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Hot Honey Sauce is the sweet and spicy sauce you didn't know you needed. I also included a tip for a thicker sticky sauce. It's great on biscuits, roasted vegetables, a charcuterie board, and chicken wings.
If you need a few recipes to drizzle or toss this spicy honey sauce in, check these out: Southern Fried Chicken Wings, Brown Sugar Carrots, Sweet Cornbread, and Buttermilk Biscuits.
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I prefer to keep my honey hot sauce simple so the flavors of the food it will be used on will not clash. That's why we only need three ingredients and a couple of minutes to whip up this easy sauce.
What is Hot Honey Sauce?
A hot honey sauce combines honey with hot sauce, hot peppers, or chili flakes to create a sweet and spicy sauce. It is a popular condiment used as a dipping sauce, marinade, or glaze for various types of food, such as fried chicken, pizza, roasted vegetables, biscuits, and even vanilla ice cream.
The sweetness of the honey balances out the heat, making it a versatile sauce that can be enjoyed by people with various tolerance levels for spiciness. Some commercial brands add flavors like garlic, vinegar, or fruit to their hot honey sauce.
Hot honey sauce is a delicious and easy-to-make addition to any dish that will excite your taste buds.
Hot Honey Sauce Ingredients
Here are the three ingredients you'll need to make my recipe.
Hot Sauce
I'm from Louisiana, so my go-to hot sauce is Louisiana brand. Use your favorite hot sauce.
Raw Local Honey
The best honey to use is local raw honey. Don't be fooled by the manuka honey craze.
Unsalted Butter
1 stick of unsalted butter is all you need.
How to Make Honey Hot Sauce
I wanted my honey hot sauce recipe to be fast, delicious, and easy to prepare. This quick recipe removes any possibility of crystallized honey because we're only melting the butter.
Add the hot sauce and honey in a medium bowl, and slowly drizzle in hot melted butter while you whisk. The sauce should coat a spoon; use immediately or keep it stored in a mason jar or an airtight container.
How To Store Leftover Hot Honey Sauce
Hot honey sauce is best 7 days after making but will remain fresh in an airtight container for 30 days in the fridge.
Pop in the microwave for 15-second intervals to melt the honey, shake to combine the sauce, then serve. I don't recommend freezing the sauce.
Pro Recipe Tips & Tricks
Here are the best practices, techniques, substitutes, and flavor builders you'll need for this recipe.
- If you prefer a spicier taste, substitute regular honey for spicy honey.
- Add 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes instead of the hot sauce.
- Not all honey and hot sauce are the same in taste. It's better to taste a small amount of honey and hot sauce separately before adding them to your hot honey butter sauce.
- You can enhance the sauce's flavor by adding granulated garlic powder, chili powder, smoked paprika, and onion powder.
- You can add some fresh chili peppers to raise the spice level.
- Add a pinch of kosher salt to wake up the flavor.
- A cap full of apple cider vinegar can be added to tame the heat level and thin out the sauce.
FAQ
Here are the top questions readers have about making spicy hot honey sauce.
Hot honey is a sweet and spicy sauce, and the levels of sweetness and spicy flavors will vary depending on the recipe or brand.
The spiciness level of hot honey sauce can vary depending on the amount of hot peppers or chili flakes used in the recipe. However, honey's sweetness helps balance the spiciness, making it a well-rounded condiment that appeals to a variety of palates.
The thickness of hot honey sauce may differ based on the recipe and ingredients. To thicken it, adding more honey is the simplest solution. It's important to remember to add it slowly when thickening any sauce.
The best honey for spicy honey is local raw honey. Local honey contains pollen, which builds your immune system against seasonal allergies.
The most common you'll find at your grocery store are clover, wildflower, and buckwheat honey.
Clover honey's mild and sweet flavor pairs well with most ingredients.
Wildflower honey's robust flavor may be too intense for some, but it'll balance out some of the spicinesses.
Buckwheat honey flavor resembles molasses because of its bold and earthy flavor. It'll pair well with chili peppers.
The spiciness of hot honey sauce can vary depending on the type and quantity of hot sauce or chili peppers used in its preparation, ranging from mild to extremely hot.
Hot honey sauce is moderately spicy, which is excellent for adding a kick to all kinds of food. The sweetness of honey will help balance the heat and create a tasty flavor profile.
More Sauce Recipes
Looking for more tasty sauces to use on your food? Try these out!
Before You Begin
Here are my steps for getting organized and moving fast in the kitchen.
Step 1: Measure everything out.
Step 2: Follow the recipe and get ready for the best hot honey sauce!
What better way to add a delicious kick to your next meal than with hot honey sauce? Once you've tried it, I'm sure you won't be able to get enough.
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📖 Recipe
3-Ingredient Hot Honey Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Louisiana hot sauce
- ½ cup local honey
- 8 tablespoons hot melted unsalted butter
Instructions
Thinner Sauce:
- In a large bowl, add the hot sauce and honey, slowly drizzle in hot melted butter while you whisk. The sauce should coat a spoon.
Thicker Sauce:
- You'll need 4 tablespoons of cold butter, sliced in tablespoons. In a medium pot over medium heat, add hot sauce and honey and bring to a boil, and cook for 8 minutes on med-low heat, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the butter until melted, the sauce should coat a spoon and be slightly sticky.
Notes
- Thaw frozen chicken wings 24-48 hours before using.
- If you have a wire rack bake your chicken wings on them to get a more even cook.
- If you like it extra spicy, use spicy honey instead of regular honey.
- Add 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper to the honey hot sauce if you want spicer wings.
- Check the date on your baking powder to make sure it's fresh.
- If you don't have a thermometer to confirm the grease is hot enough. When you sprinkle flour in hot oil, it will bubble.
- For the best flavor, use granulated garlic and onion powder. Granulated spices also mix more evenly with other ingredients.
- If you use a whole wing instead of party wings, you know the wings are done when the wing moves and wiggles easily.
- For faster cooking chicken wings, separate the drum from the flat.
- All honey is not created equally. Taste a spoonful of honey to ensure you like the flavor before using it in your hot honey butter sauce. The same can be said for hot sauce too.
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