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Homemade hot honey sauce drizzled over crispy fried chicken thigh on a cream plate.

Homemade Hot Honey Sauce

A 5-minute chili-infused honey with a slow, late-arriving heat. Ready for fried chicken, hot pizza, biscuits, roasted vegetables, and sharp cheeses.
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Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Resting 8 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
Servings: 8 servings (1 tablespoon each)
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup mild honey clover, wildflower, or orange blossom
  • 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes or Aleppo or gochugaru
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 pinch flaky sea salt

Equipment

  • Small saucepan
  • Fine mesh strainer, optional for smoother honey
  • 8-ounce glass jar with tight-fitting lid

Method
 

  1. Pour 1/2 cup honey into a small saucepan. Warm over the lowest heat until it moves easily off the back of a spoon, about 90 seconds. Do not let it simmer or boil.
  2. Add 2 teaspoons chili flakes and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Stir once. Within about 30 seconds, the honey will shift to a warmer orange as the capsaicin transfers.
  3. Turn off the heat. Let the honey sit in the pan with the flakes still submerged for 5 to 10 minutes. Longer rest gives more heat.
  4. Stir in 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar off the heat. Pour into a clean 8-ounce glass jar. Strain out the flakes for smooth honey, or leave them in for heat that builds over the following days.

Notes

For a mild batch, use 1 teaspoon chili flakes and strain immediately after a 5-minute rest.
For a very hot batch that intensifies over days, use 1 tablespoon chili flakes and leave them in the jar, using within 3 weeks.
Never use fresh chilies, fresh garlic, or fresh herbs in a room-temperature honey infusion. Dried flakes only for shelf-stable storage.
Store in a clean sealed glass jar at room temperature for up to 3 months. Refrigeration extends shelf life but causes crystallization. Warm the closed jar in a bowl of warm tap water to re-fluid if it hardens.
Apply to hot foods — chicken straight from the fryer or roasting rack, pizza right out of the oven — so the residual heat helps the honey grab on instead of pooling.