Dan and I doctored our popcorn tonight (not a euphemism, bee tee dub) and it was tasty and I’m nothing if not giving so I thought I’d bestow this (not) great secret upon you all. And I readily admit that the title “Make Your Own Kettle Corn” is slightly misleading. You’ve been forewarned.
We have a standing Sunday night date night. We put the kids to bed, I pour a glass of wine, and we watch Dexter and/or The Walking Dead. A week ago while at the grocery store, I thought, “Hey! You know what Sunday night needs? POPCORN!”
And we stood there, in the grocery store, staring at the vast array of microwaveable and stove-top options for what seemed an interminably long time.
Movie theater butter? Cheddar? Kettle corn? Just the regular stuff? Why are there so many choices?
After hemming and hawing and narrowing it down to kettle or movie, we settled on movie theater butter, which, by the way, does NOT have as much butter on it as REAL movie theater butter, and went on about the rest of our shopping trip. We popped a bag that night and had a little snack while we watched some TV.
Tonight I went into the kitchen to open more wine and Dan was putting a bag of popcorn into the microwave. He dropped the “now I wish we’d gotten kettle corn…” and my wheels started turning.
I’m not sure what makes kettle corn kettle corn aside from the fact that it’s maybe cooked in a kettle? Or maybe it’s just that it tastes different? So taste is what I focused on since what I had was microwaveable popcorn, no kettle.
Here’s what you need to make your own Kettle Corn:
1 bag microwaveable popcorn
2 T. powdered confectioner’s sugar
Pop the popcorn. Let the steam out of the bag. Sprinkle the powdered sugar onto the warm/hot popcorn a tablespoon at a time, shaking the bag as you sprinkle to assure the powdered sugar makes its way around to all the kernels.
(Dan wanted to melt butter and stir in sugar and then pour it on top. I thought my way was more efficient/less time consuming/better. So we did that.)
The powdered sugar sticks to the hot popcorn so you get just a hint of sweetness in each bite, just like real kettle corn. It was pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself!
So, go, sprinkle your popcorn with sugar! Eat! Enjoy!
P.S. I’m not deluding myself into thinking this is an actual recipe to make your own Kettle Corn. Promise. It’s just a cool and tasty thing to do with popcorn that a zillion other people probably already know about and/or do.
I love kettle corn. This could be dangerous.
Because the twitter is the corrupter of all things and I have zero willpower when it comes to kettle corn, I am going to share what I learned.
Homemade kettle corn
In a big pot with a lid
Set burner to med/low I set mine around 4 out of 9
Add 1/4 cup oil
Add 6 popcorn kernels and put lid on pot
Once the 6 all pop, add 1/2 cup popcorn and 1/3 cup sugar, stir and replace lid
Shake frequently, nearly constant once it starts popping
When popping slows to 1-2 seconds btw pops, remove from heat
Dump into large bowl, use a spatula
Sprinkle with salt or popcorn salt
Toss with spatula
Try not to burn mouth eating before it cools
I recommend trying what we have termed “butter n’ sweets”. Pour Reese’s pieces into any bag of hot popcorn and eat it. I’m not saying we invented the snack just the term. Amazing if you haven’t tried it.
I’d buy this as an easy method to getting salty & sweet at the same time.
I’m really, really tempted to make my own stovetop popcorn. I’m, also, really tempted to make my own marshmallows.
And I’m tempted to write more.
One of these things should happen. Soon. Probably.