Kettle corn is undeniably delicious, so there’s no reason to mess with it—unless the alternative is utterly showstopping. Enter this maple-za’atar kettle corn, which is sweet and salty, yes, but also, thanks to the za’atar, earthy, toasty, herby, and punched up in all the best ways.
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What you’ll need
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Large Saucepan with Lid
$39 At Amazon
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Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
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Large Bowl
$18 At Amazon
Ingredients
4 Servings
Step 1
Melt ghee in a large light pot with a lid over medium-high heat (make sure entire bottom of pan is coated with fat).
Step 2
Add a few popcorn kernels. As soon as they begin to pop, add remaining kernels, cover, and cook, vigorously shaking pot to keep kernels moving so they don’t burn, until just-added kernels begin to pop. Remove lid and drizzle in maple syrup. Cover pot and continue to cook popcorn, shaking pot, until most of kernels have popped and the rate of popping has significantly slowed (you should only hear an occasional pop), about 4 minutes. Don’t worry if all the kernels don’t pop.
Step 3
Carefully transfer popcorn to a large bowl, sprinkle za’atar, Aleppo-style pepper, and salt over. Toss popcorn with a wooden spoon to coat.
Do ahead:Kettle corn can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
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Reviews (0)
Back to TopDelightfully unusual and delicious. The kids (who are popcorn-devouring monsters of the highest order) loved it and hubs couldn't stop pulling handfuls out of the bowl even after first stating, "it tastes like there's a meat rub on here." The only knock here for us was the technique where the syrup is added relatively early in the popping process. I typically like to add it later as the kernels have *just* finished popping and then just lightly cook down the syrup for a minute or two so it doesn't scorch and nicely glazes the popcorn. Against my better judgement, I added the syrup earlier as the recipe states, and it did end up edging too closely to burnt for our liking, but also it seemed as if it almost candied the unpopped kernels shut, so that when they finally did pop, they weren't as fluffy and had more of the hard outer shell of the kernel held together—which was unpleasant in the mouth. Overall, I'd definitely make this again though and simply add the syrup right at the tail end.
andreayung23
Northern California
7/25/2023
