If you’ve never had a Hot Brown, you probably think it sounds kind of gross just based on the name. You don’t know what you’re missing. This open-faced sandwich was invented at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, and consists of a thick slice of buttered toast topped with tomato, roasted turkey, and mornay sauce, then placed under the broiler until it’s brown and bubbly and topped with bacon. It’s basically a fat bomb of a meal, minus the carbs in the bread. If you can get rid of those, it’s almost perfect keto goodness. And that’s where the chaffles come into play.
You may be wondering what the weird dish is that I’m serving this in. To be honest, I had to turn to my Facebook friends to figure out what it’s called. Turns out it’s a skillet baker. While I’m linking you to the ones on Amazon, I got six of them for about the same price as one on Amazon by going to my local restaurant supply store several years ago. You can find a lot of great kitchen equipment there for dirt cheap. I got my stainless steel skillet on the same trip and I’ve been beating the crap out of it ever since and it still looks pristine. Restaurant supply stores have the most durable kitchen equipment ever, which makes sense when you think about it.
It seems like this recipe would take forever, since it has so many steps, but it’s really just a matter of timing. Get your chaffles made while you’re making the sauce, and you can put it all together in no time flat. Because I wanted to simulate the crunch of the toast in the original recipe, I made the original crispy cheese chaffle. Just beat one egg, sprinkle a tablespoon of shredded cheddar directly onto the preheated Dash mini-waffle iron, then pour on half the egg, then sprinkle another tablespoon of cheese on top. Close the iron and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese gets golden brown and crunchy. Remove the chaffle and repeat.
The sauce is super easy to make, and as long as you have all the ingredients ready, it will come together while the first chaffle is cooking. First, put 2 ounces of cream cheese and 1/3 cup of heavy cream into a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until the cream cheese is incorporated, then add 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of shredded Swiss cheese. Whisk it to melt the cheeses, and then add 2 teaspoons of dry sherry and 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, plus a few grinds of white pepper. If you don’t have the sherry, that’s okay. It might not have the same depth of flavor, but it’ll still be super good. If you feel like the sauce is too thick, water it down with a tablespoon of heavy cream, but you want it to be pretty thick so it stays on top of the sandwich. I usually cook the bacon when I start the sauce, because it’ll be ready about the time the sandwiches are done.
To assemble a sandwich, first put your chaffle in the baker, or on a butter-greased foil-lined baking sheet if you don’t have one. Top the chaffle with a thick slice of tomato, then with 4 ounces of deli roast turkey, or leftover roast turkey if you have it. This recipe is great for Thanksgiving leftovers! Finally, pour half the sauce over the top, and sprinkle it with about 1/2 teaspoon of grated parmesan. Repeat for the second chaffle. Set your oven to broil and put the rack on the second from the top, so the sandwiches won’t be too close to the heating element. Slide them onto the rack and broil for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce begins to get brown spots on it. Remove them from the oven, then break your bacon slices in half and criss-cross them over the top of the sauce. Serve with a knife and fork. You’ll need them.
Keto Chaffle Hot Brown Sandwich
Equipment
- Dash mini-waffle iron
Ingredients
For the Chaffles
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
For the Sauce
- 2 ounces cream cheese cubed
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 2 tsp dry sherry optional
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- white pepper to taste
For the Sandwich
- 2 slices fresh tomato
- 1/2 pound roast turkey breast see notes above
- 1/2-1 tsp grated parmesan
- 2 slices bacon cooked
Instructions
For the Chaffles
- Preheat the Dash. Once the light goes off, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cheddar directly onto the iron, top with half of the beaten egg, and then top that with another tablespoon of the cheese. Close the iron and cook for 3-5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
For the Sauce
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream cheese and heavy cream and whisk constantly until the cream cheese dissolves. Add the parmesan and Swiss cheeses and continue whisking until the cheeses melt. Whisk in the sherry, if using, and the nutmeg and white pepper. Continue whisking until smooth, then remove from the heat.
For the Sandwich
- Put your oven rack on the second-highest position and set the oven to broil.
- If using skillet bakers, put one chaffle on the bottom of each skillet baker. If you don't have a skillet baker, line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, grease the foil with butter, and then place the two chaffles on top of the greased foil.
- Top each chaffle with a tomato slice and 4 ounces of roast turkey, then top with half the sauce. Sprinkle each sandwich with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of grated parmesan.
- Place the sandwiches under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce begins to bubble and get brown spots on top. Remove from the oven and place on a heatproof surface.
- Break the cooked bacon slices in half and criss-cross them on top of the sandwich. Serve immediately with a knife and fork.
- Macros per serving: 572 calories, 3 grams net carbs, 41 grams protein, 41 grams fat.
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