State Fair announces 10 fried-food finalists, finally

Dallas’ biggest, greasiest, weirdest food contest is back after a year off.

On Wednesday, August 11th, State Fair of Texas officials announced the 10 finalists for the Big Tex Choice Awards – a list of the judges’ favorite dishes, each of which will be available for sale at the show for the three-week period from September 24th to sale will be 17th Oct.

These foods often become the top-selling dishes at the State Fair each year. And trade fair visitors come from all over the world to try them.

“Visitors to the fair love the classics like the good old Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs, smoked turkey legs or iconic funnel cakes – but many live to try the new foods every year,” says Karissa Condoianis, spokeswoman for the State Fair.

The 2021 Big Tex Choice Awards finalists are:

5 savory items:

The Lucky Duck Dumplin ‘by Bert Concessions is a pastry filled with cream cheese, duck bacon and corn. It is topped with Thai chili glaze. (Dick Patrick)

• Crispy Crazy Corn: Whole grain corn wrapped in a batter, deep-fried and seasoned, then garnished with pork and pineapple salad
• Deep Fried I-35: fried Kolache batter with smoked beef brisket and drizzled with peach juice combined with Dr Pepper
• Deep fried seafood gumbo balls: fried canapes with shrimp, crab and sausage, then rolled in salt crackers and breadcrumbs and topped with chicken fried okra spears
• Lucky Duck Dumplin ‘: a pastry filled with cream cheese mixed with duck bacon and roasted sweet corn
• Pork shots: Texas smoked sausage wrapped in bacon and filled with mac and cheese

5 sweet things:

Brisket brittle is a finalist for the Big Tex Choice Awards in 2021. It is made by concessionaire Ruth Hauntz who has competed multiple times alongside brothers Juan and Brent Reaves of Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que in Dallas. Hauntz was the winner of the 2016 competition for Fried Jell-O and 2019 for Ruth’s Stuffed Fried Taco Cone.(Dick Patrick)

• The armadillo: biscuit butter and ice cream sandwich in the shape of an armadillo
• Brisket brittle: a traditional brittle that replaces peanuts with Texas brisket
• Fried Halloween: a large pretzel coated in corn syrup, topped with sprinkles, filled with orange and white icing, and topped with more candy
• Fernie’s fried toffee coffee crunch cake: cake donuts dipped in panko and vanilla biscuit crumbs, then deep-fried
• Texas Pumpkin Poke Cake: Texas-shaped pumpkin pie with vanilla icing and caramel

The finalists’ declaration felt particularly spirited, despite the 6:10 a.m. early announcement time, as the 2020 Big Tex Choice Awards were canceled, as was the State Fair of Texas. The concessionaires, who compete annually, had two years to prepare their recipes, and many took that time seriously.

Over the years, the State Fair has become famous for its food. Fried butter won awards (and expanded waists) in 2009. Then came fried gum in 2011. Fried Thanksgiving Dinner in 2013. Fried Jell-O in 2016. By 2019, the entries included Fried Fettuccine Alfredo, Fried Chicken on a Big Red-Enriched Donut, and a deep-fried fruit dessert with a fun name, the Fla’Mango Tango. Gosh, what haven’t they fried?

Now that the finalists have been announced, the winners will be chosen on August 29 in an event that is closed to the public. Previously, the State Fair held a taste test and awards ceremony, which was open to people willing to spend $ 100 to $ 125 per person on a ticket, with the money going towards scholarships. This event will be closed to the public in 2021 for COVID-19 safety reasons, says State Fair spokeswoman Karissa Condoianis.

Visit dallasnews.com/food on August 29th to read our story about the winners.

The State Fair of Texas takes place from September 24th to October 17th at Fair Park in Dallas. All foods that are finalists in the Big Tex Choice Awards are sold at the State Fair.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter @sblaskovich.

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