State Fair Fried Food Finalists

Check out the outrageous finalists in the 2016 State Fair fried food awards

The State Fair of Texas has revealed the eight finalists for its 2016 Big Tex Choice Awards, more commonly known as the fried food awards. High-five to fried Jell-O! You made it.

Fried Jell-O is probably the most outrageous among the finalists, but it has plenty of competition. The list also includes hot pockets, food on a stick, and something called injectable balls.

Each year, State Fair concessionaires devise boundary-busting foods for a chance to compete for the winning titles of Best Taste and Most Creative. This year’s winners will be announced with much hoopla on August 28.

These eight finalists were culled from a larger list, released in July, that included lots of things on sticks and loads of bacon: bacon-wrapped churros, bacon-wrapped pork belly on a stick, bacon-wrapped tater dog, bacon burger dogs on a stick, a "Bacontilla," and Dorito bacon fried cheese stick. Only the bacon burger dog slider on a stick emerged from the bacon field.

Pineapple was a popular ingredient, as well, with three entries: Caribbean pineapple "Korn-a-Copia," fried "Pinatacolupa," deep fried Hawaiian hoops, and an entry called "Pina-A lot-Ta." One pineapple made it through.

These are the eight finalists for the 2016 Big Tex Choice Awards:

Caribbean Pineapple Korn-a-Copia
Marinated grilled chicken and shrimp are served over a bed of yellow Caribbean fried rice and topped with a tropical salsa and pineapple rum glaze. Served in a pineapple half shell.

Deep Fried Bacon Burger Dog Slider on a Stick
A miniature ground beef patty is stuffed with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, and a hot dog on a Hawaiian roll, then placed on a skewer topped with a pickle, dipped in a tempura batter, and deep fried. Served on a bed of shoestring fries with ranch dipping sauce.

Deep Fried Pulled Pork Funyun Dings
A Funyun is stuffed with pulled pork, pepper Jack cheese, pineapple slices, and bacon, then dipped in a batter and deep fried. Served with sweet barbecue sauce.

Fernie’s Down Home Chicken Pot Pie Pocket with Mac ’n’Cheese Dip
Shredded chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn in a white sauce is ladled into pastry dough, then folded Hot Pocket-style, and fried. Served with a side of mac-and-cheese-inspired dip.

Fried Jell-O
Cherry Jell-O in a panko-crusted breading, flash-fried, and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with whipped cream and a cherry.

Injectable Great Balls of BBQ
Beef brisket and bock barbecue sauce is molded into balls, rolled in seasoned breadcrumbs and fried. Served on a bed of coleslaw, each order comes with its own pipette of bock barbecue sauce to be injected into the brisket balls.

Southern Fried Chicken & Dumplins
Shredded chicken is mixed with seasoning, dough, and gravy; rolled into balls; coated with breadcrumbs; and deep fried. Served with fried biscuit bites and a side of gravy.

State Fair Cookie Fries
Looks like a classic crinkle-cut fry but offered in traditional cookie flavors like chocolate chip or sprinkles. Served with choice of strawberry or milk chocolate sauce.

Fried chicken and dumplings.

Photo by Jason Hays

Fried chicken and dumplings.

awards state-fair

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.