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Photo from bigtex.com
ROCKWALL, TX – August 11, 2021 – The final countdown to three of the most coveted food titles in Texas begins. The State Fair of Texas is proud to present the 17th annual Big Tex® Choice Awards.
On Sunday, August 29th, three winners will be chosen in the categories: “Best taste – hearty”, “Best taste – sweet”, and “Most creative.” The competition started at the beginning of July with an impressive 43 submissions, represented by 26 concessionaires. From these entries 32 were selected as semi-finalists. Each entry was rated according to four fair food elements: uniqueness, creativity, presentation and taste. After a few delicious tests and delicious dishes, the vote was taken and the results are finally here! Now the top ten finalists have to present themselves to a renowned jury in order to secure one of the first places. If your favorite contribution did not get the finishing touches, do not worry, concessionaires can still present their creation as new food at their stand during this year’s fair.
The State Fair of Texas is proud to announce immediately the 10 finalists who will compete for the titles “Best Taste – Savory”, “Best Taste – Sweet” and “Most Creative” in the Big Tex Choice Awards 2021 competition.
Savory
Crispy crazy corn, Ruth Hauntz
Sweet whole grain corn is individually whipped, deep-fried and seasoned with our secret seasoning. Those crunchy little gold nuggets are a great snack on their own, but the heat gets a little hotter when we slowly add smoked pulled pork topped with a tangy pineapple coleslaw, kissed with a dash of freshly made jalapeño crema and a generous pinch of fresh coriander . It’s a crispy, sweet, savory, flavorful flavor party that is insanely good.
Fried I-35, Clint and Gretchen Probst
Our Deep Fried I-35 is a deep fried Texas road trip on a plate! We start in Parker County, Texas, famous for its peaches. Next, we’ll head down I-35 to West, Texas, where we’ll stop and pick up a dozen of our favorite colaches. We can never decide which type of Kolache we like more – sweet or savory – always such a dilemma. The only solution? Sweet AND hearty. Next we’re headed south to Waco, Texas … famous for, you guessed it, Dr Pepper®. After a couple of hours of driving and a couple of hours of snacks on I-35, we finally arrive in Austin, Texas, home to some of the best smoked briskets in the world. We combine these ingredients into a sweet and savory, decadent homage to the Texas road trip … the Deep Fried I-35! First we fry our kolache dough and leave a hollow in the middle for our filling. We top our fried kolache with smoked beef brisket. Our peach juice combines with the Dr Pepper® to form a sweet and spicy BBQ glaze, which we drizzle over our brisket kolache. We garnish this street-worthy brew with peach slices and a pinch of powdered sugar. Voila, all of you!
Deep fried seafood gumbo balls, Gourmet royal
Based on a family recipe that has been handed down for four generations, the base is a dark, rich and hearty roux that represents the true essence of New Orleans. The balls are then loaded with Gulf Coast shrimp, braised chicken, blue crab meat, and andouille sausage. The balls are then rolled in our salt crackers and breadcrumbs and then deep fried, creating a taste explosion. The balls are served with a side dish of dark gumbo roux sauce for your dip pleasure and topped with fried chicken okra pods. The dish is served with a small bottle of hot sauce and a packet of salt crackers.
Lucky duck dumplin ‘, Bert concessions
A delicious pastry filled with a delicious combination of rich, fluffy cream cheese, mixed with juicy duck bacon and delicately roasted sweet corn, with a pinch of herbs and spices. These delicately filled dumplings are placed in the deep fryer until golden brown and fried until crispy! Both crispy on the outside and satisfactorily creamy on the inside, with a pleasant balance of salty and sweet that is sure to tickle the taste buds. Three Lucky Duck Dumplin’s are served with a sweet and gently spicy Thai chilli glaze for dipping, refined with a pinch of fresh basil and embedded in a small hand tray, which makes it the perfect indulgence snack while you enjoy the State Fair of Texas!
Pork shots, Glen and Sherri Kusak at Hans Mueller
This new fair favorite starts with the best smoked sausage from Texas as the basis of this shot. We wrap the sausage in delicious hickory smoked bacon that forms a tiny bowl, and this hearty taste bud teaser is filled with everyone’s favorite – creamy mac and cheese. We’re sprinkling a secret sweet, flavorful BBQ rub on the outside to complete this perfect fair food-to-share product. Talk about a party in your mouth!
CUTE
The armadillo, James Barrera
They’ll all want to go home with the Armadillo Cookie Butter Ice Cream Sandwich! It’s a biscuit butter semifreddo made from scratch – an Italian version of ice cream that means semi-frozen. The delicacy is sprinkled with biscuit butter and placed between two deep-fried armadillo-shaped biscuits made with a branding iron. Finally, it is dusted with butter sugar. Absolutely a velvety cream treat!
Brisket brittle, Ruth Hauntz
This confectionery treat has the rich, buttery, crispy, sweet delicacy of an old-fashioned peanut brittle. However, we’ve replaced the peanuts with the smoky goodness of Texas Brisket. This addicting sweet yet savory treat ends with a satisfying touch of heat.
Fried Halloween, Isaac Rousso
Our trick-or-treat experience begins with a delicious large pretzel that is placed in the deep fryer. When it turns golden brown, we quickly bathe it in corn syrup, followed by some rainbow sprinkles and powdered sugar. Now the fun begins – splashing in orange and white buttercream, then stacking some of our favorite Halloween candies, like M & M’s®, Reese’s® Pieces, Mini-Twix®, OREO® Cookie Crumbles and Candy Corn, to name a few. Topped off with a delicious marshmallow whipped cream and a Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cup to top it off, we’re adding the finishing touches to this beautiful desert with Hershey’s chocolate syrup caramel sauce and sweetcorn drizzle.
Fernie’s Fried Toffee Coffee Crunch Cake, Winter family discounts
This cleverly paired, proven duo is a harmonious pleasure for your taste buds! We’ll start with lightly glazed old-fashioned cake donuts and break them into pieces to highlight their firm, slightly crispy exterior and soft cake-like interior. Next, we add a generous scoop of buttery pastries flavored with rich English toffee and crunchy almonds, and the mixture is mixed in with a velvety custard. The cracked, fissured surface of the donut absorbs the creamy pudding and creates a bread pudding-like consistency that is placed in a ring shape. The cakes are dipped in an egg product and covered in panko and vanilla cookie crumbs, then quickly fried until golden brown with a crispy outside and a sticky buttercake center! Alternatively, you can get small bites from small rivers or crispy toffee nuggets. It is dusted with light powdered sugar on a plate and sprinkled with further pieces of toffee and a dollop of trendy, frothy mocha whipped cream. For non-coffee drinkers, there is regular whipped cream (but we recommend trying the mocha cream – everyone knows donuts go well with coffee!). It is topped off with a miniature chocolate-coated toffee bar to spice it up!
Texas Pumpkin Poke Cake, Michelle Edwards
Your fall favorite with Texas flair! A decadent Texas-shaped pumpkin pie with a finger-licking, sticky vanilla icing, silky caramel, topped with fluffy whipped cream, and lightly sprinkled with secret spices.
This year’s Big Tex Choice Awards event is closed to the public. Like many companies around the world, our vendors went through financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this small change will help them focus on having a successful country show in 2021. You can stay up to date on the Big Tex Choice Awards 2021 by following the action live on our social media channels – @StateFairofTX.
The 2021 State Fair of Texas opens Friday, September 24th and runs through Sunday, October 17, 2021. Visit BigTex.com/Tickets to purchase season and premium tickets today.
Submitted press release and photo by bigtex.com.
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