Smoked Hot Honey Recipe
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Smoked hot honey is the secret weapon nobody saw coming, but once it’s in your kitchen, everything starts begging for a drizzle!
This recipe is my go-to whenever I need a large batch of hot honey, perfect for slathering ribs, drizzling, or mixing into marinades. Not only is it cost-effective, but the addition of BBQ rub and pellet smoke delivers a rich, savory twist you won’t find in store-bought versions.
Your secret weapon for sweet heat on the smoker
I first made this smoked hot honey to finish a batch of party ribs. I’d used store-bought before, but it always tasted flat. So I tried making my own and figured, why not smoke it too?
The chili, BBQ rub, and two hours on the smoker gave it a deep, sweet heat with a rich, smoky kick. Now it’s a staple in my fridge all summer long.
This stuff isn’t just for ribs
- Slather it on wings, pulled pork, or grilled corn with butter and lime.
- Drizzle it over fried chicken, pizza, cornbread, or roasted veges.
- Add it to a sandwich, marinade, dipping sauce, or a cheese board.
- Mix it into sauces, dressings, cocktails, or butter.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Honey – Choose a basic, pourable honey (not raw honey). You want a syrupy texture, not a spreadable one.
- BBQ rub – The BBQ rub adds a savory backbone and helps the honey cling better when brushed or tossed. Use your favourite rib or make our ultimate rib rub.
- Red pepper flakes – They are the heat!
Equipment you’ll need
- Grill-safe saucepan
- Smoker
- Fine-mesh strainer
- Glass jar or sauce bottle
How to make smoked hot honey
1. Fire up the smoker
Preheat your pellet smoker to 225-250°F. This moderate temperature is hot enough to keep the honey fluid and infusing some, but low enough to avoid burning the sugars.
I used a blend of hickory, oak, and cherry pellets but you can go with whatever smoke wood you have on hand.
2. Combine
Combine the water, red pepper flakes, and honey in a grill-safe saucepan.
Stir everything together until the rub starts to dissolve and the mix looks flecked with chili and spice.
3. Smoke it
Place the saucepan on the top rack of your pellet smoker.
Smoke at 260°F for two hours. This allows the honey to absorb all that incredible smoky flavor while letting the chili infuse its heat
4. Strain and store
After two hours, remove the saucepan from the smoker and strain the hot honey into a clean container to remove excess solids.
I like adding a few of the pepper flakes back in for extra texture and visual appeal before transferring to a jar or sauce bottle.
Keep everyone happy by making multiple batches
If I’m feeding kids (or adults) who don’t like spice, I’ll toss half the ribs through the hot honey, and I’ll take the other half and toss with a mixture of regular honey or brown sugar, a sweet BBQ rub, and a few pats of butter.
This Smoked Hot Honey delivers bold flavor with a fiery kick and a deep, smoky backbone that bottle versions can’t match. Thanks to time on the smoker, it takes on a richness that’s truly unique. Keep a jar in the fridge all summer, you’ll find yourself drizzling, slathering, and mixing it into just about everything.
If you drizzle this on anything, let us know how it turns out in the comments. Don’t forget to leave a five-star rating. It helps more people find the recipe!
Smoked Hot Honey Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup red pepper flakes
- 3 cups honey
- 3 tbsp sweet BBQ rub
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a grill-safe saucepan. Stir and place on the top rack of the smoker and smoke for two hours at 225°F.
- Remove the honey from the smoker and strain to separate the red pepper flakes.
- Add 1 tbsp red pepper flakes back into the honey for desired texture.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation only. If you’re worried you could always add a side of kale.
About Your Pitmaster
Rosalie Bradford, is a recipe developer and grilling expert specializing in bold, approachable barbecue. She has created recipes for Grill Masters Club and Snake River Farms and partners with Traeger to share expert grilling techniques.
Rosalie also runs barbecue classes at Heights Meat Market in Tampa, helping home cooks master restaurant-quality results. Whether she’s crafting recipes or teaching techniques, she’s passionate about making great barbecue accessible to all.
Our smoker doesn’t let us set it to 260 so I did it at 250. It turned out good but absolutely no smoke. Not sure what went wrong.
Hey Melissa, thanks for leaving a rating. Next time you could try smoking at 225, as those lower temps get better smoke production on a pellet grill.