This smoky hot honey is honey that’s been infused with chipotles and anchos. And it can be made in minutes in your kitchen to be enjoyed with all manner of food.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of contents
What is Hot Honey?
It’s spicy honey, plain and simple. It’s honey that’s been infused with chillies, either fresh or dried. How hot you make it, is completely up to you. As mentioned above, it’s easy. Get some honey, get some chillies, simmer for 2 minutes, leave to steep for 10, strain (or not) and that’s it, you’ve got a delicious homemade hot honey!
You’ve probably heard of Mike’s Hot Honey, especially if you are in the US, right? Our smoky hot honey is just that, with a twist.
Smoky Hot Honey Recipe
You know I love chipotles, don’t you? If you are a fan of spicy, that might be how you found me in the first place, when you clicked on my Chipotle Paste recipe in a Google search.
Out of all the hot honey combinations I’ve made, the ones featuring chipotles, have by far, always been the best. The smoky heat is beautifully balanced by the sweetness of the honey.
I’m using a combination of chipotles and anchos, but heavy on the former, with the anchos just provide a hint of fruity, raisin-like flavour.
If you want a hotter smoky hot honey, use hotter dried chillies, like de arbol, alongside the chipotles. 5 of each will do.
On top of that, I add a touch of lemon juice for just that little bit of tang.
Raw Honey or Not?
I think since we are going to be heating the honey up, starting with raw honey is a bit of a waste. You might as well start with a pasteurised version.
Straining your Smoky Hot Honey
You want a heatproof medium-mesh strainer to strain the finished honey. A metal one is great. If you want a super clear hot honey, then go for a fine-mesh, but it will be a slower process.
Also, you need to strain your honey while it’s still warm and runny. You let it cool to room temperature, and that thick honey is going to give you all sorts of problems. I know you see other sites asking you to let it cool completely – ignore that piece of advice.
When you are straining your smoky hot honey, if you find it too thick, just give it a quick 30-second blast on the stove to warm it up, and you should have no problem.
What to do with the Honeyed Chillies?
I like to keep 2-3 pieces in the jar, along with the honey, more for aesthetic reasons than any added flavour. You could keep all of them in the jar, if you like, but they will get in the way each time you want some honey!
Don’t discard the chilli pieces. Keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days and add them to stews (think chilli con carne and green chilli), salads and grains.
How to Use Hot Honey
You can use Hot Honey any which way you like, with sweet and savoury foods. The smokiness in our recipe will add a wonderful flavour to whatever you use it in. Here are some ideas:
- cheese on toast (a real favourite way)
- salads and salad dressings
- appetiser or canapé drizzle, like our Fig Appetiser with Beef Bacon Jam and Brie
- cheeseboards
- pizzas and barbecued/grilled foods)
- cocktails (so good in hot toddy, this Hot Buttered Brandy and the Polish Krupnik Honey Drink, just like our Ginger and Chilli Syrup)
- any kind of fried chicken
- ice cream
- marinades
- tagines and stews
- make honey mustard
- lemon and honey drinks for colds and sore throats (it makes it even more potent)
- pancakes and waffles
- grilled fruit, especially peaches
- potatoes
- chutneys, pickles and sambals
Basically, anything you’d use honey on! And then some.
How to Store Hot Honey?
I store mine at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. It doesn’t really last that long, if truth be told, we use it on everything!
You could also store it in the fridge for about a month, but that honey will harden and you’ll have to zap it in the microwave before each use. So to me, that’s not really the best way to store hot honey.
So, shall we get our aprons on?
♥ If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! 😉 Thank you!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood
Lin xx
More Spicy Recipes on LinsFood
Salsa Macha 
Thai Basil Chilli Paste 
Sambal Ijo, Indonesian 
Chipotle Paste
Smoky Hot Honey (with Chipotles and Anchos)
Equipment
- scissors
- saucepan
- spoon
- heatproof strainer
- jar 500ml/2 cup capacity
- ladle and spoon as needed
Ingredients
- 500 ml runny honey
- 10 chipotle chillies
- 1 ancho chillies
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Place the honey in a saucepan and heat up on medium heat.
- Using the scissors, cut each chipotle in 2, straight into the saucepan. Follow this with the ancho, cutting it into 4 pieces. Don't worry about the seeds, as we'll be straining the honey.
- As soon as you see bubbles at the edges, reduce the heat to medium-low and bring the honey to a simmering point. Then, stir, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 2 minutes.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and leave the honey and and chillies to infuse for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, stir the lemon juice in and strain into a clean jar. I store my hot honey at room temperature. It will keep for 2 weeks.
Loved the idea of hot honey. My mind is already racing …it would be so good on salads, bread dough. It’s such a wonderful share.
Thank you, Preeti.
I would love to try the chillies one, it would be so good on bread and thanks for sharing all the ways we can enjoy this. Using pasteurised honey sounds better than using raw honey. You are right.
This is an absolutely amazing idea! I had not heard of hot honey, but now that I’ve read about it, I can’t think why the idea is not more widespread. I’ll be making some ASAP!