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May 16, 2005
Popcorn
Find that large saucepan that you don’t care about anymore. You will save much elbow grease down the road by sacrificing this pan to the popcorn gods, accepting the black build-up on the bottom and resisting the impulses to wash it every time you make the popcorn. Letting the leftover oil season the pan in between batches makes it taste a little better every time, I swear.
The goods
canola oil
popcorn
soy sauce
brewers or nutritional yeast
The process
Coat the bottom of the pan with canola oil. Turn the burner up as high as it will go and put in three kernels of corn. Get out the receptacle (bowl or sawed off paper shopping bag at the crease will do) while you wait for the pan to heat and the three kernels to pop. Swirl the oil once. Make sure two pot holders are handy.
When the three kernels have popped, pour in enough popcorn to cover the bottom of the pan and a little more. The kernels should be between one and two deep in the bottom of the pan. Shake the pan with a circular motion that I’ll call “swirling” (hands at either side of pan making small circles, you should feel the kernels moving around the pan, turning over, heating evenly). Repeat the swirling for a few seconds every fifteen seconds or so. Every time you hear a few kernels start to pop, swirl again. Do what you can to keep the kernels moving and any popping at bay so that they pop at the same time. Once they all start popping, stop swirling. Shake lightly to drop any unpopped kernels down to the bottom of the pan and keep any from sticking and burning at the bottom. The popping should crescendo, then calm. As popping rate slows, turn down heat gradually. Lightly shake once more as popping stops (not too late, otherwise it’ll burn!) and turn off heat.
Pour about a third of the finished product off into the bowl or bag or whatever. Lightly coat with soy sauce. Fill up the rest of the receptacle, coat with soy sauce once more and sprinkle heavily with brewers yeast. Lightly shake bowl so that excess yeast sifts down to the bottom kernels.
Serve with a movie or a good book.
Posted by nick at May 16, 2005 09:45 PM
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Comments
wouldn’t soy sauce stain the book? why not just salt?
Posted by: brad at May 17, 2005 02:55 AM
the soy sauce soaks in just the right amount — there’s never danger of staining (unless you’re adding the soy sauce near your book). although the brewers yeast gets over everything. some say it’s an acquired taste, i just think it’s damn good.
Posted by: nick at May 17, 2005 08:19 AM
I’ll try anything once… especially if it involves the word “brewing”
Posted by: brad at May 17, 2005 11:05 PM
if you’re into staining book you might try pouring melted butter all over it as well.
Posted by: 1e at May 18, 2005 03:41 AM
Inspired perhaps by this very post—or was it just hunger?—I made some popcorn last night. I was wildly successful and there were only like four half-popped kernels (which I will admit I love to crunch). I think the underlying truth of popcorn, borrowing from Taus’ sauce doctrine, is that it all comes down to how you dress it. For me, it was a spot of sea salt, garlic powder, and some sage. Conveniently, these were the spices that Marla had left on the counter moments prior. I passed on the white spraypaint (also on the counter)…this time.
Posted by: [tmo] at May 18, 2005 11:14 AM
i love to eat those barely blossomed kernels at the bottom of the bowl.
Posted by: scarlet at May 19, 2005 01:00 PM