Seth Meyers' Death Row Meal Is Homemade Chex Mix With This 'Key' Addition

Imagine a death row meal, and you might envisage comforting favorites like hamburgers, fried chicken, or French fries. However, not everyone's idea of comfort food is the same; some prefer snacks over generous helpings of greasy munchies. For instance, in an interview with Bon Appétit, talk show host Seth Meyers said his mom's homemade Chex mix would be his death row meal.

"No one makes it like her," he explained, "although I recently learned that the key to her success is just butter." Of course, melted butter is an essential ingredient in Chex Mix, so it isn't an unusual addition. Perhaps Meyer's mom (who has appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers on several occasions) measures with her heart and uses a generous quantity of the good stuff?

The melted butter in homemade Chex mix lends the finished snack a yummy richness, but it also acts as a flavor carrier for additional seasonings, such as salt, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, or even ranch dressing. While it's baking, the slick coating of butter encourages the surface of each ingredient to become extra crunchy and even creates delicious little clumps of Chex, nuts, and pretzels that are bound together in savory clusters. Meanwhile, sweet Chex mix, which features marshmallows, chocolates, or candy, is more likely to meld with the butter and clump into scrumptious nuggets.

A classic batch of at-home Chex mix is spread out on a sheet pan and baked in the oven at a low temperature for an hour to allow each element to crisp up and develop some texture without burning. However, there are a couple of other methods that work equally as well. For example, you can make it in a microwave by cooking it on high for 5-6 minutes if you're after a speedier option. That said, you will need to monitor and stir it every couple of minutes and spread it out onto paper towels so it can cool afterwards and remain crunchy. Prefer a slightly more hands-off approach? Consider making Chex mix in a slow cooker. All you need to do is pop all the ingredients in the base and cook on low for 3 hours (stirring every 45 minutes) before allowing to cool completely.

While butter and Worcestershire sauce give Chex mix its distinctive, moreish quality, you can add other seasonings too, such as garlic and onion powder or even mustard to elevate its flavor. In fact, in the same Bon Appétit interview, Myers mentioned that he and his wife have "eight kinds of mustard" in their fridge, adding, "We think it's the greatest condiment. We're weirdos." Might we recommend that he ask Mama Meyers to add a sprinkling of mustard powder to her next batch of homemade Chex mix to combine two of his favorite foods?