One of the first things I got myself for my man cave was my commercial popcorn machine. Let’s face it…everything is better with a fresh tub of kern. Nothing beats watching the game while shoveling that hot, crunchy, buttery goodness into your face.
But you have to have the right machine in order to do it right. You can’t have microwave popcorn in your man cave. That’s an illegal procedure penalty.
You need the real deal. A real popcorn machine that blasts out kern like you’re at a movie theater. That’s what I’m talking about!
The Rise and Fall of My Popcorn Popper
So I started with a pretty solid machine. Actually, my wife bought it for me for Christmas one year. It was a good-sized popcorn popper and it stood on a cart, which looked pretty freaking cool. I blasted that thing into oblivion I used it so much.
The only downfall to that particular popcorn popping machine was that it didn’t pop enough popcorn without having to babysit. I’m not a slender guy, and when I go in on the kern, I go hard. You can see that from my popcorn recipe.
So I inevitably would plug the machine every time, unless I stayed right on top of it. Once the kernels would pop, the kettle would get too full and it would plug up and not fall over the kettle into the base of the machine. A lot of the time I would have to come in and pry the kern out with a butter knife leaving me with a bunch of mini popcorn balls.
Well, I used that machine until it was no more. It finally ran its course and I was stuck looking for a new popper to fill the void.
I knew I wanted something bigger. But whenever I would look around at the stores, all they offered was some kind of whirly-pop stovetop mechanism (what are we in the 50s?), some air-popper thingy (yes, right!) or the same popcorn machine I had just put out to pasture.
I needed a commercial popcorn machine for my man cave. Like the ones at the movie theaters. Ok, maybe not that big…but close enough.
So I set out to find the best commercial popcorn machine I could find. Since I’m a popcorn vet I knew it had to have a large enough kettle to support my personal kern intake.
The thing you have to remember, and one that I learned the hard way, is that when you have your boys over to your man cave, you need ample amounts of kern for the crowd. You can’t afford to go small with your popcorn machine.
So this is my machine. It’s a beast. But once this thing kicks the bucket, I will probably be going even bigger. This kettle is very decent sized. It can handle about 2 cups of unpopped popcorn at a time.
But here are some of my options for my next popcorn machine with the best prices I could find.
Commercial Popcorn Machine Reviews
Best Popcorn Machine Deal
My choice for the best popcorn machine deal is the Winco Showtime Popcorn Machine. This is actually the popcorn machine that I use. It really is amazing.
- It pops your kern in under 5 minutes
- No issues with the kettle getting clogged when pouring out the popcorn
- Is small enough to stay on the counter
- Very durable
- Includes: 8 oz. stainless steel removable kettle. Removable crumb tray. Built in warmer light. Tempered glass side panels. Clear plexiglass doors. Stainless steel fold out tray.
- Makes great kern!
Best XL Popcorn Machine
The Theater Pop 16 Ounce Domestic Popper is enormous. This thing is a beast that is normally used for larger venues like convention center, amusement parks, and arenas. So this is the bad boy that you’d normally see when you go to the concession stand at the game.
- Outrageously large 16 oz machine
- Will make enough kern to feed the whole team
- Able to fit on a countertop
- Kettle will never clog up
Best Small Popcorn Machine
The Global Popcorn Popper 4 Ounce is not our suggestion if you are looking to feed the whole squad during gameday. But if you’re flying in your man cave solo for the most part, and not looking to gorge on kern like as if you were trying to get a refill on your tub at the movie theater (I can’t be the only one!)…this may be the perfect popcorn popper for you.
- Small and compact
- Crumb tray.
- Tempered glass.
- Heated deck.
- Removable kettle.
- Makes a perfect individual snack sized portion
- Very fast and efficient
