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41 new things to eat and drink at the State Fair of Texas in 2022

Pickles 3 ways: You can get them fried, stuck on pizza, or stuffed with fruit snacks. Yes, really.

The State Fair of Texas is a deep-fried Texas tradition that’s been running for well over 100 years, but lately, the food continually surprises us.

The 10 Big Tex Choice Awards finalists tend to be the buzziest — and strangest — new items to eat each year at the fair. But dozens of other vendors are cooking up new creations that might also catch your eye on a visit to Fair Park in 2022.

We hope you’ll use the list below as a menu; it’s 41 of the new food and drink items at this year’s State Fair. Circle the ones you might be willing to shell out some coupons for. I’ve placed an asterisk next to the items that top my list to try.

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The State Fair of Texas’ new food and drinks in 2022 are listed in alphabetical order by name. All items can be found on the State Fair’s food maps.

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Bayou Bowl: This macaroni and cheese dish comes with shrimp and lump crab coated in garlic-scampi butter. It’s topped with Cajun cream, andouille sausage and French bread.

*Cajun Lobster Bisque Croquettes: Consider these like lobster-filled tater tots with brie cheese inside, served with lobster soup for dipping. We’re channeling memories here from the excellent deep-fried gumbo balls, a 2021 Big Tex Choice Award from a different concessionaire. This lobster bisque croquette comes from Clint and Gretchen Probst, longtime concessionaires who were featured on the TV show Deep Fried Dynasty.

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*Cha-Cha Chata: This horchata milkshake is topped with fried morsels of arroz con leche. The churro straw makes for a drink that’s as fun to sip as it is to photograph. Cha-Cha Chata is a Big Tex Choice Award winner for “most creative” in 2022.

The Chamoy! Pickle at the State Fair of Texas in 2022 is wrapped and stuffed with fruit...
The Chamoy! Pickle at the State Fair of Texas in 2022 is wrapped and stuffed with fruit snacks and fruit roll-ups. (Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas)

*Chamoy! Pickle: We were not ready for this one. A whole dill pickle gets wrapped in a fruit roll-up, stuffed with Fruit Gushers, doused with chamoy sauce and sprinkled with Tajin. Whoa.

Cherry Dipped Waffle Cone: Classic soft-serve ice cream is swirled into a waffle cone, then dipped into a cherry topping.

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Chicharron Explosion Nachos: Pork rinds are doused in Cajun seasoning and topped with queso and chopped beef. Chicharron Explosion Nachos are a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist in 2022.

Chismosa: It’s a frozen mimosa with chamoy, clever. The name means “nosy person” in Spanish. This drink comes from the Garza family, who won “most creative” for the horchata milkshake.

Cookies and Cream Mini Donuts on a Stick: These are exactly what they sound like.

*Crispy Dilly Dog: Remember the Dilly Dog from Texas Rangers games? The State Fair’s dog — made by Rudy and Justin Martinez — is a whole dill pickle, cored and filled with a beef hot dog. It’s fried and served like a corn dog, then drizzled with chipotle mayo. In a world where Fletcher’s often rules the battered ‘n’ fried game, we’re willing to try this new twist.

The Crispy Dilly Dog is a deep-fried whole pickle with a beef hot dog stuck through the...
The Crispy Dilly Dog is a deep-fried whole pickle with a beef hot dog stuck through the center. It's one of the new concessions items at the State Fair of Texas in 2022. (Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas)
Brad Batson of Karbach Brewing Co. tastes the deep-fried BLT at the Big Tex Choice Awards in...
Brad Batson of Karbach Brewing Co. tastes the deep-fried BLT at the Big Tex Choice Awards in 2022. Fun fact: Eight of the 41 new food and drink start with the phrase "deep fried."(Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer)

Deep Fried BLT: Bacon and cheese get folded into a tortilla, then tossed in the deep fryer. The sandwich is cut in half and layered with cold lettuce, tomato and mayo. Garlic Parmesan chips come on the side. Deep Fried BLT is a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist in 2022.

*Deep Fried Country Cookout: It’s an intriguing name — a bit like last year’s confounding Deep Fried I-35. This country cookout is made of pork, goat cheese and “special sauce” formed into a patty, coated in breadcrumbs and fried. It’s served with coleslaw, potato salad and jalapeño barbecue sauce. Sounds like a picnic. Concessionaire Butch Benavides is a three-time Big Tex Choice Awards finalist and a one-time winner, for his fried bacon cinnamon roll in 2012.

