There’s something magical about the sweet and spicy of Hot Honey. It would be a great homemade gift! I’ve been thinking a lot about Christmas and feeling for the first time ever that I don’t really want anything. I’ve actually been struggling to come up with things I want or need, which is an unexpected change in me. You know what I would love? Time with friends and family. Maybe a homemade gift or an ornament that I’ll always remember someone by. I’m getting sentimental as I get older, and I want to focus all my energy on not wanting things but on contentment!
There are so many wonderful things about Christmas to me. There’s joy in spending time indoors with my Christmas tree lit up. Listening to the same Christmas music I’ve loved since I was a kid. Watching movies and drinking hot cider. But another joy of course is cooking.
This week I made oven-fried chicken with a spicy honey drizzle. The crispy crunch of the chicken with the spicy-stickiness of the hot honey was the perfect combo. You can of course make the hot honey and give it as a gift or keep it for drizzling on toast. It makes about 1 cup of honey. Here’s how to make both recipes.
In a small saucepan or pot, pour a cup of honey and put in three halved red chiles with seeds. Heat over medium and once it bubbles, simmer on very low for 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a jar. Let it infuse with the lid off for another 30 minutes.
Cut the chicken breasts in half by cutting into it horizontally. This is called butterflying. Open it up like a book and cut right down the middle to make it into two thin chicken breast pieces.
For the chicken, get three plates or salad bowls out. In one, place the flour, in another, whisk two eggs, and in a third add panko breadcrumbs, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir the breadcrumbs to combine.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment or grease it with olive oil. First dip a piece of chicken into the flour on both sides, shaking off the excess. Then dip it into the eggs on both sides, shaking off the excess. Then dip both sides into the breadcrumbs, keeping as much breading on it as possible. Then place on the baking sheet.
Repeat with all the chicken and then drizzle them lightly with olive oil. Bake for about 18 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165 F.
Then drizzle them with the hot honey. If the honey has thickened, either place it in the microwave for 15 seconds or in a pot of hot water to loosen it up! See the full recipe below.
- 3 fresh red chiles
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- olive oil
- In a small pot over medium heat, add the honey and chiles. Bring to a simmer and simmer 45 minutes. Pour honey and chiles into a clean jar and let sit for 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, parmesan, 1 tsp of salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside. Put the flour onto a separate plate. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs.
- Butterfly the chicken breast by cutting the chicken horizontally in half to make a butterfly shape. Open it like a book, and cut down the center to make two thin pieces of chicken. Do this to both breasts. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment or grease with olive oil.
- Starting with the flour, dredge one piece of the chicken into the flour by dipping it in the flour on both sides and shaking off any excess. Immediately dip into the egg mixture on both sides, shaking off excess egg. Then immediately dip into the breadcrumb mixture on both sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet and continue with the remaining pieces.
- Drizzle the chicken with a bit of olive oil and bake for 18 minutes or until the chicken registers 165 F with a thermometer.
- Remove from the oven and drizzle with the spicy honey. If the honey is too thick, heat it a bit in the microwave to drizzle much easier.
Leave a Reply