Hot Honey Vinaigrette

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks – About Homemade Hot Honey Vinaigrette

I first discovered hot honey last fall. Yeah, I know I was late to the party! I started working on my version of hot honey with 2 simple ingredients – local Texas honey and chile de arbol. I followed up with a hot honey old fashioned, and a hot honey pizza. YUM!

Homemade salad dressings are my jam. I’m a label reader, and years ago I decided to avoid salad dressings with long, hard-to-pronounce words like Monosodium Glutamate, Polysorbate 60, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Disodium EDTA (To Protect Flavor), Beta Carotene (Color). I do keep a bottle (or two) of prepared salad dressings, but I read the labels! I like Bolthouse yogurt based dressings, and Marzetti Simply dressings.

All that to say, most of the time I make my dressings. That allows me to control the ingredients, and pair the flavors with the salad. It’s a WIN/WIN!

Before we get to the recipe, I should mention this is the first recipe I’ve published in over 4 months! We left McAllen, Texas on July 24, and we’re still renovating our 1907 house in Black Mountain, North Carolina. My kitchen is finally functional (and beautiful😊), so I’m able to spend some of my time on this blog… We had a difficult time with lighting and space constraints in our (much smaller) 1907 house. The photos are not up to my usual standard, and I will re-shoot them eventually!

📋 Ingredients Notes

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

• oil – I use extra virgin olive oil for almost everything savory. However, you can use vegetable or canola oil, or whatever good quality oil you prefer.
• vinegar – Sherry vinegar is my “go to” for salad dressings. Its complex, slightly sweet, and nutty flavor work well with most of my dressing recipes. Substitute a good red or white wine vinegar. Sherry wine is not a good substitute.
• shallot – Red or sweet onion is a good alternative. Yellow or white onions are likely to be harsh.
• garlic – I specify 1 clove of minced garlic, but if I have roasted garlic, I’ll add 2 to my dressing. Roasted garlic has a more subtle flavor.
• hot honey – Homemade hot honey is quick and easy to make. However, there are many good brands commercially available.
• mustard – I like dijon mustard in this vinaigrette, but you can use your favorite.
• miso – Miso is an optional – but delicious – ingredient. We love the umami flavor and balance it brings to hot honey vinaigrette! I use white miso because I always have a tub in my refrigerator, but you can use any variety.
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper

🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

• Step 1 – Add all ingredients to a blender. NOTE: I like my personal blender for making dressings.
• Step 2 – Adjust seasoning to taste. Enjoy!

❓FAQ

💡 Tips

A personal blender makes quick work of homemade salad dressings!

Taste your hot honey before adding. Heat is subjective. If you want a little more heat, add a bit of your favorite hot sauce.

The night that I took the photos, I served it with a fabulous fall kale salad. I’m hoping to hit “publish” in the next week. Thanksgiving is a week away, and it may grace my table.