Dudes- I have a confession. Popcorn is my FAVORITE snack food. Ever. Those big tins of it at Christmas? With the three different kinds? Oh man. Those are great, even though they’re not the best quality popcorn. I just freakin’ love popcorn. Any kind, really. Movie theatre popcorn, too. Back in the day- many many years ago- I worked at a movie theatre. ‘Nuff said.

I usually make my own popcorn in a Whirley Pop, which is an authentic old timey stove top popcorn maker. Of course, you could use a regular pot with a lid, too, but I actually prefer this after much trial and error. I use Diamond Crystal extra fine salt, a decent amount of ghee (that’s my secret, folks), and a bit of coconut or vegetable oil. As far as the kernels go, I usually buy the Trader Joe’s kind, or a fancy colored kernel from Sur La Table, but any will do in reality. And with this method I get perfectly butter-flavored popcorn every time, without all the chemicals & grease of microwave or pre-made popcorn. Jay declared it the best popcorn he’s ever had, anywhere. It’s my favorite too.

And I make popcorn a lot.

But I don’t often make popcorn like this.

Yeah, that looks insane. I know. Thats my hand holding the spoon. Trust.

So yeah, where was I? Popcorn. Jameson caramel popcorn.

I decided to make a St. Patrick’s Day appropriate popcorn snack that wasn’t too sickeningly sweet and wasn’t too over the top. I’ve done the green velvet cupcakes and while my pictures sucked back then, I love them, but sometimes… enough is enough. I wanted to make some non-green items this season.

And it’s not just for St. Patrick’s Day either, obvs.

JAMESON IRISH WHISKEY CARAMEL POPCORN

Ingredients:

• 1/4 – 1/2 cup popcorn kernels, popped & salted as desired (I think it’s best to do this the night before so the popcorn cools and gets firmer so it can stand up to the caramel)
• 1 oz. Jameson Irish whiskey
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon salted butter

Directions:

1. Add the sugar and water and butter to a saucepan and turn on the heat to around medium. DO NOT STIR. Let it boil until it turns a medium/dark brown and gets very thick.
2. Turn off the heat immediately as soon as the color changes to the above, and add the Jameson. Stand back- it will splatter and hiss. Swirl the pot around gently to mix the whiskey in the caramel and then let sit until quiet (no more popping/hissing).
3. Pour or spoon over popcorn in a large bowl. Using two spoons and working quickly, mix well before caramel dries out and becomes hard. Sprinkle with extra salt if desired.
4. Enjoy!

Clearly, this is an adult snack. This isn’t a kid-friendly snack, since the alcohol doesn’t actually burn off at all. Not that it’ll kill them, but just keep that in mind.

I ended up with some extra caramel sauce, so I saved it in a little jar. You might want to use it all. If not, you’ll keep some for next time. Just heat it up a little so it’s not so hard and drizzle, drizzle, drizzle.

Suggestions for use: sprinkle with green & white sprinkles for St. Patrick’s Day, sprinkle with flavored salt over the caramel, drizzle with melted chocolate as well, use Bailey’s Irish Cream in the caramel instead, add toasted nuts.

Soundtrack: Bush – “Mouth”

Sources & credits: Sterling silver julep cup; vintage, 4-oz. Ball jar; freshpreserving.com.