Lemon Squeezey: Dark & Stormy Caramel Corn, and more importantly Dark & Stormies

Friday, May 23, 2014

Dark & Stormy Caramel Corn, and more importantly Dark & Stormies

The long weekend is upon us! No, I don't mean Victoria Day, and I don't mean Memorial Day ... I'm talking 'bout Bermuda Day! There will be parades, beach parties, barbecues, gombeys, boat raft-ups, and many many drinks. Most of the drinks will have rum in them. Most of the rum will be Gosling's Black Seal. 
My family moved to Bermuda in 1998, and it has felt like home ever since. No matter how long I am away, landing in Bermuda and walking off of the plane, feeling the humidity hit me like a wall and the sun instantly start baking my skin - it is so familiar. Then, getting in a taxi and speeding along the narrow, winding roads (driving on the left side, mind you!), that takes no getting used to. But, finally reaching the top of a hill, the view of that turquoise ocean always takes my breath away. It is truly stunning.
Of course, living there, it wasn't all rosy all the time - I had the same struggles and issues that most kids have growing up, sometimes there are hurricanes, the winter is colder than you would expect, and sometimes Bermuda starts to feel like a teeny tiny isolated rock in the middle of the ocean and you just must get off of it, but I know I was so lucky to experience what this tiny, beautiful island has to offer. The freshest fish imaginable, pink sand beaches, loooong hot summers on the water, sailing, swimming, paddling, cliff diving, and a culture centered on community, togetherness and celebration.

Speaking of celebration, let's get back to this rum we were talking about earlier. Gosling's Black Seal is the national spirit of Bermuda, and it is used for everything from barbecue sauce (yum), fish chowder (yum again) to the many many drinks also referred to earlier. My favorite of the many many drinks is the Dark & Stormy, which is actually the national drink of Bermuda. It is a heavenly mixture of rum (the dark) and ginger beer (the stormy) with a wedge of lime. Its spicy and sweet from the ginger beer, its got lovely dark caramelly notes from the rum, and the lime is there cause why not. It is thirst-quenching, refreshing, and definitely long weekend appropriate. Don't worry, the caramel corn recipe follows. 




Dark & Stormy

Note about Ingredients: 
*Technically (and legally, for that matter), you cannot make a Dark & Stormy without Gosling's Black Seal Rum. I highly recommend that you get it because its sooo good, but if its not available to you, any good quality dark rum will do. 
**Ginger Beer is available in most grocery stores, it is not alcoholic and it is not the same thing as ginger ale. It is spicier, and generally more awesome. Most of the brands are Jamaican and may even be called Jamaican Ginger Beer. My favorite is a Bermudian brand called Barritt's that my mom lugs up here for me every time she visits. I am spoiled, I know. (Thanks Mom!)

Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients:
  • 1.5 oz Gosling's Black Seal Rum
  • 5 oz ginger beer
  • ice
  • lime wedges
Method:
  1. Fill an 10 oz glass with ice cubes. Pour in the ginger beer.
  2. Pour the rum on top, give it a little stir.
  3. Garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy.


Its always nice to have something to snack on, and what better than a sweet, salty, crunchy caramel corn inspired by the cocktail in your hand? Hence, Dark & Stormy Caramel Corn. This recipe is courtesy of Alison Kave of First Prize Pies and Butter & Scotch, who has admitted that one of her favorite past-times is turning cocktail flavors into delicious nibbles. It is a noble cause, and this particular endeavor was a great success! All of the buttery goodness of caramel corn with the added complexity of the rum, freshness of lime zest, and a kick of fresh ginger. Warning: it encourages you to pour another drink.



Dark & Stormy Caramel Corn

Adapted from Butter & Scotch via Lottie and Doof


Ingredients:
  • 12 cups of popped corn, from about 120g of kernels or just over ½ a cup
  • 115g or 8 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 82g or ¼ cup corn syrup or golden syrup
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp kosher salt or 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • ½ tsp ground ginger (optional)
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp of finely grated fresh ginger
  • 45 ml or 3 tbsp Goslings Black Seal Rum
Method:
  1. Preheat the oven to 300˚F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats. 
  2. In a large (6 quart) pot melt the butter, sugar and corn syrup together. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until you can smell the sugar start to caramelize and the mixture turns golden and toasty.
  3. Add the baking soda, ground ginger and salt, and whisk until evenly incorporated. Be careful, as the mixture could foam up and release steam as you're whisking. Using an oven mitt helps to protect your hand from burning.
  4. Add the lime zest, ginger, and rum and whisk again, again being careful not to steam your hand! 
  5. When everything is evenly mixed, dump all of the popcorn into the pot and gently but firmly fold the caramel and the popcorn together, scraping the bottom to lift the caramel up. 
  6. When the popcorn is evenly coated, divide it onto the two baking sheets and bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Give the popcorn a good stir every 5 minutes or so to make sure it cooks evenly. You can check that your popcorn is ready to come out of the oven by removing a few pieces and letting them cool off - if the popcorn is crunchy and the caramel is totally hardened, its done!
  7. Take the baking sheets out of the oven and stir the popcorn as it cools off, this will keep all the pieces separate. The popcorn will keep for several days at room temperature in an airtight container.

Enjoy your weekend everybody!

3 comments:

  1. This is amazing!! I really appreciate a Dark & Stormy anything :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! Oh man, that ginger! I love it. Plus rum! How can you go wrong?

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  2. Move over Cracker Jacks! I want some of these, they sound awesome ... Can I put in an order? I will be in the neighbourhood at the end of August.

    ReplyDelete