Paper Bag Popcorn

Popcorn seems like a pretty straight forward thing to make, so why bother with a recipe? And what the heck could a paper bag have to do with it anyway? Glad you asked! Good popcorn is all about getting the smaller details right. For us, it starts with good ol’ Orville Redenbacher popcorn kernels. We’ve tried plenty of others and swear the difference is obvious and results are better when you start with Orville. The rest is a little more straight forward- a trusty popcorn pot and  some corn oil. To finish it off, some melted butter, salt to taste and paper bag to mix it all together. The result is popcorn that won’t leave any leftovers and brings some of the movie theater experience into your TV room.

Prep time – 1 minute / Cook time – 8-10 minutes

Put pan of your choice over medium high heat, add enough popcorn kernels to have layer 2-3 deep, and enough vegetable oil to barely cover that layer. Tilt pan back and forth to swirl mixture inside and completely coat everything. Place lid on pot and listen for popping. In a separate smaller pot or saucepan, melt butter until completely liquid. When popping sounds get slower, the batch is done when you can count to 4 or 5 between pops. Remove from heat and pour popcorn into large paper shopping bag. Ask a child or spouse to bounce popcorn in paper bag in an up and down motion while you pour melted butter over the contents. Add salt generously while doing same. Return to containers of your choice for snacking pleasure.