Popcorn Rig

I am a big fan of Alton Brown and Good Eats. We don't watch television at home, no cable/dish/FiOS or antenna, but we watch a lot of DVDs and Netflix. So I've got volumes 1-15 of Good Eats and seasons 1 and 2 of Feasting on Asphalt. I was watching the "Pop Culture" episode and decided that I wanted to make the Perfect Popcorn.

I followed the recipe and made my rig with the aluminum foil cover and tongs handle like Mr. Brown does in the episode but my hand got tired from holding the tongs closed and I didn't feel that I had adequate control of the bowl. In hindsight, I could have locked the tongs closed but I didn't think of it at the time. The popcorn was tasty, fresh, convenient and had very few un-popped kernels. But I didn't like the rig that he uses. In addition to the above mentioned problems, it's a waste of aluminum foil. So I thought about it for a few minutes and had the light bulb moment of "why don't I use my splatter guard?" It isn't quite large enough to completely cover the bowl but it does a serviceable job and there's a built in handle. I use wooden clothes pins to secure the guard to the bowl because that's what I have handy and in a few minutes I have fresh popcorn without using any disposable items. The other advantage of using the splatter guard is that I can easily see into the bowl. Yes, there is some cleanup because the splatter guard doesn't stop all the oil from escaping the bowl but I wipe the stove every night so it's not any extra work for me.

From my kitchen to yours. - KP