Guy Fieri's Popcorn Dressing Proves Once Again Why He's The Mayor Of Flavortown

Of course Guy Fieri would take something as basic as popcorn and turn it into a massive explosion of flavor. His bacon-jalapeño popcorn almost sounds like something a college kid would make at two in the morning, but it makes nothing but sense coming from the Mayor of Flavortown himself. The origin story of Guy Fieri's Flavortown may be about his restaurant empire but his innovative snack game is proof he just understands what people love to eat.

The technique to dressing popcorn like this is all in the timing and the sticking: you want freshly popped kernels that are hot enough for seasonings and add-ons to stick but not burn. And in this case, Fieri cooks the bacon until it's crispy and the fat has rendered, and that fat is what will keep it all sticking to the popcorn. The jalapeños also get cut up into thin rings before being charred, and this is important, as big chunky pieces would just fall off the popcorn and end up at the bottom of the bowl otherwise. Much like butter, the bacon fat will coat the kernels and make sure everything else, like the Parmesan down the line, gets stuck to them. Because popcorn is good but bacon makes it better — and that's just common sense.

The beauty in this popcorn blend lies in how easily customizable it is based on what you have in the house and what tastes you prefer. If you swap jalapeños for chipotle peppers, you'll have a smokier heat, or swap the Parmesan for some lime and sour cream to take it into more Mexican street corn territory. And if you don't want to get busy cooking all the add-ons and want to keep it just about herbs and spices, there are many seasoning blends to transform your popcorn. This particular flavor combination could be recreated by tossing your popcorn in warm butter, and then smoked paprika to emulate the smoky bacon and some chili flakes for heat.

If you want to nail this recipe, temperature control matters a lot — cold and dry popcorn won't hold onto seasonings and dressings, which is why Fieri's method keeps everything hot throughout. The bacon and charred jalapeños are removed from the heat while the popcorn is made, but they'll still be hot by the time they're mixed into the hot popcorn. The bacon will also stay nice and crispy that way, only being mixed in at the last minute. But don't worry about keeping it super hot when it comes to eating and enjoying, it may even improve slightly as it cools, and by then the dressing will be nicely incorporated over all your kernels.