I use clarified butter instead of oil so that the popcorn soaks it in immediately after popping.
Every time I take a bite, it’s like a buttery explosion.
I recommend taking it off heat for 30 seconds after adding all the kernels so they all heat up to an even temperature and roast a little in the butter. Use a screen to cover the pot rather than a lid so that steam can escape and your popcorn stays crunchy.
I've been using chicken fat collected from roasting chickens, simmered down and stored in a Ball jar (aka schmaltz)
It tolerates the high heat of popcorn popping quite well and tastes great with a hint of chicken. Usually has notes of the seasoning too... which in my case is mostly black pepper.
+1 on the screen hack, that's definitely a pro-tip.
This sounds delicious. I bet it combines well with sweetness too. I've found that when I do stovetop popcorn I can get sugar to caramelise around the popcorn to produce a crunchy shell. This with a little chicken hint inside would go down well I reckon.
Also incredibly cheap.