Bakin’ with Bacon, The King and His Guest!

 

Greetings Bacon Lovers! 

Today we have a guest Chef – my super good buddy and pal Raz from Friends Furever brought me a wonderful recipe and I asked him if he’d like to help me whip this up in our kitchen here at the Castle Baconia!      It’s a snack – and one that you’re BOUND to love!    Ready?

Bacon Caramel Popcorn

Yes this one is a little more complicated than some recipes – because of the fact you have to make caramel – but trust Raz and me – it’s WORTH IT!    

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 5 cups popcorn (popped, preferably plain)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup pecans (toasted, chopped)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 250 F/121 C. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy, then drain off the fat and let it cool. Once cool, coarsely chop the bacon into half-inch pieces.

 

1. Place the bacon, popcorn, and chopped pecans into a large bowl and toss them together.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup and stir them together over medium heat. Once the sugar and butter have melted, stop stirring and insert a candy thermometer

3. Continue to cook the sugar until it reaches 238 F/114 C on the candy thermometer, which should only take 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Once at the proper temperature, remove the pan from the heat, add the baking soda, and stir vigorously. The sugar mixture will foam up, so be careful during this step.

5. Pour the foamy sugar over the popcorn mixture in the bowl and quickly stir everything together, making sure the popcorn, nuts, and bacon are coated with caramel.

6. Spread the popcorn out on the prepared baking sheet. Bake it for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to distribute the caramel.

7. Once it is golden brown and crunchy, take the popcorn out of the oven and allow it to cool completely. Store bacon caramel popcorn in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Gosh Raz – this really is delicious stuff isn’t it…………….(MUNCH  MUNCH……..CRUNCH CRUNCH)……………..let’s have a second helping OK?    I better keep this one away from my Mom – she’d gobble this down in no time!

“OK Teddy and Raz…..I ate all the pie – now gimme some of dat popcorn……or else!!!”

Uhoh Raz…………I think we’ve created a monster!     Thanks for bringing this recipe to us – we’d better start another batch – Garfield is eating everything in sight!!

King Teddy and Raz