After experimenting with smoked chimichurri and smoked butter, hot honey butter felt like the natural next step. This sauce brings together everything you want in a bold finishing butter: rich melted butter, sweet honey, a steady kick of heat, fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, and a deep smoky flavor from live fire cooking. The result is sweet, spicy, savory, and smoky all at once. It is easy to make, packed with flavor, and the kind of hot honey butter recipe you will want to spoon over steak, seafood, chicken, burgers, bread, and more.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Hot Honey Butter
- Hot Honey Butter Ingredients
- How to Make Clarified Butter
- JUST DROPPED.
- How to Make Hot Honey Butter
- What to Serve with Hot Honey Butter
- Storing and Reheating
- For More Butter Flavor
- FAQs
- Flavor X Fire & FOOD X Fire
- Hot Honey Butter Recipe
Why You’ll Love Hot Honey Butter
Hot honey butter is one of those simple sauces that instantly makes a meal feel bigger, richer, and more memorable. The clarified butter gives it a smooth, glossy base, while local honey adds sweetness and body. Red chili flakes, cayenne, smoked paprika, black pepper, and hot sauce bring the heat. Garlic, parsley, oregano, thyme, and lemon juice round everything out with freshness and balance.
The smoky element is what makes this recipe stand out. A clean, white-hot piece of natural lump charcoal is dropped into the mason jar, then the jar is covered so the smoke infuses the butter. That short rest gives the sauce a live-fire flavor without needing a complicated setup. It is especially good with beef and seafood, making it a great choice for surf and turf, but it also works beautifully with grilled chicken, wings, burgers, cornbread, sourdough, and even a spicy salami pizza.
For steak ideas that pair well with this smoky hot honey butter, check out The Best Grilled Steak Recipes.
Hot Honey Butter Ingredients
The most important ingredient for this recipe is clean, high-quality natural lump charcoal from your grill. Do not use a briquette for this method. Natural lump charcoal burns cleaner and gives the butter the smoky flavor you want without adding unwanted filler flavors.
- Clarified, Melted Butter: Clarified butter has a higher smoke point than regular butter and gives the sauce a clean, rich texture. You can make it yourself or find it in many grocery stores.
- Local Honey: Honey brings sweetness and balances the spice, garlic, and smoke.
- Pantry Ingredients: Hot sauce, kosher salt, smoked paprika, black pepper, onion powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, cayenne powder, and red chili flakes build the spicy, savory flavor.
- Fresh Ingredients: Minced garlic, chopped parsley, and lemon juice keep the butter bright and balanced.
How to Make Clarified Butter
Clarified butter is regular butter with the milk solids and water removed. Because it has a higher smoke point, it is a better option for grilling, smoking, and other high-heat cooking methods. It also gives this hot honey butter a cleaner finish.
Start with unsalted butter, about four sticks. Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt it slowly over low direct heat. Do not boil it. The goal is to let the butter melt gently so the milk solids separate from the golden butterfat. Once fully melted, pour the liquid butter into a clear glass container and let it rest for about two minutes. As it cools slightly, the white milk solids will sink to the bottom.
Carefully pour the clear golden butter from the top into a clean jar, leaving the white solids behind. That golden liquid is clarified butter. Use it right away in this hot honey butter recipe, or store it for another grilling sauce.
THE COWBOY COLLECTION
JUST DROPPED.
Two new rubs made for live fire cooking.
Cowboy Butter brings rich, garlicky heat, while Cowboy Candy adds sweet fire with a brown sugar kick. Both are built for cooking over the fire.
How to Make Hot Honey Butter
This hot honey butter is simple to prepare and delivers a huge payoff. Add the clarified melted butter, honey, garlic, parsley, hot sauce, spices, herbs, chili flakes, and lemon juice to a mason jar. Whisk or stir until everything is well combined.
Next, use tongs to carefully grab a smoldering piece of natural lump charcoal from your grill. Ideally, the coal should be white hot. Drop it into the jar, then cover the jar immediately to trap the smoke. Let the butter sit for 20 to 30 minutes so the smoky flavor can infuse the sauce.
If you prefer a lighter smoke flavor, remove the coal sooner. For a deeper smoky butter, let it rest closer to the full 30 minutes. Once the flavor is where you want it, remove the coal, stir the butter again, and serve it warm over your favorite meal.
What to Serve with Hot Honey Butter
This spicy honey butter works with almost anything coming off the grill. Spoon it over steaks, drizzle it on seafood, brush it onto burgers, or use it as a finishing sauce for chicken and pork. It also makes a rich dipping sauce for cornbread, crusty sourdough, or grilled bread.
If you enjoy fresh, herb-forward sauces, another great option is chimichurri. For more ideas, take a look at these Best Chimichurri Recipes.
Storing and Reheating
After making the hot honey butter, let it cool to room temperature for no longer than a couple of hours. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays for up to six months, which makes it easy to portion for future meals. To use again, gently warm the butter until melted, stir well, and serve.
For More Butter Flavor
Sriracha Butter Grilled Lobster Tails
Herb Butter American Lamb Steaks
Parmesan Garlic Butter Mussels
Steakhouse Ribeyes with Horseradish Butter
Cilantro Lime Butter Scallops
Smoked Tequila Butter Shrimp
FAQs
Clarified butter is the better choice for this hot honey butter recipe because it has a higher smoke point and a cleaner flavor. Regular butter can work, but the milk solids and water may burn during smoking, which can create off flavors.
Use natural lump charcoal only. It should be clean, hot, and ideally white hot when it goes into the jar. Do not use charcoal briquettes for this recipe.
Yes, the same live-fire smoking method can be used with other butter-based sauces. The key is to use clean natural charcoal and adjust the resting time depending on how much smoke flavor you want.
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Hot Honey Butter
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup unsalted butter clarified and melted
- 2.5 tbsp local honey
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1.5 tbsp FYR RED Hot Sauce
- 2.5 tsp kosher salt
- 2.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp cayenne powder
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 small lemon juiced
Instructions
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Add all hot honey butter ingredients to a mason jar and mix until fully combined.
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Using tongs, add a smoldering piece of natural lump charcoal from the fire to the jar. Cover immediately to trap the smoke, then let the butter infuse for 20 to 30 minutes.
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Remove the charcoal, stir the butter again, and serve warm with steak, seafood, chicken, bread, or your meal of choice.
Notes
Use clarified butter for the cleanest flavor and best heat tolerance. To make it, melt unsalted butter slowly over low heat, let the milk solids settle, then pour the clear golden butter into a clean jar while leaving the white solids behind.
Use natural lump charcoal only. Do not use briquettes for this smoking method.