfast too with or without the turkey.
I literally was thinking i wanted to make a sandwich for dinner tonight… coincidence? I think not!!!