Hot Honey is everywhere right now. You can find hot honey dishes at restaurants of all kinds, and the recipes are all over: Hot Honey Chicken, Hot Honey Wings, Hot Honey with Rolls, Hot Honey Corn, and the list goes on.
But what exactly IS hot honey?
It is an infusion of peppers or chilies in honey. It keeps the sweetness of honey while adding a kick of heat. It can be super simple- just adding some red pepper flakes to honey will get you started. Or, you can take it up a notch and play around with different heat and spice flavors.
How-to Tips:
*Start small.
If you've never made hot honey before, you don't want to jump all in with heaps of chilies/peppers. It's best to start with a small amount of spice and then build up if you want. We recommend starting with 2 Tbsp chili pepper flakes per 1 cup of honey. Our clover honey makes for the perfect base for this recipe!
*Use dried ingredients.
We all tend to have some pepper flakes or cayenne pepper in the pantry, plus these don't affect the smooth, gooey thickness of the honey. They also last longer in storage. However, we totally understand if you want to use fresh chilies or a hot sauce like Tabasco or Chalula. Just keep in mind that it can make your honey a bit runnier and doesn't keep as long.
*Add some acid!
Can you make hot honey with just honey and dried peppers? Yes. But adding just a hint of acidity makes it so much better! Our favorite options are lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. That splash of freshness and acid really makes the flavor pop! You don't need much; you can start with 1 tsp lemon juice per 1 cup of honey.
*Have fun with it!
Once you've got the basic idea, you can do all kinds of experimenting with this. Feel like it needs a little salt? Go for it! How about some other spices? Garlic, onion, or cumin? Why not? What about some fresh chilies? Absolutely.
How do we put it all together?
Heat our honey and ingredients over low/medium heat on the stove until honey is warm and runny and additions are mixed well.
Strain any solid bits or peppers/flakes/etc (or don't; it's up to you).
Allow to cool. Store in airtight container.
