by Bottom Line: The Hot Honey Double Pepperoni Pizza from Pizza Hut could use more honey, but the wings are quite tasty and bring a nice kick.
Just a few years ago, hot honey was nothing more than a novelty. You might see it in a few gourmet shops or some sites online, but it was unlikely you would find it at your local market. But since then, it has become quite the trendy item with Mike’s Hot Honey leading the charge. It is basically just honey with chili peppers and/or hot sauce added, and these days it seems to be getting added to just about everything, particularly pizza. Marco’s was offering the Hot Honey Pepperoni Magnifico last year (using the Mike’s brand), and now Pizza Hut has come out with their own pie drizzled with the kicked-up honey. In addition, they are adding it to their boneless wings as well.
On the pizza side, the Hut is offering the Hot Honey Double Pepperoni which comes with regular pepperoni and crisp-cupped pepperoni along with a drizzle of hot honey (no name brand mentioned) on the crust of your choice. The wings are boneless pieces that are breaded and fried and tossed with the hot honey and other seasonings. I decided to give them both a try.
As for the pie, my grade on this will be an incomplete because the pizza I received did not have much of the hot honey on it. I ordered right before the Super Bowl, so they were very busy and may not have been paying close attention to details, apparently just waving the bottle of honey over the pie briefly. But the two types of pepperoni bring a little bit of heat and I tasted hints of the honey that seemed to add some kick as well. I ordered hand hand-tossed crust which is crispy on the bottom and chewy on the inside and worked well with the toppings. The marinara sauce adds a little bit of sweetness and the mozzarella cheese sufficiently covered the pie, but a little more would have been nice.
Straight out of the box, my pizza was barely at the Mild heat level on my scale. But there was plenty of extra honey with the wings, so I drizzled that onto a few slices and it brought some nice sweet heat to the picture. That got it a little bit above the Mild level, and if that is the way it should have been, I liked the pie well enough. I will have to try this pizza again to see if the first time was just an aberration (which it apparently was based on other reviews I have read), but the hot honey did go well with the pie. Interestingly enough, they don’t offer it as an ingredient that you can add to any of their pizzas. But maybe if it proves popular that will change.
As for the wings, they had a good honey taste to them and a bit of an Asian zing. The breading-to-meat ratio is good and the chicken inside is tender. There is not much crunch, though, because of the amount of sauce added. But I still enjoyed them well enough and would certainly get them again. Some might consider these too sweet, but I believe they have just the right balance. As for the heat, I would put them close to Medium on my scale, and the burn lingers a bit after eating these. Pizza Hut actually does some decent boneless wings (under the Wing Street banner) and the Hot Honey version is a good addition to the lineup.
Calorie-wise, this pizza will certainly be a diet buster. One slice of the large pie is 360 cals, and you know that you will not stop at just one. If you continue to a second piece, you are already at 720 cals and needing to schedule some time on the treadmill. I couldn’t find the breakout for the Hot Honey Wings, but according to The Daily Meal, they come up to 110 cals each. So two slices and three or four wings will demand some penance in the gym, especially if you wash that down with a brew or two. (Beer is of course a required beverage with pizza and wings!)
Pizza Hut is currently running a deal on these new items with a medium pie at $11.99 in my area and a large at $13.99. The wings start at $6.99 for eight. That’s not too bad considering you can feed several people with these and the price is certainly better than regular menu prices at the Hut these days. The Hot Honey offerings are here for the dreaded limited time only, so you will want to make a trip soon if you have an interest in trying them. If they disappear from the menu, though, just get you a bottle of Mike’s Hot Honey (or any brand), and drizzle it onto their pies to your heart’s content!
Nutrition Info:
Hot Honey Double Pepperoni Pizza
Serving Size: One Large Slice
Calories: 360
Fat: 17g (7g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 1g
Carbs: 38g
Sodium: 780mg
