Hot honey is a delicious mix of heat and sweetness, perfect for drizzling on pizza, smothering on chicken wings and adding to roasted vegetables. It’s more than just hot sauce mixed with honey; there are countless ways to use it in cooking and baking.
Being a good cook is all about balancing seemingly opposite flavors in a way that enhances them. It also means exploring new things and learning how to use them. Hot honey is a relatively new sauce that was first introduced in 2003. Since then, chefs and home cooks have been learning and creating new ways to use it, and some ideas are much better than others.
What is hot honey?
As the name implies, hot honey is a perfectly balanced mixture of authentic honey and spicy chili peppers and flakes. It’s the newest condiment to rock the food world, appearing in food trucks, pizzerias and even popular potato chips.
Where did it come from? And how is it made? The first step in every cooking journey is to learn about the origin of something. Before reaching for the jar of hot honey and a whisk, read about the recent history and what’s in the popular condiment.
The first kind sold
The history of hot honey goes back to 2003. Mike Kurtz, the founder of Mike’s Hot Honey, was studying abroad in Brazil. While there, he saw jars of honey with red chilies in them, ready for customers to drizzle on top of pies. It was love at first taste.
He always remembered that honey and went home to Brooklyn, where he perfected his unique recipe and gave out jars of it as gifts to friends and family. That’s when he called it Mike’s Hot Honey, and the name stuck.
But his free jars of honey wouldn’t be commercially sold until 2010. Mike was apprenticing at Paulie Gee’s pizzeria in Brooklyn and brought in a jar of his hot honey for Paulie to taste on the pizza. He loved it so much that it became a feature named The Hellboy Pie, and the word spread.
Customers kept asking for more jars of the honey on The Hellboy, so Mike Kurtz began bottling and selling 12-ounce bottles from the bar at Paulie Gee’s. Since then, it’s become a nationwide phenomenon, with new ways to use it popping up all over the internet every day.
How it’s made
Mike Kurtz will never give away the secret recipe, but enough people have created their recipes to hint at how to make hot honey. The basic idea is to combine honey with either chili peppers or chili-infused oil.
It’s a very involved and lengthy process. The honey must be heated to a specific temperature based on the type and number of chili peppers. Some people use red chili flakes; others use jalapeno or habanero pepper flakes. Then, the flakes are removed completely, leaving just the heat behind in the honey.
Hot honey varieties
Mike Kurtz might have brought the original recipe for hot honey to America. Since hot bottles became a culinary hit, people have created their takes on them. Today, there are many different varieties and types to choose from.
The original brand, Mike’s Hot Honey, now has an Extra Hot bottle. They also worked with Maille to release Hot Honey Dijon Mustard.
Other food brands joined the craze and released their versions. ChocZero has a keto hot honey bottle. AR has a few different varieties — Hot Southern Mild Honey and Bourbon Barrel Aged Hot Honey. There is even a crunchy version with the chili flakes still in it.
How long it lasts
The base of the popular condiment is authentic, real, genuine honey. So, the rules about how long it will last are the same as just honey by itself. According to Mike’s Hot Honey’s, it doesn’t expire. It doesn’t require refrigeration, either.
Store it at room temperature and use it until it’s all done. The biggest concern about honey is when it crystalizes. Thankfully, it’s really easy to decrystallize honey. Heating the honey helps it become pourable again. Some people use a microwave, and others prefer to put the honey in a hot bath.
How to use hot honey
It takes just one taste to fall in love with hot honey. After one bite, you might start thinking of more ways to use it in other recipes. Here are some common and easiest ways to incorporate hot honey into your cooking.
1. Grilled vegetables
Anyone who has a tough time eating enough vegetables will love this idea. Transform boring broccoli and cauliflower into zippy, can’t-stop-eating side dishes. “I love to drizzle hot honey on grilled vegetables,” says Kristin King from Dizzy Busy and Hungry. “It adds a sweet and spicy kick that makes ordinary veggie side dishes like grilled zucchini taste amazing.”
It tastes perfect on any type of vegetable. Try it on grilled corn on the cob, seared asparagus or flame-grilled zucchini. It totally transforms the flavor.
2. Grilled chicken
It’s also a delicious way to add heat to grilled chicken. In fact, a grilled hot honey chicken recipe is perfect for cookouts. Serve it to guests, and they will be begging for the recipe.
It doesn’t just add flavor to the chicken. As it grills, the honey caramelizes, giving the chicken a tantalizing crust that makes people drool just looking at it. Make the hot honey yourself or buy a bottle from the store. The chicken tastes fantastic both ways.
3. Pizza
This is the most obvious choice since hot honey started out as a topping for Brooklyn pizza. If you haven’t tried drizzling hot honey on your pizza yet, give it a shot. It kicks up the flavor to level 10.
What type of pizza tastes best with hot honey? Honestly, any kind will taste amazing with it. Most people prefer it with jalapenos on their pizza, and others swear that pepperoni is the best with honey.
4. Chicken wings
Move over buffalo wings; hot honey wings are the new star of the party. The sticky sweetness and punch of heat will make everyone reach for seconds. Chicken wings are already one of the most popular things to serve at parties — especially tailgates — but they’re even better with hot honey.
There are many different ways to serve hot honey chicken wings. You can either make the hot honey part of the sauce, combine it with your favorite rub or serve the honey on the side and let everyone add it if they want it.
5. Spicy sweet dip
Speaking of parties, dips are another snack or appetizer that everyone loves. Light and airy, whipped feta with honey dip is a crowd-pleaser. When you use hot honey with the nutty feta cheese, the chilis bring out the cheese’s natural sweetness.
You can also make it dairy-free by using goat cheese instead of feta cheese. They have similar textures, and both kinds taste incredible with hot honey.
6. Loaded tots
The versatility of loaded tater tots is unmatched. If you’re serving them to a family or at a party, you could even set up a tater tots bar, kind of like a baked potato bar. Set out the tots with as many different toppings as possible and let everyone make their plate.
If you’re making them yourself, bake the tots with the honey. As the honey caramelizes, it will make the tots crispier. There’s nothing better than crispy tater tots.
7. Quesadillas
It seems like a really weird food combo, but add some hot honey to a chicken quesadilla. Add the honey to the chicken before you fry them up. It will create the most incredible flavors.
The hot honey is also delicious on pork or beef quesadillas. Some people like how it tastes with cheese quesadillas, and others say it’s an odd combination. Try it for yourself and see what you think.
8. Nuts
Browse the snack aisle and get inspired by the huge variety of different flavors of mixed nuts. Then, save some money and make them at home. Roasted cashews with hot honey are super simple and impossible to put down.
You can even play around with the flavors. Add more red pepper flakes to the nuts with the hot honey to make them spicier. Or make a batch of mixed roasted nuts. Sprinkle paprika for smoky flavors and add more sea salt to simultaneously bring out all the flavors.
Elevate recipes with hot honey
Discovering the flavor combination of hot honey is as transformative as learning about chocolate and peanut butter. It elevates pizza, chicken wings and even vegetables to lip-smacking delights.
The best part about hot honey is that it’s so easy to use. Drizzle it right on top of your food, or learn how to make it yourself. It’s a cost-effective and delicious way to give your food the kick you crave.
Sara Nelson is the creator of Real Balanced, a food blog that showcases easy and balanced recipes. Since 2017, she has shared these recipes with thousands of blog readers and social media followers. Sara lives in Wisconsin with her family.