Thirty-six semifinalists have moved up in the Big Tex Choice Awards food creations competition. The unique concoctions are vying for the titles of “Best Taste – Savory,” “Best Taste – Sweet,” and “Most Creative” at this year’s state fair.
June’s first round of judging narrowed down 51 entries from 36 concessions. Those who entered were required to have at least one year of State Fair of Texas concession experience.
Judges made their choices based on presentation, taste, uniqueness, creativity, and how well fairgoers might receive the entry. Blind judging is used to ensure fairness.
There are 19 savory entries and 17 sweet entries that have advanced. They now face a second round of judging that selects the top 10 entries to move on to battle for the top three titles at the Big Tex Choice Awards.
The semifinalists in the savory category include:
- The Bayou Bowl
- Cajun Lobster Bisque Croquettes
- Chicharron Explosion Nachos
- Crispy Dilly Dog
- Deep-Fried BLT
- Deep-Fried Brisket Cheese Sticks
- Deep-Fried Lasagna Roll
- Deep-Fried Texas Country Cookout
- Dim Sum Loco Burritos
- Fried Charcuterie Board
- Fried Soul Food Eggroll
- Holy Biscuit
- Shaking Beef Salad
- Southern Fried Chicken and Sweet Potato Waffle Sliders
- Texas Hot Bull Ride
- Texas Ranch Hot Wings
- Texas Slide
- Texas Twosome
- Turkey Leg Taquito
In the sweet category, the semifinalists are:
- Cha-Cha Chata
- Crunchberry Shortcake
- Deep-Fried Buc-ee’s
- Deep-Fried Honey
- Deep-Fried Praline Cheesecake Eggroll
- Deep-Fried Rocky Road with Blue Bell Ice Cream
- Deep-Fried Southern Dessert Dumplings
- Deep-Fried Strawberry Shortcake Crunch Roll
- Doh-Muff
- Fat Elvis
- Fried Texas Fruit Salad
- La Bluebonnet
- Peanut Butter Paradise
- Raspberry Chipotle Sopapilla Cheesecake
- Smoked Bacon Wrapped Cookie Dough Balls
- The Ultimate Brookie Monster
- Triple Lemon Bliss
Round two of the judging process will take place in the next few weeks.
At the Big Tex Choice Awards competition in 2021, deep-fried seafood gumbo balls won for Most Creative and Best Taste — Savory.
The Best Taste — Sweet was James Barrera’s “The Armadillo,” a cookie butter “semifreddo” — a type of ice cream named after the Italian word for semi-frozen. It is then drizzled with cookie butter and sandwiched between two deep-fried Armadillo-shaped cookies made with a branding iron and dusted with buttery sugar.
To taste this year’s Big Tex Choice winners, visit the State Fair of Texas starting Friday, September 30 through Sunday, October 23.