How do they stay in business? I’ve never seen anyone go
in there before. I’ve never been inside, but I’ve often wondered about the
owners. Who could possibly be so passionate about popcorn as to dedicate an
entire store to it? From a consumer’s perspective, who could possibly be so
passionate about popcorn that they’d be willing to drive to a separate store that
is NOT at the mall and NOT a location that could feasibly get casual snackers
passing by?
Could they sell enough in a month’s time to balance out
the cost of leasing the store space, maintaining electricity, compensating employees,
and creating inventory?
How much do they charge for this popcorn, anyway?
Historically, and much to my mother’s great
disappointment, I have not been a popcorn connoisseur. I’ve not even been a
fair-weather fan, with the exception of Smartfood. My mother has been known to
make entire meals of popcorn-- she learned it from her father. Apparently it
was somewhat of a family tradition in her childhood home to make a Sunday
evening meal of popcorn and milk, cereal-style.
I never understood it.
I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of the jar of bacon grease. Too intimate! |
As a child, popcorn always made me cough and choke. This
was long before butter was an acceptable word and/or concept in our household,
and WAY before I read several articles online about how awful microwave popcorn
is for the human body. (Google cautiously, friends—the facts that are out there
are NOT for the faint of heart.)
It was with extreme reluctance that I first took a bite
of homemade bacon popcorn, and it was only to be polite. I never imagined I’d
like it or ever—heaven forbid!—crave it.
Russ’s recipe is the Pandora’s box of the popcorn world.
If you make it, you, too, will wonder how on earth a popcorn shop can possibly stay in
business. Who would want to eat anything but bacon popcorn ever again?
Here is what you need:
-A smallish saucepot (with a lid) that you don’t
particularly care about. Remember, bacon grease can be very stubborn, and you’ll
want to have full access to every tool in your cleaning arsenal. This is not a
job for your fine Calphalon.
-popcorn kernels
-bacon grease (start saving it early and often! We store
ours in a glass jar in the fridge. The more bacony bits and crumbs that end up
in the jar, the better the popcorn will be.)
-a bowl that is much larger than you think you’ll need
-salt, but not much
Here is what you do:
1.
Decide how much you’ll make, and how dangerously
you’d like to live. I prefer a 1:1 ratio of popcorn kernels to bacon grease.
Russ opts for the healthier 2:1. I suppose it would be wise to begin with Russ’s
ratio, because if you start with mine you will never go back.
2.
Melt ¼ cup bacon grease in the pot over
medium-high heat until it looks like oil.
3.
Toss in ½ cup popcorn kernels and put on the
lid.
4.
Keeping your hands in constant contact with the
handle and the lid, jiggle the pot around on the burner. Don’t let those
kernels be still for more than a second or two.
5.
When the action starts, get ready to really
clamp down on that lid or you will have a big mess. It will be loud, and it
will happen quickly.
6.
When the ‘pop’ sounds slow down to about every
two seconds, it is time to dump the popcorn into the bowl.
7.
It’s worth it to use a spatula to scrape any
remaining “oil” onto the popcorn. Trust me.
8.
Salt cautiously and enjoy exuberantly. Keep a
glass of water nearby. Try not to think about the details of how this miracle
came to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment