A bowl of perfectly popped popcorn is a thing of beauty. Light and crispy, with no unpopped kernels left behind? It can feel like hitting the lottery.
In the latest episode of season two of our YouTube series Today’s Special with Ashley Moore, Ashley teaches you our technique for delivering perfect popcorn every time.
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Weeknight cooking inspiration, curated and written by longtime ATK author and editor (and avid home cook) Jack Bishop.
Our method takes the guesswork out of popping popcorn. It starts with heating three "test" kernels in vegetable oil in a medium saucepan, uncovered. When the kernels pop, that means the oil is hot enough.
After that, pull the saucepan off the heat and pour in the rest of the kernels. Let them sit, covered and undisturbed, for 30 seconds. This resting period preheats the raw popcorn so that it pops quickly and evenly, with a minimum of unpopped kernels, when returned to the heat.
Today's Special with Ashley Moore
In this delightful YouTube series, Ashley shares her favorite easy, fun, family-friendly recipes and shortcuts.
Watch on YouTubeThen it’s time for the fun part: flavoring the popcorn. Butter and salt are great, but they’re not the only option. Ashley shows you how to elevate the popcorn with one of her favorite flavors, buttermilk ranch. (She also mentions some other tasty options—cinnamon-malt, Parmesan-pepper, and Sriracha-lime—so you can shake up your popcorn routine almost every night of the week.)
