Make Fried Chicken Unforgettable With This Sweet And Spicy Condiment
From barbecue sauce to hot sauce to ranch, there are quite a few condiment options for amping up the flavor of fried chicken, and I'm going to put a new one on your radar today: hot honey.
To give this a try, you can start with any simple classic fried chicken recipe. If you decide to go the glaze route, wait to drizzle your chicken with hot honey until just before serving so the coating stays crisp underneath the honey (you can either use ready-made hot honey from the grocery store or mix the honey in your pantry with hot sauce to taste). If you'd rather make a sauce to serve on the side, you can mix some hot honey with ketchup, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce to make a barbecue-inspired sauce that offers a nice kick. No matter what combination you choose, don't stop there — you can bring the hot honey flavor to other items on your plate to give the meal a cohesive feel.
Incorporating hot honey into your fried chicken dinner — sides and all
Hot honey can play an even more expansive role in your fried chicken dinner. For instance, you can try using this sweet-and-spicy stuff as a marinade. If you can't get enough hot honey flavor, this is a great way to set up a canvas for the dunking, dipping, or glazing you're going to enjoy after your chicken is fried and ready to eat. And hot honey doesn't have to stop at the chicken, either.
One creative way to use hot honey is to blend it with some oil and use it as a dressing for your side salad. The greens can add a bit of lightness to your meal, and the hot-honey-spiked salad dressing will help tie the whole meal together. If you're serving roasted vegetables or cornbread with your fried chicken, drizzle them with a bit of hot honey and oil as well. To balance out the crunchy heat and sweet of hot honey fried chicken, serve it with something cool and creamy like blue cheese dressing or a yogurt-based dip. Pickles also contrast the heavier flavors nicely, as they do with Nashville hot chicken, and coleslaw with a vinegar-based dressing gives the meal a light, crisp lift.
