South of Beale Popcorn

It might only be early June, but the thermometers here are already in the triple digits.  My car told me it was 107F/43C today.  Which means that I don't want to eat much in the way of actual food, certainly I don't feel like spending any time in the kitchen preparing it, and I'm craving something salty.  So I pulled out my bottle of homemade South of Beale spice mix.

This spicy-salty-sweet popcorn is my version of this Memphis restaurant's treat. I saw the chef assemble the spice mix on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. In fact, I backed it up and watched about six times, estimating the measurements, and what follows is my best guess. Well, and my own tweak.


SOB Popcorn Spice

1/4 cup coconut sugar (original: brown sugar dehydrated and ground)
1/4 cup sea salt (original: kosher salt)
1/4 cup paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Place all ingredients in a small coffee grinder (I keep one just for non-coffee purposes) and grind into powder.

The restaurant showed the popcorn air popped, though I wondered whether they really popped enough with that dorm-room popper to supply the whole restaurant! I popped mine in a large aluminum pot with a blend of coconut oil and grapeseed oil.

Time to kick back with my kid and catch some of the James Bond marathon on REELZ.  Thunderball  just started.