In the Kitchen: Popcon!
November 1, 2010
Hey, I’m still here!
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been enjoying bacon whenever possible. It’s always on my mind and, on lazy Sundays, we start our day by frying up a package of sweet pig meat!
It’s bothered me (just a little) that we dump out the bacon grease after cooking. I’ve wondered how many ways we can incorporate bacon grease into daily cooking. It seems if you can find a stable way to keep it ‘fresh’ (in the fridge, maybe?), you could use it to grease all your pans.
A couple of things I’ve tried is pan-roasting raw peanuts in bacon grease and making popcorn with bacon grease. See, kids. A long time ago, before microwaves, we made popcorn on the stove. A big pot, a little oil and a handful of popcorn kernels and you’re in business. When my wife unwittingly bought bacon and popcorn on the same grocery trip, the idea was born!
The process is pretty simple:
Bacon grease at room temperature. Mmmmm!
Take a spoonful of bacon grease and melt it in a pot. (Bacon grease tends to burn at a high heat, so start the pan on medium-low and slowly work the heat up.)
The heat test for popcorn is simple: drop one kernel in the bottom of the pot. When it pops, drop the popcorn in.
There it goes! If you've never made stove top popcorn, you're really missing out.
A word of advice: As fun as it is to watch the popcorn pop, it’s very important to place the lid on the pot. If you leave the lid off, say, to take photos or something, you run the risk of a hot, grease-soaked popcorn popping out of the pot, ricocheting off your cheek, under your glasses and into your eye, burning your cheek and eyeball along the way with the afore-mentioned hot bacon grease. It’s not fun
Grease-splattered glasses.
Finally, when the popping slows, take it off the heat, dump the corn into a bowl and enjoy! But, don’t expect a stront bacon flavor. I had to salt my popcorn to bring out a slight bacony flavor. Your mileage may vary.
Yay!
