Just Had a Coronary Seeing Food Offerings from The State Fair of Texas
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Everyone loves fried food, I mean, I love them, and the Texas State Fair is an amazing example of where to get indulgent fried, greasy food, but this year, I think I just had a coronary seeing the finalists! From a throng of 51 entries, the top 10 can be called nothing short of 10 deadly sins. But hey, who am I to judge? When the State Fair opens this September 30, I’ll probably be there in front of the line and running to the nearest food stall!
Meet the Winners of the 2022 State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Award
Here are the winners, and boy, I think that my blood pressure just spiked a few dozen points from seeing the photos and reading the descriptions!
Winner for “Best Taste - Savory” - Fried Charcuterie Board
This dish by Tami Nevins-Mayes and Josey Mayes takes fancy schmancy charcuterie boards and adds a Big Tex spin to it. This dis contains chopped up fresh mozzarella, salami, crisp green apples, tosses them in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Italian herbs.
Photo from The State Fair of Texas
Sounds healthy right? Well, only if it ended there. Everything is then wrapped up in a wonton wrapper then fried to a golden crisp. And if that’s not enough, it’s then topped with creamy goat cheese and dizzled with hot honey.
Now if there’s a charcuterie board that goes well with beer, it’s definitely this one.
Winner for “Best Taste - Sweet” - Peanut Butter Paradise
This dish by Chris Easter and Nicole Sternes pretty much gave me diabetes while looking at it. But would that stop me from trying it out once? Probably not.
Photo from The State Fair of Texas
The Peanut Butter Paradise starts off with a deef fried honey bun. Once the bun is golden crispy, caramel is injected into the bun and then creamy peanut butter is slathered all over the top. And if you think that’s over the top, there’s more! Reese’s Pieces, Crushed Butterfinger Crumbles, Peanut butter cups, and caramel is then layered on top of the toast, all covered by a cloud of powdered sugar.
Winner for “Most Creative” - Cha-Cha Chata
If there’s a milkshake to end all milkshakes, it’s this milkshake by the Garza Family. As the name implies, this milkshake will make you do the Cha-Cha!
The milkshake is made from two kinds of milk, vanilla ice cream, and blended with the Garza family’s top-secret horchata recipe. I mean, that alone makes it a winner in my book! But they take it to the next level by pouring the drink into a cup rummed with caramel and cinnamon, topping it off with a Texas-sized serving of whipped cream. After that, the fun really starts with even more toppings of crushed candy, cinnamon galletas de gragega and deep fried arroz con leche bites (I mean, it wouldn’t be the State Fair without something fried on it).
And of course, it’s not a State Fair drink if you don’t throw in a churro straw right?
Meet the 2022 Finalists State Fair of Texas
These are the honorable mentions for this year’s State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice awards.
Chicharron Explosion Nachos
Pork rinds, seasoned with Cajun-style seasonings, what’s not to love? This is then topped with smoked beef fajita meat and slathered with freshly made queso.
Deep Fried BLT
It’s a deep-fried BLT, I mean, really, do I really need to explain why this is so good on so many levels? Oh, and the fresh cut garlic parmesan chips also complement the dish amazingly.
Deep Fried Lasagna Roll
Imagine the most indulgent lasagna, then deep fried. I mean, this is something that I might consider eating a lot of except for the threat of having third degree burns on my tongue because of the molten marinara sauce and cheese inside. On second thought, I think the risk is worth it!
Holy Biscuit
Think of a McMuffin, but only a million times better. Golden brown biscuit stuffed with slow smoked brisked, drenched in fire-roasted street corn queso, then topped off with thick cut bacon and Texas honey. Oh, it’s also topped off with crispy pickle French fries.
Deep Fried Rocky Road with Blue Bell Ice Cream
Rocky Road Kettle Fresh Fudge, Deep Fried, stacked and drizzled with chocolate syrup, condensed milk, cinnamon sugar glazed nuts, and mini marshmallows. All served with an ice cream cup of Blue Bell Ice Cream!
La Bluebonnet
Freshly squeezed citrus juices and blueberries are folded into a sugary base and then shaken well to achieve the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Perfect thing to refresh the pallete after all those deep fried treats!
The Ultimate Brookie Monster
What do you get when you cross a chocolate chip cookie with a triple chocolate brownie? A brookie! What makes it ultimate is that it’s then battered, deep fried, then showered with powdered sugar and served with vanilla ice cream! And we’re not done yet! It’s finished off with cheesecake crumbles and strawberry sauce! Yummmy!
So there you have it, the winners and the finalists of the State Fair of Texas. Which one are you excited to try first?
