Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders

Every sandwich is better in slider form, especially when it comes to the southern classic Kentucky hot brown. Just like the OG version, these are piled high with turkey breast, cheese sauce, crispy bacon, and juicy sliced tomatoes. We swapped the sliced bread for a pack of soft and fluffy King’s Hawaiian rolls to make these the perfect shareable bite for an afternoon snack, dinner, or your next Kentucky Derby party.

The turkey:
Despite the flavorful cheese sauce and salty, smoky bacon, turkey can be on the bland side. For added flavor, we opted for cracked pepper turkey, but feel free to experiment with whatever your deli has to offer (looking at you, Salsalito turkey 👀).

The sauce:
A velvety smooth cheese sauce can be tricky to achieve on your first few attempts. Common mistakes can leave the sauce grainy, too thin, or too thick. To avoid those pitfalls, keep these things in mind:

—Your roux should be a 1:1 mixture of flour and butter; this will set you up for success with getting the right thickness.
—Don’t overcook the roux! The roux loses its thickening power as it cooks, making it more likely to leave you with a loose, runny cheese sauce.
—Gently heat the milk before adding to the roux and don’t let it boil! Boiling the milk will cause the curds to start separating, leading to a grainy, lumpy sauce.

Storage:
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in an air fryer or microwave until warmed through.

Did you try making this? Let us know how it went in the comments!