Everyone in our house love bacon, and this popcorn treat is a favorite. This Bacon and Chive Popcorn recipe brings the aroma and flavor of bacon, mixes in the crisp flavor of chives, and heats it all up with cayenne. A nearly perfect combination!
You’ll definitely want to use real bacon for this one – bacon bits might be OK sprinkled on a salad, but are too dry for a popcorn mix and end up at the bottom of the bowl. Bacon bits also don’t bring the full flavor of bacon to the popcorn, and you’ll need the drippings from cooking bacon to really make the flavors pop. And don’t try and use turkey bacon either! It just doesn’t have the same flavor.
You can dial-down the heat by using less cayenne, but don’t eliminate it entirely as it really adds to the flavor. If you’re out of cayenne, try some chili powder. I recently picked up some ground chipotle pepper, and found this really added flavorful, smoky taste that is amazing.
Ingredients:
- 6 slices of bacon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt to taste
Directions:
Cook the bacon until crisp, lay out to drain on paper towel, then chop into small pieces. Take 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings from the pan, combine with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and drizzle over 16 cups of freshly popped popcorn.
Add the bacon, chives and toss. Sprinkle with the cayenne and salt to taste, and toss some more.
Dig in and enjoy!