Hot honey barbecue platter
Serves: 6
Prep time: 1 hrTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Hot honey barbecue platter
Recipe by Sarah Cook
This simple spicy honey sauce works brilliantly with most things, including tender chicken, salty cheese and grilled vegetables, making this the easiest barbecue platter you’ll serve this summer
Serves: 6
Prep time: 1 hrTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
764Kcal
Fat
40gr
Saturates
21gr
Carbs
40gr
Sugars
40gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
60gr
Salt
3.9gr
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Sarah Cook
Sarah, a former food editor, has now been writing and styling recipes for over 10 years. Born in NZ, to Irish-English immigrants, and married to a Polish-Scot, her food is as diverse as her family, with a particular passion for baking mash-ups.
Ingredients
- about 900g boneless chicken thigh fillets, each chopped into about 4 chunks
- 2 tsp dried or 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to oil the barbecue
- 2 x 225g blocks halloumi
- 3 courgettes, trimmed
For the hot honey sauce
- 300g clear honey
- 2 tbsp hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s)
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
- sea salt flake
To garnish (optional)
- sliced spring onions
- picked fresh oregano leaves
Step by step
Get ahead
Boost the flavour by making the sauce at least 48 hours ahead, and marinating the chicken up to 48 hours ahead. You can assemble the skewers and prep the halloumi and courgette in the morning and keep them chilled until needed.
- For the hot honey sauce, put the honey, hot sauce, vinegar and chilli flakes with two pinches of sea salt in a small saucepan or microwave-safe bowl. Heat on the hob (or in a microwave if using the bowl) until the honey has liquefied and all the ingredients have combined. Pop in a jar – it will keep for up to a month at room temperature.
- Up to 2 days ahead, or at least 2 hours before cooking, marinate the chicken in 2 tablespoons of the hot honey sauce plus the oregano, garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix everything well and keep in the fridge. Divide the rest of the hot honey sauce; put two-thirds in a bowl for serving and set the rest aside for glazing during cooking.
- On the day, if you’re using wooden skewers rather than metal, soak 10 long, or 20 short ones, for about 20 minutes before assembling. Divide the chicken chunks evenly between 6 or 12 skewers, packing them on quite tightly.
- Quarter narrower courgettes lengthways and fatter ones into 6 long wedges, then halve into 2 shorter pieces. Line up courgette wedges like a raft then push a skewer through horizontally, towards one end, and a second through the other end so that they are roughly parallel – the dual skewers stop the courgettes spinning when turned (see picture, left). Season well. Thickly slice the halloumi and season with freshly ground black pepper (salt isn’t needed).
- Heat a barbecue; when hot, oil the grill. Start with the chicken thighs, cooking for 6-8 minutes on each side until charred but not completely cooked through. Now start glazing the chicken with the hot honey, frequently rotating and brushing the skewers until they are cooked through and sticky.
- Brush the courgettes and halloumi slices with the rest of the olive oil and barbecue these, too, turning halfway. The courgettes will take about 10 minutes, the cheese roughly 2-3 minutes each side depending on how hot the barbecue is. To finish, brush the courgettes once with the hot honey sauce then lift off the grills.
- Transfer the halloumi to a platter, pour over half of the remaining hot honey sauce and toss so the cheese is thoroughly coated. Add the chicken and courgettes to the platter, with the bowl of hot honey sauce on the side for extra drizzling. Garnish with spring onions and fresh oregano, if you wish.
Cooking indoors?
Cook the chicken kebabs for about 10 minutes under a preheated grill, turning once, then glaze and grill for another 2-3 minutes or until caramelised and cooked through. Cook the courgette skewers and halloumi on a hot griddle pan for the best flavour.
