Buzz
My partner and I are loyal fans of the Joe Bob Briggs Mutant Family. For the next month, we’re committed to spending every Friday evening watching The Last Drive-In and munching on snacks. Popcorn is our go-to choice, though my boyfriend and I have distinctly different preferences when it comes to toppings.
His preferred popcorn topping is a blend of powdered parmesan and sea salt, the same way his mom used to prepare it for him growing up. It’s a solid choice, but I’m all about butter, and I can’t stand a lack of it. I’m also more experimental with my popcorn toppings (and with food in general), always playing around with compound butters, and mixing various sauces into butter to create fresh, exciting flavors.
Lately, my absolute favorite is buffalo popcorn, which is exactly what it sounds like: popcorn coated in buffalo sauce butter. Buffalo sauce already has a buttery base, with a mix of 1/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup Frank’s hot sauce. It’s amazing on hot wings, but can be too watery for popcorn. To keep your popcorn from getting soggy, you’ll want to adjust the recipe to increase the fat content.
How to prepare a buffalo sauce that’s perfect for popcorn
To create buffalo popcorn, I use a ratio of one part hot sauce to two parts butter. My go-to is Frank’s, as it delivers the classic buffalo wing flavor, but feel free to experiment with any hot sauce you like. (For a drier popcorn, you could use Frank’s seasoning blend and skip the butter altogether, though I’m not one to recommend skipping butter.)
Pop your popcorn as you normally would, and melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, take it off the heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon of Frank’s. Pour the buffalo butter over your popcorn and toss it to evenly coat. Enjoy with a great movie, preferably one directed by Lucio Fulci.
