The top ten finalists for the 2021 Big Tex Choice Award have officially been announced. Out of more than 40 entries for the annual competition set to begin next month, the list of contenders for the Texas State Fair has finally been revealed.
“Each year the judges of the Big Tex Choice Awards are faced with the challenging, yet highly sought-after, job of selecting the winning Fair foods – this year was no exception, and the lineup proved to be extraordinarily competitive this year,” representatives for the State Fair of Texas shared.
Here is a list of the top ten finalists:
Brisket Brittle (Ruth Hauntz): A sweet and savory, buttery brittle made with Texas brisket.
The Armadillo (James Barrera): A fried armadillo shaped cookie ice cream sandwich drizzled with cookie butter and dusted with sugar.
Pork Shots (Glen and Sherri Kusak at Hans Mueller): Spicy Texas sausage and creamy mac and cheese wrapped in hickory smoked bacon, deep-fried and sprinkled with a tangy BBQ sauce.
Fernie’s Fried Toffee Coffee Crunch Cake (Winter Family Concessions): An old-fashioned cake donut, English toffee, almonds, cookie crumbs and a creamy custard deep fried. Crunchy on the outside with a gooey center, the cake is topped with a mocha coffee whip cream.
Texas Pumpkin Poke Cake (Michelle Edwards): A pumpkin cake in the shape of Texas topped with vanilla glaze, caramel and topped with a fluffy whipped cream, sprinkled with a secret spice.
Lucky Duck Dumplin (Bert Concessions): Cream cheese and duck bacon dumplings deep fried with a side of sweet chili sauce, sprinkled with basil.
Crispy Crazy Corn (Ruth Hauntz): Sweet whole kernel corn individually deep-fried, topped with slow smoked pulled pork and pineapple slaw, and drizzled with jalapeño crema and cilantro.
Deep Fried Seafood Gumbo Balls (Gourmet Royale): A rich gumbo ball packed with Gulf Coast shrimp, blue crab meat, and andouille sausage rolled in bread crumbs and saltines for added crunch. It’s deep fried and served with a dark gumbo roux sauce and chicken fried okra spears.
Deep Fried Halloween (Isaac Rousso): A deep fried pretzel topped with orange icing, powered, topped with M&Ms, Twix, Oreos, Reese’s Pieces, candy corn, marshmallow whipped cream and peanut butter cups.
Deep Fried I-35 (Clint and Gretchen Probst): A tribute to a Texas road trip, this unique dessert includes kolache dough, peaches, brisket, and Dr. Pepper, deep-fried and drizzled with a BBQ glaze.
The State Fair of Texas is scheduled to run from September 24 – October 17. Three of the above lucky finalists will win awards in categories for Best Taste – Savory, Best Taste – Sweet, and Most Creative.
