The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Spicy Bacon And Beer Caramel Corn
Makes about 4 cups
6 slices thick-cut bacon or 10 slices regular bacon
Vegetable oil cooking spray, or vegetable oil
1⁄ cup popcorn kernels 3
4 tablespoons rendered bacon fat (from cooking the bacon)
3 cups sugar 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1⁄ cup dark English ale 4
1⁄ cup water 4
11⁄ tablespoons salt 2
11⁄ teaspoons baking soda 2
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
In a pan, fry the bacon until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to cool, then crumble into large pieces. Pour off 4 tablespoons fat for the popcorn. Reserve the remaining fat for another use. (The book’s authors, who are strong no-waste advocates, recommend mixing leftover with softened butter for a porky spread for bread and muffins.)
Spray a large mixing bowl, baking sheet, and two large metal mixing spoons with non-stick cooking spray. In a popcorn popper or large pot with a lid, heat the bacon fat over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn, cover and cook until all the kernels have popped, shaking constantly to prevent burning. If using a popper, follow the manufacturer’s directions. Transfer the popcorn to the coated bowl, and mix in the cooked bacon. Combine the baking soda and cayenne in a small bowl.
Combine the sugar, ale, water, butter, and salt in large pot. Cook until the mixture turns a rich golden brown and reaches 305°, or the hard crack stage) on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes. (If you don’t have a thermometer, drop a spoonful of syrup in cold water; it should be hard enough to crack if you mold it.) Remove the pan remove from heat and stir in the cayenne and baking soda for 30 seconds until any clumps have been dispersed and the foam subsides. Immediately pour the caramel evenly over the popcorn and bacon and mix well using the prepared spoons, until everything is well coated.
Spread the caramel corn onto the prepared baking sheet. Let cool, then break apart into bite sized pieces and serve.
Even the most woke among us likely feels trepidation about labeling others, so Rhea Butcher sets everyone straight on the new comedy release “Pull Yourself up by Your Bootleg.”
And the nonbinary Los Angeles-based comic does it hilariously and in the most accessible way possible. The Ohio native uses they/them pronouns, which Butcher quips makes some people, “Question whether they want to talk to me or not.” It also prompts hilariously wrong reactions from others, like an excited, “She uses ‘they/them’! She’s very brave!” And Butcher seems tickled at strangers who just make guesses, like the clerk who initially identifies the comic as a woman and then ends the conversation with, “Here’s your change sir.”
Butcher simply rolls with it (“The only gender I really care about is my dog’s gender”), demystifying issues of identity with the same easy air as revealing they’re a hillbilly by their first reaction to a pack of Miracle Whip on the ground (“Ooh, free Miracle Whip!”) and that they eat vitamin gummies for women “because they don’t make nonbinary gummies yet.”
Butcher’s charismatic voice and perfect timing fuel momentum going, and a diverse audience can relate to subjects that include Lyfts, movie-theater candy and a neighbor’s potbelly pig.
There’s also the tale of Butcher’s awkward first experience hitting on someone, a story about going back to Ohio for a friend’s wedding and hysterical stuff about the comic’s dad, like his impossible advice to, “Keep your head down and your chin up.” Then there’s the time Butcher got access to Dad’s Google search history and discovered they have one interest in common: “boobs.”