Junk Yard Dog Mix reminds Dirty Laundry Kitchen of Greek philosophy. Really? Yes. The notion of a sense of taste isn’t a new thing. Aristotle wrote about sweet and bitter in On the Soul, circa 350 B. C. Much more nuanced writing about the sense of taste came out of India even earlier. Combining and understanding food in response to the human palette is probably as old as eating. It told us how to find calorie-dense foods and how to avoid poisonous ones. So, if you’re a snack combiner and you have your own special-weird combo that works for you, be it dipping fries in your chocolate shake, or putting potato chips on you tuna sandwich, commune with the ancients and revel in trying my big dog version of junk food mix: Junk Yard Dog Mix, just in time for Super Bowl Sunday. Forget the Puppy Chow, I’ve focused in on the salty, kept the chocolate on the bitter side, and added popcorn with a spicy kick. Think perfectly balanced junk food. And don’t forget to brainstorm additions to make Junk Yard Dog Mix perfect for you.
Junk Yard Dog Mix
Ingredients
- 1 cup mixed salted nuts
- 2 cups pretzels I like the windowpane variety for this
- Ridged potato chips
- ½ cups dark chocolate chips 60%
- ⅓ cup popcorn kernels
- ⅓ cup brown sugar I like light for this one
- 2-3 tablespoons cup corn syrup maple syrup would work here too
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; divided
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cayenne powder I like it spicy- you can use less if you don’t
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225° F.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips with one tablespoon butter 20 seconds at a time to prevent scorching the chocolate.
- Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
- Dip the potato chips into the chocolate.
- Lay them to harden on the baking sheet. Do as many as will fit on the pan. Let cool.
- Meanwhile, pop the kernels in an air popper.
- Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, cayenne and 3 tablespoons butter to a large microwavable bowl and melt.
- Whisk well.
- Add the baking soda after it’s fully melted and you’re finished heating it. It will foam and make a thick caramel.
- Pour the popcorn into the caramel in the large bowl.
- Toss with a spatula until the popcorn is fully covered with caramel.
- Add the nuts if you like. Or, if you bought roasted, salted nuts, add them in at the very end.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or silpat).
- Spread the caramel corn in a single layer over the baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
- When just cool enough to handle, separate the kernels gently with your hands, and allow to cool completely.
- Pick a large serving bowl.
- Mix together the chocolate covered chips, pretzels, caramel corn and nuts (if you didn’t already).
- Dig in!
