The Texas State Fair starts this weekend and that means one thing: fried food. Forget your diet, because this is the time of year to indulge on some crazy eats.
On July 22, the Texas State Fair held a competition of 55 entries is judged by a panel that requires "blind judging". These are the final eight that were chosen as the finalists:
1. State Fair Cookie Fries
Winner of this year's most creative award, the State Fair Cookie Fries are created by Isaac Rousso, who is known for creating award-winning dishes such as the fried Cuban roll and smoky bacon margarita. These cookie fries are just what they sound like, cookies shaped like crinkle-cut fries and deep fried. They are available in chocolate chip or sprinkles, served with strawberry or chocolate sauce.
2. Southern Fried Chicken & Dumplins
This treat includes shredded chicken rolled into balls and deep fried with a side of gravy and biscuit bites. And also don't forget that the chicken is coated with bread crumbs. The Southern Fried Chicken and Dumplins takes your local diner's version to a whole new level.
3. Injectable Great Balls of BBQ
Just from the name, this is irresistible. Shredded brisket rolled into balls, fried and served on top of coleslaw. In case you want more barbecue sauce, a syringe allows you to add your desired amount.
4. Fried Jell-O
The winner of best taste, the Fried Jell-O was created by Ruth Hauntz. "I never though a 10-cent bag of Jell-O would put me in the spotlight" 82 year old Hauntz is the second-oldest concessionaire at the State Fair of Texas. She's been operating Ruth's Tamale House since 1987 and this is her first time winning a Big Tex Choice Award. Her fried cherry Jell-O balls are covered in powdered sugar with whipped cream and a cherry on the side.
5. Fernie's Down Home Chicken Pot Pie Pocket
This pot pie is like the hot pocket of your dreams. A deep fried chicken pot pie served with cheddar sauce mac and cheese dip. This is truly what dreams are made of.
6. Deep Fried Pulled Pork "Funyun" Dings
Take a bag of funyuns and stuff them with pork, pepper jack cheese, pineapple and bacon. Batter and deep fry it and you get an out of this world treat. Don't forget to dip them in barbecue sauce for an extra dose of flavor.
7. Caribbean Pineapple Korn-a-copia
Entries in the Big Tex Choice Awards are almost always fried, but this finalist is surprisingly not. A scooped out pineapple overflowing with marinated grilled chicken, Caribbean fried rice (at least the rice is fried), shrimp, tropical salsa and pineapple rum glaze sounds too good to be true.
8. Deep Fried Bacon Burger Dog Slider-on-a-Stick
Personally, this is my favorite just because the name is so intriguing. This is everything one person could want to eat in one food. A miniature beef patty with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon and a hot dog in a Hawaiian roll. Shoved in the middle is a skewer, topped with a pickle. Then the whole slider is dipped in tempura batter and fried. It's all served on a bed of shoestring fries with ranch dipping sauce. Now that's what I call state fair magic.
