Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn
Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn is the snack you’ve been waiting for, even if you didn’t know it! I promise that you won’t be able to stop eating this delicious treat. That’s probably not a good thing if you’re paying attention to calories but for a special treat, this is it!
And, it truly is easy! No eye-rolling now. I know that when I say something is easy, you all say “yeah, for you but not for me”. Well, this is all made in the microwave, except for popping the popcorn. But the caramel sauce and the glazing of the popcorn is all done in the microwave. Like I said, easy peasy!
This recipe begins in two ways. One is by having brown paper grocery bags on hand. They are tricky to find these days but if you know a grocery store that carries them, you could ask if they will give/sell you some bags (or you could be like a certain friend of mine that chose to steal the bags right from behind the register! Not naming names, KN, but you know who you are!!!). It’s important to have these bags and not the kind you might get at a restaurant as a to-go bag. I tried that but they are too flimsy. Trader Joe’s bags work great or, if you are in Arizona, AJ’s bags are perfect.
The other important point is to have homemade popcorn. I like to use “mushroom” popcorn kernels as they produce big popped corn with lots of nooks and crannies to capture the caramel. This is the popcorn that I like but feel free to use whichever you prefer.
I use an old-fashioned whirly pop to pop my popcorn. I’ve used it for years and always get excellent popcorn but you can also pop it in a large pot on the stovetop.
Once the kernels are popped, transfer the popcorn to a bowl and shake it up so that any unpopped kernels are on the bottom and then use your hands to lift out the popped kernels, leaving behind the unpopped ones. Place the popped corn in the grocery bag.
To make the caramel sauce, combine the butter, brown sugars, corn syrup and salt in a large microwave-safe bowl. You will heat this on and off for about 4 minutes, stirring after every minute. Once nice and thick, add the vanilla and baking soda and combine.
Pour the sauce over the popcorn and shake it until the popcorn is well coated. Fold down the top edge of the bag and place it in the microwave (I had to turn my bag on its side).
Microwave for a minute, shake the bag and microwave again for another minute. Repeat this for a total of 4 minutes and then pour out the popcorn onto some sheets of parchment. Allow it to cool completely.
Sprinkle the flaky sea salt over the top.
The popcorn will store well in an airtight container or ziplock bags. That’s assuming there is any left, which there never is!
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Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn
Makes: 16 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 16 cups popped popcorn (see Chef’s Notes)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup corn syrup (not high fructose corn syrup – I use Karo)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- flaky sea salt (like Maldon)
Instructions
Prepare a work surface (kitchen counter) by laying out a 4-feet long piece of parchment paper.
After popping the popcorn, transfer it to a bowl. Lift the popcorn with your hands and shake the bowl lightly so the unpopped kernels fall to the bottom. Lift the 4 quarts of popcorn out of the bowl and transfer to a large brown paper grocery bag.
Combine the butter, brown sugars, corn syrup and salt in a large microwave-safe bowl. Place in the microwave and heat on high power for 2 minutes. Stir to combine. If the butter is not completely melted, return to the microwave for another 30-60 seconds.
After stirring, return to the microwave for 1 minute. The mixture should be bubbling up furiously by this point. Remove bowl and stir well then return to the microwave for another minute. Repeat this cooking and stirring for a total of 3 more minutes.
Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. Stir well until all of the baking soda is well incorporated. Pour the hot mixture over the popcorn in the bag. Fold the top of the bag down once and shake, shake, shake to distribute syrup through the corn.
Microwave on high power for 1 minute. Remove the bag and hold it at the top and one of the bottom corners. Shake well and return to the microwave for another minute. Repeat cooking and shaking two more times for a total of 4 minutes. Turn the popcorn out onto the prepared parchment paper. Allow to cool completely.
Sprinkle to taste with flaky sea salt. (Just take a good pinch in between your thumb and forefinger and rub the fingers together to break up the large flakes.)
Store in an airtight container. The caramel corn will keep well for 1-2 weeks.
Chef’s Notes:
I like to use “mushroom” popcorn kernels as they produce big popped corn with lots of nooks and crannies to capture the caramel. This is the popcorn that I like but feel free to use whichever you prefer.
I use an old-fashioned whirly pop to pop my popcorn. I’ve used it for years and always get excellent popcorn but you can also pop it in a large pot on the stovetop.
I use 3/4 cup kernels and 3 tablespoons of canola oil to make 16 cups of popped corn.
Recipe from The Cafe Sucre Farine
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