Homemade Kettle Corn
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Enjoy sweet and salty kettle corn, without paying festival prices for it. Here’s how to make it at home for just $.53 a batch.
Watch us make a batch, or skip straight to the recipe below.
How to Make Kettle Corn
Prep Time:
2 mins
Cook Time:
5 mins
Ingredients:
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt to taste
What You Do:
Pour the vegetable oil into a large pot. Add three popcorn kernels. Then, cover with a lid, and heat over medium heat.
Listen for the kernels to pop. This is how you’ll know the oil has reached the right temperature. Then, quickly stir in the rest of your kernels and the sugar. Stick the lid back on, and listen for your kernels to start popping.
When you hear popping, lift the pot off the stove, and give it a good shake. This will keep the corn from sticking and burning.
Return the pot to the stove; allow it to pop for a another 10-15 seconds; then, give it another good shake.
Continue cooking and shaking, until most of your kernels have popped.
Then, transfer your kettle corn to a large bowl; add salt and enjoy!
Your kettle corn should have a lightly caramelized coating, like you see above. If you have a lot of burnt popcorn, the temperature was either too high, or you didn’t shake enough.
Try This
We usually make our kettle corn in a Whirley Pop popcorn popper. It has a built in stirring handle, which eliminates the need for shaking your pot. This means fewer burnt pieces stuck to the bottom, so there’s less to clean up afterwards.
We also prefer to use mushroom popcorn. It pops up larger than regular popcorn, so there’s more surface area for the caramelized sugar to stick to. This is the stuff that festival vendors use. If you’re trying to replicate that festival taste, this is part of the secret.
Homemade Kettle Corn
Here’s how to make homemade kettle corn that tastes as good as the stuff you get at festivals.
- Total Time: 7 minutes
- Yield: 16 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Place cooking oil and three popcorn kernels in a large pot; cover; and heat over medium heat.
Wait for the kernels to pop. Then, quickly stir in the remaining kernels and sugar. Cover, and listen for the popcorn to start popping.
Once you hear popping; lift the pot; and give it a good shake.
Then, put it back on the stove; allow the popcorn to pop for 10-15 seconds; and give it another shake.
Continue cooking and shaking, until most of the popcorn has popped.
Then, dump your kettle into a large bowl; salt; and enjoy.
Your kettle corn should be lightly caramelized. If you have a lot of burnt popcorn, the temperature was either too high, or you didn’t shake enough.
Notes
Use a Whirley Pop popcorn popper to eliminate the need to shake the pot. It has a built in stirrer, which prevents popcorn from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot.
If you want your kettle corn to taste just like the stuff you get at festivals, use mushroom popcorn. It pops up bigger, so there’s more surface area for the caramelized sugar to stick to.
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Stove-Top
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: homemade kettle corn recipe
