Spicy Mole Honey
Spicy, sweet, sour and bitter, these are the main four things we taste and how our brains process them into flavors. When you combine these core tastes in different ratios, you get Sweet & Sour chicken to Sweet & Bitter beer. It is one of the building blocks in the culinary playbook of possibilities. Eat Beer Hot Sauce Nor Cal Mole has heat, while also having a lot of citrus, bringing sour to the playing field. There are some sweetness elements added to the hot sauce, to give balance and structure. This is what inspired this recipe for Spicy Mole Honey. Why not add hot sauce to honey?! I’ve done this before with Tapatio hot sauce and poured it over a piece of fried chicken. The sweetness and viscosity of honey adds a great foundation for the fruity peppers to come out and shine, while the heat is suppressed. This holds true for this recipe.
What would adding a spicy mole hot sauce, full of flavor, complexity and Mexican Umami, due to a sweet base of honey. What happens is pretty magical. The heat of the Carolina Reapers | habaneros | poblano | anchos chili peppers is mellowed, still present mind you, but mellow. Then the magic starts to happen. The peppers sweetness is enhanced, allowing the flavors of each pepper to be expressed. Then the citrus comes out, stretching out over your palate, while the earthy rich chocolate mingles with the sourness from orange | tangerine | lime | calamansi. The heat from the chilies starts to build, bringing its spice and reminds you that you did add hot sauce to honey, while all these other flavors begin to shine and show how complex the Nor Cal Mole Hot Sauce is. So what you do with this Spicy Mole Honey?
Try using this recipe on biscuits, to add balance to the rich and flaky biscuit. Coat a piece of Hopped Fried Chicken in it or your favorite fried chicken recipe. It will add disguise the rich fattiness, while not causing the crisp crust to get soggy, adding that mole flavor (chicken mole!) to the poultry, while the sour and sweet flavors dance with the building heat. This can also be used on a charcuterie | cheese board, poured over pancakes or used in replace of honey, when you want some extra heat.
Makes: 1 1/2 cup
- 40 gram Eat Beer Hot Sauce Nor-Cal Mole available HERE, more or less depending on heat level and use
- 400 gram honey preferably from a local hive
- Place a small sauce pot onto a scale and tare the weight to 0. Add the Nor Cal Mole Hot Sauce, measuring out 40 grams. Then add 400 grams of a local honey.
- Place the pot onto a burner with a low heat. Let the honey warm up to around 180°F | 82°C, stirring in the hot sauce until fully combined. Using a spatula, transfer the Spicy Mole Honey to a pint size canning jar and seal. This honey will last at room temperature for a year.
