Tipsy Maple Corn ~
~ adapted from Food 52 ~
Fry bacon, render 3 1/2 tablespoons bacon grease.
In a large Dutch oven, pop 1/2 cup popcorn kernels in the bacon grease. Shake the Dutch oven a few times after the popcorn begins to pop to prevent burning.
Also preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small pot or saucepan, pour in 1/3 cup Jack Daniels. Burn off the alcohol and reduce it by half. Add 1/2 cup pure maple syrup and 1 stick unsalted butter to melt.
If you don’t choose bacon, fry 3 slices pancetta. Break either pancetta or bacon into small bits; mix in with popcorn in an extra-large bowl. I prefer bacon as opposed to pancetta for this. And I mix the ingredients in a large roasting pan just for the sake of mixing without having the popcorn fall out and over the sides as would happen using a bowl.
So mix bacon or pancetta bits into the popcorn with 1 cup salted peanuts. Drizzle the liquid sauce over the popcorn very lightly, a little at a time while stirring, to prevent it from getting soggy. Spread out onto baking sheets and place in the oven to bake into a crunchiness after it’s out of the oven cooled. But only let it in the oven for 10 minutes, check it; and if preferring it more baked, set the timer for 3-5 minutes. Let it cool completely before eating.
I liked this really well before it went into the oven, liked the flavor better.
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