Jump on the latest food trend with this hot honey recipe! This sweet and spicy condiment adds a perfect kick to any dish: drizzle it over pizza, glaze roasted vegetables or grilled salmon, or mix it into a marinade for meat.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 👨🍳 How to Use Hot Honey | 📝 Go To Full Recipe | 🐝 More Recipes Using Honey
What Is Hot Honey?
Hot honey is a spicy-sweet condiment made with honey and chili peppers or chili flakes and sometimes a little vinegar for added acidity. It’s versatile with a unique flavour profile and has become a trending ingredient amongst chefs, food bloggers and home cooks. It’s one of those foods that’s been popping up on social media so I decided to give it a try and I am a convert!
Hot honey is a condiment that has a long storage life so you keep a jar on hand to add a little heat and sweetness to your dishes. It also makes for a wonderful edible gift!
What Does Hot Honey Taste Like?
It tastes like honey but with a mellow, gentle heat lingering in your mouth. Many spicy recipes call for sweet ingredients to balance out or tone down the heat, so it makes sense that honey would work well with chili.
It’s not an ‘inferno-in-your-mouth’ kind of spice level. In fact, you can moderate the heat level by using a variety and amount of chili peppers.
How To Use Hot Honey
Hot honey adds a perfect balance of heat and sweetness to a wide range of dishes, from pizza to fried chicken and cocktails. It can be used to marinade foods, during cooking or added right at the end as a glaze or drizzle.
The first time I came across this condiment was in a hot honey crispy chicken sandwich someone shared on Instagram. I remember I could taste the combination in my head and was very excited to try it.
What To Put Hot Honey On: Pairing Suggestions
Here are some ideas for what to put honey on or how to use it. If the honey is quite thick, warm up a little in a microwave or place the jar in a bowl of hot water so it’s more runny and easier to scoop and drizzle.
- Chicken – You can use it as a glaze on chicken wings, drizzle over crispy chicken tenders or fried chicken, or brush over grilled or pan-fried chicken. It’s nice over roast chicken pieces.
- Salmon – Grilled salmon with a drizzle of hot honey is delicious, make sure to sprinkle with plenty of sea salt to get that lovey salty and sweet flavour.
- Pork – Brush over grilled or baked pork chops or drizzle over pulled pork.
- Cheese – Make bruschetta with goat cheese or ricotta and drizzle over with hot honey (add some sliced figs or grilled peach for a sweet variation or something like prosciutto or thinly sliced fennel salami for a salty/sweet ensemble). Drizzle over whipped feta dip or baked brie.
- Roasted or air-fried vegetables – think roasted sweet potatoes, fried Brussels sprouts, crispy cauliflower, charred carrots or fennel, all of these would be fantastic with a little hot honey drizzle or glaze.
- Pizza – A drizzle of hot honey over pizza with salty ingredients like four cheeses, spicy chorizo or Italian sausage or prosciutto would add a delicious touch of sweetness and heat. Try this hot honey, goat cheese and pepperoni pizza.
- Vinaigrette – Any dressing that calls for honey or sweetener could be made with hot honey for an extra kick.
- Grilled halloumi – Salty, chewy and soft halloumi is another fabulous pairing for hot honey.
- Meatballs and meatloaf – hot honey would be a tasty glaze for cocktail meatballs, burger patties or on top of meatloaf.
- Crispy fried shrimp – A drizzle of hot honey over shrimp or prawns is another yummy idea.
- Spread over buttered cornbread, cheesy scones, and fresh sourdough.
- A peanut butter sandwich with honey is a game-changer!
- Make a spicy Margarita or try it in a whisky sour.
How To Make Hot Honey
Making hot honey is ridiculously easy and you only need a few ingredients. Full recipe card below!
- Honey – liquid honey is best suitable for this recipe and you can choose any type of good quality honey you can get.
- Chili – I have seen some recipes use fresh chilli and other go for dried chilli flakes. So far, most people prefer dried flakes as the heat level is more consistent and almost everyone has a jar in their pantry.
- Vinegar – A tablespoon or two of vinegar adds a touch of acidity to hot honey. It’s optional but the ever-so-noticable tang is complimentary in my opinion. Some people use acidic hot sauce like Frank’s to add the tang and heat. I like apple cider, white or red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar.
- Salt – I am a big fan of adding a pinch of salt to sweet foods to enhance the flavours, so I use a little in my hot honey recipe. It’s optional.
- Optional for extra deep red colour: a little sprinkle of paprika, which is not pictured but I did add it in the end.
Step 1. Add a cup of honey, chilli flakes and vinegar into a small pot or pan and warm them gently over medium heat. Wait until some bubbles start appearing near the edges of the pot but don’t let it come to a boil or it will thicken too much.
You can add a few pinches of paprika to add a deeper colour to the honey.
Step 2. Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes allowing the honey to infuse with the chili. If the honey is left in the pot for too long and gets too thick, gently reheat it to get the more runny texture.
Step 3. Strain the honey through a fine sieve into a jar. You can leave some of the chili flakes in the honey.
If you choose not to strain the honey, it will continue to get hotter over time.
How To Store Hot Honey?
As with any other honey, this stuff will last a long time! Store in a clean, airtight jar in a pantry. Don’t refrigerate as the cold will speed up the crystallization process. If the honey does crystalize, warm it up in the jar in hot water.
More Recipes Using Honey
- Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder With Rosemary Garlic & Honey
- Honey Lemon Garlic Pepper Chicken Thighs
- Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts (seriously, the BEST!)
- Cajun Lime & Honey Salmon With Tomato Cauliflower Rice
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Ingredients
- 1 cup honey runny kind
- 3 teaspoons dried chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon vinegar apple cider, white wine or red wine, sherry
Instructions
- Add a cup of honey, chilli flakes and vinegar into a small pot or pan and warm them gently over medium heat. Wait until some bubbles start appearing near the edges of the pot but don’t let it come to a boil or it will thicken too much.
- Remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes allowing the honey to infuse with the chili. If the honey is left in the pot for too long and gets too thick, gently reheat it to get a more runny texture.
- Strain the honey through a fine sieve into a jar. You can leave some of the chili flakes in the honey.
Notes
- If you’re making hot honey for the first time, I recommend trying a small amount. Let’s say my recipe calls for 1 cup of honey and 3 teaspoons of chili flakes, you can try it with 1/2 cup of honey and 1.5 teaspoons of chili. This will also give you a chance to see how much heat your chili flakes give out. There are so many types of chili flakes with varying heat levels, it’s always better to gradually build up.
- If you want it a little hotter, add 2 tablespoons of chili flakes to the honey. If you choose not to strain the honey, it will continue to get hotter over time.
- Don’t let the honey come to a boil or it will start to caramelise and get too thick.
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