The Key to Making the Best Popcorn (with movie-style instructions)

Popcorn with sweet and salty flavouring.

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The Key to Making the Best Popcorn (with movie-style instructions)

A fast and easy snack that can feed a crowd easily! Use ghee for the topping for an extra buttery taste. Popcorn made with ghee will also keep 1-2 days if sealed tightly. Popcorn salt is finer than regular salt and adheres better to the popcorn. You can grind regular salt to a finer texture for a similar result.

Prep Time10

Cook Time4

Total Time14

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: cups

Calories: 68kcal

Author: Carolyn Hetke

Equipment

1 Whirley Pop or large aluminum or stainless steel pot with lid

Ingredients

¼ cup popcorn kernels
1-2 Tbsps oil or butter See Note 1 & 2 & 3

Topping

2 Tbsps ghee melted or more to taste See Note 4
1 teaspoon popcorn salt See Note 5

Instructions

Add the oil or ghee to the pot with 2-3 kernels of popcorn. Heat over medium heat and wait for one of them to pop. Your oil is now at the right temperature to pop your corn efficiently. Remove the kernels; quickly add the remaining kernels, swirl and cover the pot.
Whirley Pop
Slowly start turning the crank while holding the handle. You should start to hear popping within a minute or so and popping should continue another couple of minutes.
Covered Pot
Allow pot to stand on the burner for about 1 minute until the corn starts popping. Shake and then repeat after another 30 seconds. Corn should stop popping after another minute or so.
After corn popping has slowed to about one pop every 2 seconds or so, remove the lid and transfer popcorn to a bowl.
Drizzle with melted ghee and sprinkle the salt. Toss to distribute evenly.
Popcorn made with ghee will keep 1-2 days if stored airtight.

Notes

Popping Corn

The best oil to use is a neutral one with a high smoking point such as canola, sunflower, safflower or coconut. Peanut oil is good and may impart a slight nutty flavour.
Some gourmet corn poppers prefer a bit more than 2 Tbsps of oil for popping, saying the result will be softer and have better flavour.
If using butter instead of oil you must use ghee or clarified butter. The smoke point of ghee is about 465 degrees F (because there is no water in it). Regular butter's smoke point is about 350 degrees so it will burn before it reaches the ideal of 380 degrees for popping corn.

Topping

4. You can use regular butter for the topping if you plan to use all the popcorn immediately. It will be soggy if kept overnight.

If you use ghee or clarified butter the popcorn will stay crisp for a day or 2 if well sealed.

5. Popcorn salt is finer than regular salt so it sticks better to the popcorn. If you have regular salt, grind it with a mortal & pestle to a finer texture.

For Movie Style Popcorn -

Use yellow, butterfly kernels. Pop with coconut oil and a seasoning called Flavacol, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Top with melted butter to taste. Flavacol is readily available on Amazon or from popcorn specialists.

Nutrition