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Deep Fried Honey: Perhaps a nod to deep-fried Coke and deep-fried butter, this new fried food preys upon the novelty of frying a liquidy ingredient. Each fried pouch comes with powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar and raw Texas honey. It was created by Jack Pyland, whose business Jack’s Fries is celebrating 75 years at the State Fair of Texas this year.

Deep Fried Lasagna: Each fried lasagna piece is topped with marinara, mozzarella and basil, then served with zucchini fries. It comes from Greg Parish and his family, who created deep-fried gumbo balls in 2021 our favorite bite among last year’s finalists. Deep Fried Lasagna is a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist in 2022.

Deep Fried Praline Cheesecake Eggroll: Just like it sounds, this is a serving of praline cheesecake, rolled into an egg roll wrapper and fried.

Deep Fried Rocky Road: Rocky Road fudge is coated in sweet batter, then fried and topped with chocolate syrup, sweetened condensed milk, mini marshmallows and chopped cinnamon-glazed nuts. It comes with a scoop of Blue Bell ice cream. Deep Fried Rocky Road is a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist in 2022.

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Deep Fried Southern Dessert Dumplings: Slices of sweet potato and pecan pie are placed inside wonton wrappers with dark chocolate. Each gets deep-fried, then dusted with powdered sugar and — we didn’t see this coming — served with a side of rum-raspberry chipotle sauce for dipping. These are the creation of Ruth Hauntz and brothers Juan and Brent Reaves, a trio that has been winning food awards at the fair for years.

Deep Fried Strawberry Shortcake Crunch Roll: Pink waffle batter (given its color from strawberry purée) is fried, then topped with cream cheese icing and a mix of strawberry Jell-O, vanilla Oreos and butter. Finally, someone listed butter as a key ingredient!

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Dim Sum Loco Burritos: A fried burrito is stuffed with shredded pork, diced potatoes, onions, bell peppers and pepper jack cheese. On the side are fried shishito peppers and a cup of salty broth for dipping. This dish comes from the daughters of the late Wanda “Fernie” Winter, the fair’s “funnel cake queen” who is beloved for other items like Fernie’s Deep Fried Peaches and Cream.

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Dirty sodas: Following the trend of turning nonalcoholic sodas into jazzed-up mocktails, the State Fair will serve its own twist at Stiffler’s Mom’s Cookie Factory. Here’s one example: The Midway is soda mixed with pineapple and coconut cream.

Move over, cruffin. The State Fair of Texas in 2022 is debuting a doh-muff — a...
Move over, cruffin. The State Fair of Texas in 2022 is debuting a doh-muff — a doughnut-muffin mix — from Abel Gonzales, who has been given the nickname "Fried Jesus." (Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas)

*Doh-Muff: Concessionaire Abel Gonzales, the man who created Fried Butter and who some have called “Fried Jesus,” did not have a finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards this year, but he’s still making new food at the fair. The Doh-Muff is a doughnut and muffin — a little bit like the State Fair’s version of a cruffin (the buzzy combo of a croissant and a muffin, which has been copied by bakers all over the world). Gonzales’ Doh-Muff is a yeast doughnut coated in banana nut muffin batter and fried, then stuffed with Bavarian cream.

*Fat Elvis: From the 2022 finalist who made the brisket biscuit comes an entire menu of biscuit sandwiches. The Fat Elvis is a peanut butter and strawberry jelly biscuit topped with marshmallow fluff, bacon and caramelized fried plantains. Here, concessionaire Isaac Rousso is playing with sweet and savory flavors.

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Fernie’s Funnel Cake Chicken Sandwich: This is straight-up State Fair food. Two funnel cakes serve as buns around a piece of fried chicken. Customers can choose to add honey or syrup.

*Fried Charcuterie Board: It’s all the meats and cheeses on a charcuterie board — even green apples — tossed in oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs, then wrapped in a wonton and fried. It comes with goat cheese and a drizzle of hot honey on top. Fried Charcuterie Board is a Big Tex Choice Award winner for “best taste - savory” in 2022.

