The Deep-Fried Fair Food That Won Texas This Year

The State Fair of Texas closes its gates today in Dallas, ending a run that opened in late September. Before the last day arrived, the fair had already crowned the winners of its deep-fried fair food showdown, the twenty-second Big Tex Choice Awards. Seventy-seven entries from forty-six concessionaires competed for a quartet of titles, with fifteen finalists putting their dishes in front of a panel of celebrity judges, according to the fair's official winners announcement.

The savory title in the deep-fried fair food contest went to the Burger Chop Tater Tacos from Tom Grace. Cheddar cheese tater tots are mashed together and fried into a taco shell, then filled with a chopped fresh burger patty, sauteed onions and jalapenos, and topped with buffalo buttermilk ranch coleslaw and garlic parmesan buffalo sauce. Fairgoers paid sixteen dollars for it, CultureMap Dallas reported.

The sweet crown in the deep-fried fair food judging went to Fletcher's Chocolate Corny Dog by Beck Fletcher, a dessert built on the fair's most famous food. Milk chocolate fudge gets hand dipped in Fletcher's Original Corny Dog batter and fried until golden, then finished with a drizzle of yellow vanilla icing meant to look like mustard and a side of raspberry compote standing in for ketchup. At seven dollars, it was the bargain of the winners' circle.

The sipper award went to the Tropical Coco Fresca from Fruteria Cano, a pineapple and watermelon agua fresca with a chamoy and Tajin rim and a scoop of coconut snow that melts into the drink. Most Creative went to Berry Me in Matcha by Stephen El Gidi, a New York style cheesecake dipped in Belgian white chocolate, rolled in crushed matcha cookies, and finished with white chocolate, strawberry jam and a fresh strawberry slice.

Months of testing behind the fryer

The dishes that reach the judges of the deep-fried fair food showdown represent months of quiet work. Melanie Linnear, senior vice president of concessions for the State Fair of Texas, told Fox Business that doing well in the contest demands preparation well in advance rather than a rushed effort at the last minute. Josie Nevins Mays worked through batch after batch for most of the summer to land the Nevins Soft Serve Peach Bellini Float, a boozy peach soft serve topped with sparkling wine. Her hardest problem was getting the alcohol-infused blend to freeze while keeping the creamy texture she wanted. It was her fifth finals appearance in six years, and she said the contest can be "transformative for concessionaires" even without a trophy because of the publicity it generates.

Dwaina Morris started experimenting during last year's fair on what became the Sunset Soft Serve Rita, a strawberry and mango margarita layered with vanilla soft serve and finished with Tajin, chamoy and a hot honey Tajin topping. It took about ten attempts to get the balance right. Morris said making the finals "can pay off before a winner is named," since finalists are featured in fair materials that pull customers straight to their stands.

Longtime concessionaire Isaac Rousso brought the Rousso's Bacon Jam Caramel Apple Hard Cider, a hard cider built on apple, caramel, cinnamon sugar and smoky bacon jam flavors. It was his tenth trip to the finals, and he already had four wins to his name, including past creations like a smoky bacon margarita, a deep-fried Cuban roll and cotton candy bacon on a stick. He described the contest as a chance to build his brand with the public.

The business behind the deep-fried fair food

Behind the playful dishes sit hard business calculations. Linnear told Fox Business that speed is money on the midway: the longer a vendor takes to serve, the more money is "left on the table." Food costs sit thirty to forty percent higher than before the pandemic, so organizers now urge competitors to weigh affordability when they dream up entries. Many vendors start planning the next contest before the current fair has even ended.

Why this food travels so far

Deep-fried fair food might be the original viral food format. Long before TikTok food hacks, the fair was already producing fried beer and fried pho, dishes built to be talked about as much as eaten. The same appetite now drives the newstalgia wave remixing childhood classics and stunts like the Cookie McDouble. A chocolate corny dog dressed up like the real thing fits that lineage perfectly.

The Big Tex Choice Awards have run for more than two decades, presented this year by Karbach Brewing Company, and judges scored the finalists on taste, value for the price, presentation and creativity, CultureMap Dallas reported. With the fair wrapping up today at Fair Park, the vendors are already scheming. Next year's deep-fried fair food experiments are probably underway.

Sources: the State Fair of Texas winners announcement, CultureMap Dallas, and reporting on the vendors' months of testing.