Once you figure out just how easy it is to make homemade kettle corn, there's no going back. Lightly sweetened kernels with a touch of salt makes the perfect snack for any time of the day.
Coat the bottom of a large pot or deep skillet with oil. Heat over medium high until oil shimmers.
Sprinkle the corn kernels into the pan and shake a bit to coat the kernels in oil.
Sprinkle the sugar and salt over the corn kernels and place the lid on the pot.
Continuing to cook over medium high heat, shake the pan constantly to keep the kernels moving around in the pan.
The kernels will begin popping. Cook until most of the corn has popped and there is just a one second pause between popping.Over medium heat, my kettle corn took about 2 minutes to pop once the kernels were added to the hot oil.
Immediately pour the kettle corn into a separate bowl or onto a sheet pan to cool.
Once cool, break apart any kettle corn chunks and remove unpopped kernels. Serve.
Notes
Using a lightweight pot makes it easier to maintain shaking the pot throughout the cook time. Choose a pan with plenty of room for the corn to expand when popping and one with a secure lid.
Because of the sugar in the recipe, the popcorn can burn or scorch easily. For this reason, we want to keep the kernels moving in the pan and get the popped corn out of the hot pan as quickly after it has popped as possible. Err on the side of having some unpopped kernels instead of trying to pop them all and risk burning the sugar.
The salt can be reduced to 1⁄4 teaspoon, but we liked the balance of 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1⁄2 teaspoon salt.
Though we would argue that kettle corn is best served immediately, especially because it's so quick and easy to make fresh, you can store cooled leftovers in an air-tight container or sealed ziptop bag kept at room temperature for 5-6 days. Make sure whatever you store it in is tightly sealed to aid in freshness.