On Wednesday, the State Fair of Texas announced the finalists for the 20th Annual Big Tex Choice Awards after food judges spent weeks whittling the record-setting 65 entries down to just 10 contenders. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it.
The world-renowned food competition began in 2005 as a way to encourage fair concessionaires to develop new and unique bites to serve fairgoers. Many of the more than 2 million attendees at the annual event will readily admit that the food is their favorite part of the Texas State Fair.
The concessionaires have really stepped up to the challenge over the years, coming up with culinary works of art such as Deep Fried Pho, Bourbon Banana Caramel Sopapillas, Chicarron Explosion Nachos, Deep Fried Rocky Road with Blue Bell Ice Cream, Deep Fried I-35, The Armadillo, Brisket Brittle, Deep Fried Halloween, Fried Sweet Texas, Deep Fried Butter on a Stick, and many more. As one can readily see, pretty much anything that can be fried will be fried by a concessionaire at the fair.
This year’s competition entries were submitted by 40 contestants, some of whom have been entering innovative dishes in the contest for many years. In June, the judges taste-tested all the entries and narrowed the selections to 24 semifinalists. The dishes were evaluated on four elements: uniqueness, creativity, presentation, and taste.
During round two of the competition, the 24 semifinalist entries were pared down to just 10 finalists, with five in the savory category and five in the sweet category.
Without further ado, here are the judges’ top picks in the savory category, in no particular order:
The Dominican Fritura Dog, by Justin Martinez, features salty and sweet flavors from the Dominican Republic, including fritura cheese and salami, which is battered and double deep-fried, then split open and topped with garlic plantain chips, a top-secret sauce, and cilantro.
The Drowning Taquitos, created by Tony and Terry Bednar, starts with three fresh corn tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken, which are then “deep fried to perfection.” The taquitos are served in a cup filled with a tangy cream sauce, jalapenos, guacamole salsa, lettuce, avocado, tomatillo, pico, and Cotija cheese.
Hippie Chips, by Rose and Tom Deschenes, is a wavy potato chip version of nachos. The chips are gussied up with either homemade ranch dressing or bleu cheese dressing and topped with bacon bits, fresh green onions, and a dash of Sriracha sauce for good measure.
Palmer and Amanda Fortune are bringing a little bit of Tennessee to Texas with their mouth-watering creation, Hot Chick-In-Pancake Poppers. The dish is a combination of Nashville hot chicken and pimento cheese formed into a ball, which is dunked in pancake batter and fried to a golden brown. It is topped with a sprinkling of Nashville hot powdered sugar and a drizzle of Sriracha honey sauce.
Texas Fried Burnt End Bombs combine a Texas favorite — beef brisket — with shredded potatoes, bacon, and cheese. The balls are deep-fried and topped with a raspberry chipotle barbeque glaze for a sweet finish. This entry was the brainchild of Nick and Vera Bert.
The five top picks in the sweet category, in no particular order, are:
Nevins Nutty Bar-laska starts with the classic nutty bar ice cream treat on a stick, but creators Tami Nevins Mayes and Josey Mayes elevate it to the Tex-level by topping it with toasted marshmallow, Oreo cookies, strawberry sauce, and freeze-dried strawberry pieces.
Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick by Isaac Rousso is just what it sounds like: a thick, 12-inch slab of cooked bacon on a stick coated in cotton candy. After spinning the strands of candy onto the bacon, a torch is used to caramelize the candy into a sweet glaze. For those indecisive folks who don’t know whether they want something sweet or something savory, this option might be a pretty good bet.
Justin Martinez, already in the running with his savory dish entry, is also competing in the sweet category with his creation Strawberry Pop-Tarts Beignettfle. This mashup of a New Orleans-inspired beignet and a crispy waffle is topped with homemade strawberry filling, vanilla icing, whipped cream, and sprinkles, evoking nostalgia for the Pop-Tarts of childhood.
Texas Sugar Rush Pickles, a “crazy concoction” by Heather Perkins, is a dish unlikely to be found anywhere else in the universe. Cotton-candy-flavored pickle slices (who even knew that was a thing?) are coated in three kid-fave cereals — Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, and Cap’n Crunch — and then layered with cotton candy, cotton candy sugar crystals, and powdered sugar, and topped with strawberry syrup. And, of course, it is served alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Kids, tell your mom this is a vegetable, and see if she will buy it.
Finally, to wash it all down, how about a big swig of Binh Tran’s Tropical Two-Step Punch? This beverage promises thirsty fairgoers a “taste of paradise” with citrus, passionfruit, and mango fruits combined to create a cooler that is “fresh, tangy, sweet, sour, and spicy” all at once. It is available in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions.
The Big Tex Choice Awards 2024 contestants will vie for one of three titles at the final showdown on Thursday, August 22: “Best Taste – Savory,” “Best Taste – Sweet,” and “Most Creative.” Although the event is closed to the public, it will be shown on social media channels (@StateFairofTX) on all platforms.
The 2024 State Fair of Texas opens Friday, September 27, and runs through Sunday, October 20.