The State Fair of Texas has revealed the finalists competing for this year’s Big Tex Choice Awards, and the lineup pushes the boundaries of what a corn dog or a cheesecake can become. Categories span savory, sweet and sipper, with entries ranging from a taco built on a tater tot shell to a chocolate-dipped corny dog. Winners take the stage Tuesday, and their picks set the flavor bar for what’s coming to concession stands this fall.
Every entry came from a concessionaire with at least two years of experience at the Fair, the baseline required just to enter. To make the cut, concessionaires submitted an original recipe complete with its own name and description, the kind of creativity and dedication that keeps Fair food ranked among Texas’ most beloved traditions. Then came blind judging, so no entry got an edge from a familiar vendor name, and every dish stood or fell on its own merits.
Record field narrows to final round
Blind judging narrowed a record 77 entries from 46 concessionaires down to just 15 finalists this year. A separate panel of 35 judges, including hometown celebrities, television personalities, food experts and well-known creators, will decide Tuesday’s winners based on taste, value, creativity and fairgoer appeal.
4 finalists push flavor boundaries further
One of two entries from Tom Grace in this year’s savory category, Flamin’ Crunch Pizza starts with a jalapeño cheddar queso base. Hand-tossed dough carries a blend of mozzarella and cheddar, and after baking, handfuls of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, a drizzle of jalapeño queso blanco, house-made buffalo buttermilk ranch dressing and a heavy dusting of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos powder finish it off. It faces stiff competition from four other savory finalists built around tater tot taco shells, brisket-wrapped jalapeños and loaded nacho wings.
Milk chocolate fudge gets the corny dog treatment in Beck Fletcher’s Fletcher’s Chocolate Corny Dog, one of the sweet category’s more inventive entries. The fudge takes a hand dip in Fletcher’s Original Corny Dog batter, fries until golden, then finishes with a drizzle of yellow vanilla icing and a side of raspberry compote.
Three desserts stack into one bowl in the Garza family’s Holy Flan! Buñueloco. A warm, crispy buñuelo shell holds homemade arroz con leche and a scoop of cinnamon Blue Bell ice cream, and a deep-fried flan wrapped in puff pastry tops it off, along with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle.
Toasted corn flakes turn into a rich, sippable dessert in Milton and Gracie Whitley’s Corn Flake Shappé, a sipper category finalist built around dulce de leche, Texas pecan and a mix of warm spices. Whipped cream, corn flake crunch, strawberry crumble and powdered sugar finish it off, and it competes alongside sipper entries built on espresso martinis, hard cider and loaded aguas frescas.
More new dishes debut at the Fair
Even dishes that didn’t make the final round get their moment at this year’s Fair. State Fair organizers named a slate of semifinalists whose recipes will still debut as new concession items this fall, including a deep-fried Thai tea tres leches cake, a brisket dish called Twinkle Twinkle Brisket Star and a Dirty Dr Pepper Do Si Do float.
Winners get crowned Tuesday at 2 p.m. From there, the countdown turns to the Fair itself, which opens Sept. 25 and runs through Oct. 18, when the real verdict comes from the people actually eating.
Jennifer Allen is a retired professional chef and long-time writer. Her work appears in dozens of publications, including MSN, Yahoo, The Washington Post and The Seattle Times. These days, she’s busy in the kitchen developing recipes and traveling the world, and you can find all her best creations at Cook What You Love.
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