Hot honey is my new favorite thing.
Ever since I heard about it, I knew I had to try it. I’m sure glad I did. Like hot sauce, it’s the kind of condiment that would go great on anything — pizza, fries, and of course, fried chicken.
While there are so many great brands out there wroth trying — such as Mike’s Hot Honey or Bee’s Knees — it’s pretty simple (and fun!) to make your own.
Hot honey is essentially the perfect culmination of sweet and spicy — that wonderful mix of sugary bee vomit that’s been infused with capsaicin packed chili peppers — making it a must for spicy, breaded chicken. While my recipe doesn’t involve any frying, feel free to ignore and try it that way.
Time You Need
- Prep: 15-30 minutes
- Cooking ~30 minutes
- Serves: 6-5 servings
What You Need
For the chicken:
- 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 cups of finely crushed BBQ chips of choice
- ½ cup of all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
For the hot honey:
- 1 1/2 cups of honey
- 3 Fresno chili or Serrano peppers, halved and seeded (go for the Serrano if you like more heat)
- 5 Hatch peppers, diced and seeded
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ½ tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp of butter
What You Do
For the chicken:
- Place the chicken in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Add buttermilk, cayenne, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and some dashes of salt and black pepper.
- Let the bag sit in the fridge for about half hour.
- Create a dredging station. One bowl of flour and baking powder, one of beaten eggs, and then fill another ziploc bag with the finely crushed BBQ chips.
- Prepare a baking sheet lined with foil and greased, then preheat the oven to 430 degrees.
- Take one piece of chicken at a time and coat in flour, then egg, then crushed chips. Place on greased baking sheet and repeat for the rest of the chicken.
- Cook the chicken for about 15 minutes, then flip. Cook for about another 10-15 until the chicken is fully cooked through.
- While the chicken is cooking, prep the honey.
For the hot honey:
- In a small saucepan, add honey, butter, halved peppers, red pepper flakes and seasonings.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Turn heat down to a low simmer, and let honey simmer and infuse with the peppers for about 30 minutes.
- Strain peppers from honey, and let sit at a low simmer until the chicken is finished cooking.
- Once chicken is done, remove from oven and generously coat the chicken with the honey.
- Serve and enjoy!