B.B.Q. Chicken Popcorn

As a caker, I’ve had a vested interest in the evolution of popcorn. First, there was oil and a pot. Then there was Jiffy Pop. Then the air popper came along. Then Orville Redenbacher showed up with those microwavable bags, stinking up work offices everywhere.

I can’t remember where I found The Popcorn Lover's Handbook, but every recipe involves popcorn, including St. Patrick’s Day popcorn and Popcorn Fondue. I opted for the B.B.Q. Chicken popcorn because I figured it was healthier than eating a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

As to how this tastes, well, you have to be a certain kind of person to enjoy this. First, you have to be the sort of person who believes B.B.Q. chicken-flavoured popcorn has a rightful place in this world. And secondly, you have to be the sort of person who thinks that B.B.Q. seasoning tastes like something barbequed and that chicken soup mix tastes like chicken. If you’re that sort of person, by all means, pop away. For the rest of you, stick with golden topping.

6 quarts of popped popcorn (see note)
1 ½ teaspoons B.B.Q. flavour
1 ½ teaspoons chicken soup mix

Divide popcorn into two equal batches and place each batch into a separate shaker bag. Sprinkle B.B.Q. flavour over first batch, close the bag tightly, shake and rotate bag until the popcorn is coated. Sprinkle chicken soup mix over second batch, close the bag tightly, shake and rotate bag until popcorn is coated. Pour contents of two shaker bags into a 8-quart pot and mix well with a wooden spoon. Salt to taste. Cool popcorn and place in storage containers.

Note: I used a ½ cup unpopped kernels, which yielded four quarts. So I reduced the flavouring to a teaspoon of each.

Source: The Popcorn Lover’s Handbook: Regular, Savory and Candied