We’re making hot honey ~ an easy homemade condiment that infuses chile pepper into honey for drizzling over cheese and crackers, biscuits, cornbread, or fried chicken!
It’s sweet. It’s fiery. It’s one of those ‘where has this been all my life‘ experiences. The sweet heat of hot honey hits the front of your tongue, the spice kicks in a moment later at the back of your mouth and it’s delightful. Is it overwhelmingly hot? No, not at all, but let’s just say I was sick of buying tiny $10 bottles of supposedly ‘hot’ honey that had no warmth at all. This homemade version is easy and customizable to the exact level of spice you love.
Never had hot honey?
It’s basically honey that’s been gently infused with peppers, then strained. The resulting honey is sweet, with a background note of chili peppers. The practice of combining the sweetness of honey with the fire of peppers has long been a tradition in the Southern states, probably originating in cooking traditions brought over by enslaved Africans.
Modern hot honey has been popularized by brands like Mike’s Hot Honey. Mike’s falls into the mild to medium range because it is made to appeal to a broad audience.
what you’ll need to make hot honey
- honey
- this can be any honey you like, but I suggest a standard clover or wildflower honey. Don’t waste your money on a fancy artisanal honey for this recipe because the hot pepper flavor will dominate any subtle notes.
- hot pepper flakes
easy method for infusing honey with chilies
- Put honey and hot pepper flakes in a glass microwave safe jar.
- Microwave for 1 minute and stir to combine (the honey will become thinner and more fluid after it is heated.) We don’t want the honey boil, as this will destroy some of its beneficial properties.
- Let the honey steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain into a clean jar. Note: if your honey has cooled and thickened too much to be strained, gently heat it again to loosen it for straining.
Note that you don’t have to strain the honey. You can leave the peppers in for a different experience, but the flavor will be much spicier in that case. When leaving the peppers in the honey, use less because the heat will increase.
want to make your hot honey with fresh peppers?
The process will be the same, but instead of dried chili flakes you’ll use chopped fresh peppers like jalapeños, habaneros, Fresno or Thai chiles, and cayenne peppers. When you use fresh peppers, be sure to store your honey in the fridge because fresh peppers introduce moisture and potential bacteria that can spoil the honey.
storing your hot honey
Honey is low moisture and has natural antibacterial properties, so it has an almost indefinite shelf life. Once you infuse honey with dried chili flakes I recommend using it within a 3-6 months.
When infusing your own honey you want to make sure to decant the honey into a clean dry (preferably sterilized) jar to eliminate any risks of contamination. Store in a cool dry place like a pantry or cupboard.
If you use fresh hot chiles you’ll want to store the strained honey in the refrigerator to reduce the risk of spoilage. When refrigerated, the hot honey should last for about 3-6 months.
what if my hot honey crystalizes?
Any honey can sometimes form crystals, it’s a natural process. According to the National Honey Board if you want to de-crystalize honey you can “place the honey jar in warm water and stir until the crystals dissolve; or place the honey container, with the cap open, into near-boiling water that has been removed from the heat; or place the honey in a microwave-safe container with the lid off and microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until the crystals dissolve.”
how to use your spicy honey
Cheese plates and charcuterie boards are regulars at our house, and these kinds of special extras keep them fun and interesting. Hot honey goes especially well with:
- soft cheeses like goat, blue, and gorgonzola
- hard cheeses like cheddar, Manchego, Gouda, asiago
- meats like prosciutto and hard salami.
Drizzled over biscuits, cornbread, and corn sticks.
Drizzled over honeydew melon or fresh ripe figs.
In salad dressings for a subtle sweet spicy kick.
Make a spicy Honey Ice Cream!
Use to sweeten your mint tea or lemon tea, especially if you’ve got a cold.
Take a spoonful of hot honey with a squeeze of lemon juice to sooth a cough.
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Hot Honey
Equipment
- mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 1 cup honey
- 3 tsp red chile pepper flakes, or about 5 small dried peppers, crushed
Instructions
- Put honey and hot pepper flakes in a glass microwave safe jar.
- Microwave for 1 minute and stir to combine (the honey will become thinner and more fluid after it is heated.) We don’t want the honey boil, as this will destroy some of its beneficial properties.
- Stir and let the honey steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain into a clean jar. Note: if your honey has cooled and thickened too much to be strained, gently heat it again to loosen it for straining.
- Honey will keep in an airtight jar in a cool dry place.
- Once you infuse honey with dried chile flakes I recommend using it within a 3-6 months. If you use fresh hot chiles you'll want to store the strained honey in the refrigerator to reduce the risk of spoilage. When refrigerated, the hot honey should last for about 3-6 months.
I buy my honey honey in five pounds jars from the cranberry bog. I use it everyday in one thing or another. It is so good for you and your right, Gorgonzola/Blue cheese is one of the best ways to high light good honey. The pepper honey sounds delicious!!!
such an excellent idea… I adore honey and this is just perfect… bet it would make a great addition to an icing for a cake… people would be very surprised!
This normally wouldn’t appeal to me. But, at the market the other day, they had something very similar out for sampling. I loved it! So much loved it that I made several versions of this as appetizers when I went out to Santa Barbara. It was such a surprising and delicious find.
sweet and hot- just what I like. I used to buy this sweet and spicy pickle and jalapeno jelly and they don’t have it anymore in my store and it makes me sad but I am thinking this jelly of yours makes me really happy and I need to make it now!
Very yummy sounding! I made ginger honey a while back which was a real treat but wouldn’t have thought to do it with hot pepper. I love honey with blue cheese or gorgonzola so your cracker treat looks fantastic!
This sounds so good, and so easy! I bet it would make for some amazing hot toddies too. 🙂
Great idea! I have so many chills in jars from our garden! Finally a fun use!
What a delicious-sounding snack…I’m wondering if I should try something like this for the Thanksgiving starters?
Look delicious! And such pretty pictures!
I LOVE!!!! hot pepper jelly and learned to can b/c I love it that much so I can make my own and this hot pepper honey is RIGHT up my alley. Great post, Sue!