Pop your own kettle corn with coconut oil, sugar, and Whole Hog—homemade beats bagged every time
Ingredients
For The Kettle Corn
- 1/4 Cup coconut oil
- 1/2 Cup popcorn kernels
- 1/4 Cup raw sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Whole Hog
Method
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01
Heat the coconut oil
2 minGet your large pot over medium heat with the coconut oil until it's shimmering. You need it hot enough to pop kernels, but not so hot you burn the sugar.
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02
Test the oil temperature
1 minDrop a single kernel into the oil—when it pops, you know the temperature is dialed in and ready for the rest of the corn.
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03
Add kernels, sugar, and seasoning
Pour in all your popcorn kernels, raw sugar, and Whole Hog at once, then immediately cover with a lid. The sugar dissolves into the oil and coats every kernel as it pops.
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04
Shake and pop
5 minKeep that lid on and shake the pot constantly—this keeps kernels moving so they pop evenly and the seasoning coats everything without sticking in one spot. Listen for the rhythm of the pops.
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05
Pull from heat and finish popping
1 minOnce pops slow to 2–3 seconds apart, pull off the heat but keep shaking without the lid until the popping stops completely. Residual heat finishes the last kernels without scorching the batch.
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06
Cool and finish
5 minPour your kettle corn into a large bowl and dust lightly with salt while it's still warm. Let it cool a few minutes so it sets up crispy, then dig in.
From Mike's Notebook
Keep the lid cracked open once popping starts—traps steam that helps sugar caramelize without burning kernels.
Add Whole Hog right after popping stops while oil's still hot; seasoning blooms into the residual heat.
Use raw sugar, not granulated—it dissolves slower into the oil, creating bigger sweet-spicy clusters on each kernel.