Easy Smoked Honey
On July 14, 2025
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In just 2 hours, this Easy Smoked Honey recipe turns regular honey into a smoky-sweet condiment that levels up everything from cornbread to BBQ sauces, grilled vegetables, and even ice cream. With just one ingredient and a smoker, you’ll create a sticky-sweet flavor that adds a little touch of outdoor smokiness to both sweet and savory dishes.
Easy Smoked Honey
This sweet shortcut to big flavor is one of my favorite simple recipes. Smoked honey delivers a subtle smoky flavor that’s warm, rich, and incredibly versatile. That jar of sweet nectar is a game-changer for finishing ribs, glazing ham, or even mixing into salad dressings and BBQ sauces. If you’re ready to discover your favorite new condiment, let’s get started.
Best Woods for Smoking Honey
Mild wood pellets are your best friend for smoking honey. Apple, cherry, and pecan create sweet, gentle smoke that enhances honey’s natural flavors without overpowering them. These fruit woods add subtle complexity that makes the honey taste even more like honey – just better.
Temperature for Smoking Honey
Low and slow is the only way to go – 170 degrees F is your target temperature. This gentle heat allows the smoke to infuse slowly without causing the honey to bubble, caramelize, or develop bitter notes that ruin the final product. Think of the smoke like a gentle kiss rather than an aggressive blast.
How to Smoke Honey
With just your smoker, some honey, and these simple steps, you can create a smoky condiment to enjoy, share, and give as a gift.
- Preheat the smoker. Set your smoker or pellet grill to 170 degrees F. The gentle heat and mild wood pellets create the perfect environment for infusing honey without overwhelming its natural sweetness.
- Prepare the honey. Pour your honey into a large, shallow baking dish so it gets plenty of surface exposure. Watch as it spreads into a golden pool, ready to absorb all that smoky goodness.
- Smoke the honey. Place the dish on your smoker grates and close the lid. As the smoke starts to swirl around the honey, you’ll catch those first hints of wood smoke mixing with sweet honey notes.
- Stir the honey. Every 30 minutes or so, give the honey a gentle stir. Each gentle stir releases more of that incredible aroma and ensures every drop gets kissed by smoke.
- Let it rest and cool. The honey will turn from clear gold to a deeper, richer amber oozing with amazing flavor in every spoonful.
Ways to Enjoy Smoked Honey
This Smoked Honey is both flavorful and incredibly versatile. It’s perfect for your charcuterie board, or drizzled over warm cornbread, biscuits, or rolls for an instant upgrade. BBQ chicken pizza gets a gourmet finish with just a light drizzle, and it’s absolutely delicious on cheese boards paired with sharp cheddar or creamy brie.
But this honey really shines when it becomes an ingredient in other recipes. Try using it in place of regular honey in these classic recipes for a smokey touch:
Storage and Shelf Life
To store your Smoked Honey, allow it to cool to room temperature, then place it in an airtight container. I love these mason jars with tight-fitting lids for the visual, but any airtight storage container you have will work. The honey will stay fresh and flavorful for up to 6 months – though it rarely lasts that long once people discover how amazing it is.
Make It Hot Honey Style
If you want to turn your Smoked Honey into hot honey for the perfect sweet-heat combination, add 1-2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes to the honey before smoking. You can also start with already-prepared hot honey if you have a favorite brand. The smoke mellows the heat slightly while adding incredible depth. If you like a little heat with your sweet, give this variation a try.
Susie’s Smoked Honey Pro Tips
After making countless batches of smoked honey, I’ve learned a few tricks that make all the difference.
- The honey matters. Raw, unfiltered honey works best, but work with what you have.
- Don’t skip stirring. If you want the smooth, smoky flavor evenly distribute throughout your honey, remember to stir it during the process.
- Double up. This stuff goes a lot faster than you can imagine. If you want to ensure you have some on hand when you get that sweet tooth, make a double or triple batch.
More BBQ Condiment Recipes
If you love making your own condiments, you came to the right place. For even more uniquely-BBQ condiment recipes and grilling tips, download the Hey Grill Hey App, where you’ll find hundreds of tested and popular recipes.
Easy Smoked Honey Recipe
Two hours on your smoker is all that stands between you and the most incredible Smoked Honey you’ve ever tasted. If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Please leave a 5-star review below and tell me how you’re using your liquid gold.
Don’t forget to follow Hey Grill Hey on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more awesome recipes that’ll make you feel like a Backyard BBQ Hero.
Easy Smoked Honey
Ingredients
- 2 cups honey raw, unprocessed honey works best
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker. Set your smoker or pellet grill to 170 degrees F using mild-flavored wood pellets (apple, cherry, or hickory work well). You can also use a gas grill with indirect heat and wood chips.
- Prepare the honey. Pour the honey into a large, shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. You want to give as much honey direct smoke exposure as possible, so the more surface area your honey has, the better.2 cups honey
- Smoke the honey. Place the baking dish directly on the grates of your smoker. Close the lid, then smoke for 2 hours, stirring gently every 30 minutes or so to ensure even smoke flavor absorption.
- Cool the honey. Carefully remove the dish from smoker and let cool for 10 minutes, or more if needed. You want your honey cool enough to handle, and of course, enjoy without burning your tongue.
- Serve and enjoy, or store. You can enjoy your smoked honey right away however you love honey! To store for later, transfer the smoked honey to clean mason jars with tight-fitting lids. When stored this way, your honey will stay fresh for up to 6 months at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
