Kettle Corn

Yum. I used powdered sugar. Worked great! Thank you Kenzi.

Don't forget the salt, Flavacol butter flavored salt is the best. I've been making your version of Kettle Korn for years with my Theater Popper. Using a bit of coconut oil spray before salting also adds a great taste.

OK, I do KK as a salable item at street fairs / festivals / etc.

Of course we use a 50 gallon cast iron pot, stirred with a 'boat paddle' to make 25 gals at a time, but I've been cooking this on the stove for almost 20 years now too. I do it the same at home, just in smaller batches.

They've got the measurements right up above, but not the cooking method. I've NEVER seen the cooking directions written the way we cook on the street, but I've seen people do it that way at festivals. Their KK is more 'crusted' with sugar, than coated with a light glaze like ours.
I will tell you that cooking KK this way gives it almost a candy coating on the outside, so safety is important. Hot candy and lava are ONLY different in that one is rock, the other sugar. The two worst burns I've ever seen were from cheese off of a pizza at a Dominos I used to run, and the other was from THIS KK recipe! Both were 2nd degree burns, so BE CAREFUL!!! Please!

So here goes...read this several times, line up your ingredients, and then start.

Heat the oil until it shimmers or looks like it's roiling around on it's own, almost smoking ACTUALLY.

Do NOT add any popcorn now!!!

When the oil is hot, add in the sugar...it will crystallize ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, keep it moving, keep it moving, keep it moving OR IT WILL BURN. The sugar will 'slump' down into a syrup in about 45 secs to 1 minute. This happens suddenly and when it does, pour in the popcorn, shake it up, put on the lid and keep SHAKING that pot, or the sugar WILL burn.

Cook the popcorn as always, listening for it to almost stop popping as you always do.

When it's done, pour it in a heat resistant bowl, hit it with a little salt, flip it around and your finished! LET IT COOL before sticking your hands in it.

NOTES:
If you've done it right, the KK will actually keep moving as the coating sets and hardens. We actually call that 'crawling' when we work a show.

If it was me, and this is how we train people to make a 4lb batch at a time, try preparing the oil & sugar a time or two, just to see what I've described. It's a dollars worth of oil and sugar, but when the 10th pot comes off the stove and your the neighborhood KK Guru next Superbowl Sunday, you will have LONG forgotten that buck worth of oil and sugar.

Enjoy.

I have a ceramic cook top. How do I make this without scratching my cook top?

Made this with 3 tbsp. virgin coconut oil and 1 tbsp butter, pushed right to the edge of their smoking points. I liked the element of danger involved waiting for those three kernels to pop and then adding the rest. I got a little sveaty when it took so long for the balance of the corn to start popping, but all turned out well. Where should I send your cut of all the money I'll save at the farmers market now?

Think this would work w/ brown sugar?

If you use mushroom popcorn it's even better, it's the big puffy corn they use to make the kettle corn. Go to "JUSTPOPPIN.COM) to find the mushroom corn kernels makes a big difference.... enjoy

I started researching how to make kettle corn at home about six months ago. I tried this method, and it failed miserably. The sugar sinks to the bottom and burns quickly, no matter how much shaking goes on.

Instead, I now pop all of the kernels first, and THE MOMENT it's done, I turn off the heat and add the sugar. I still shake the dickens out of the pot - both up and down, and side-to-side. The pot still has plenty of heat for the sugar to melt, but it never burns. If you're sugar isn't melting, you can substitute powdered sugar. The finer granules melt more quickly.

I've always loved kettle corn and had NO IDEA it was so easy! (Food52 has made me realize that about a lot of things...) Thanks for a wonderful recipe, it made a lazy stay-at-home Friday night into something pretty spectacular. :)

My mom used to make this for us when we were kids sans the salt and we loved it. She didn't spread it out on a sheet to cool, so it turned out lumpy like caramel corn. I can't wait to add salt to it for the kettle corn version at home. Thanks for the memory. There's always room for another popcorn recipe!

That was really good!

A bit of bacon grease wouldn't hurt matters, either!

I'll be making this as soon as my boys get home from school! They love kettle corn. Thanks for this great snack idea.