*Fried Soul Food Eggroll: Concessionaire Tino Sosa, who has served at the State Fair since 1980, is selling a serious egg roll that we’ve gotta try: barbecued chicken, collards and mac and cheese, rolled up and fried.

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Fried Spicy Beef Empanada: Restaurateur Jesus Carmona — whose taco shop was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives on Food Network years ago — has a new stand at the State Fair. Among his new items are spicy beef empanadas.

Hand-dipped New York Cheesecake: This slice of cheesecake on a stick is drizzled in Belgian chocolate and rolled in your choice of sweet treats: hazelnuts, Oreos, red velvet cake and more. This stand, located in the Tower Building, also serves pumpkin spice cheesecake, just in time for fall.

Holy Biscuit: Ten-time Big Tex Choice Awards candidate Rousso created this brisket biscuit. It’s a hefty sandwich layered with smoked brisket and street-corn queso, then topped with bacon and Texas honey. Somewhere in there are pickle French fries for crunch and salt. We expect this one to be a talker. Holy Biscuit is a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist in 2022.

*Hot Honey Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie Waffle: Chicken and waffles get a step up here, since each waffle comes stuffed with sweet potato pie. The pieces are eaten like a sandwich: waffles on the outside, fried chicken and sweet potato filling on the inside, bacon on top — cuz who’s counting calories at this point? It comes from Pearlie’s Southern Kitchen.

La Bluebonnet is one of two finalists at the Big Tex Choice Awards at the State Fair of...
La Bluebonnet is one of two finalists at the Big Tex Choice Awards at the State Fair of Texas in 2022 that's a drink instead of food.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)

La Bluebonnet: Concessionaires Milton and Grace Whitley came up with the recipe along with their kids Jaedyn, 18, and Jordyn, 22. This drink is made with citrus juice, blueberries and sugar, poured over ice. It’s intended to be the color of a bluebonnet. La Bluebonnet is a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist in 2022.

Loaded Queso Fries: Simple but sure to be popular, this dish is a mound of French fries, queso blanco, bacon, sour cream, pico and jalapeños.

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*Motherclucker Chicken Sandwich: A salacious name, isn’t it? Palmer’s Hot Chicken, the East Dallas restaurant serving Nashville-style hot chicken, is serving food at the State Fair for the first time. It’s a piece of fried Nashville hot chicken on a bun, with pimento cheese and pickles.

Peanut Butter Paradise: A deep-fried honey bun is injected with caramel and topped with peanut butter. Next comes candy: Reese’s Pieces, Butterfinger crumbles, peanut butter cups, then caramel and powdered sugar. Peanut Butter Paradise is a Big Tex Choice Award winner for “best taste - sweet” in 2022.

Pickle pizza is yet a third way that pickles are used in the new concessions items at the...
Pickle pizza is yet a third way that pickles are used in the new concessions items at the State Fair of Texas in 2022. (Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas)

Pickle Pizza: You’re gettin’ it: cheese and pickles on pizza crust.

Pork Belly Burnt Ends Pizza: New State Fair concessionaire Stephan Nedwetzky is selling “Texapolitan” pizzas this year: Neapolitan-style pies with Southern flair. Each pizza is cooked in a nearly 1,000-degree Fahrenheit oven and is ready in under two minutes — which means you might not wait long for dinner.

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Pupusas: This Salvadoran corn pancake is stuffed with pork and cheese or spinach and cheese.

*Raspberry Chipotle Sopapilla Cheesecake: Sopapilla cheesecake is one of those “if you know, you know” desserts. At the fair, concessionaire Rosemary Deschenes takes the cinnamon-sugar-cream-cheese pastry and adds raspberries, chipotle and pecans.

Shaking Beef Salad: Shaking beef is cut into cubes and mixed with cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and soy sauce. Hey, this one isn’t fried!

Texas Hot Bull Ride: The dish is simpler than the name. Fried shrimp are tossed in a spicy and sweet sauce, served with a side of ranch.

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Texas Ranch Hog Wings: Pieces of pork come seasoned with spicy ranch salt and drizzled in a secret sauce.

*Texas Twosome: It’s a grilled cheese and Frito pie all in one. 10/10 would try.

Ultimate Brookie Monster: This is a brownie-cookie — also called a brookie — that took a slide down the sweets aisle. Each brookie has added Oreos, marshmallows and cheesecake. The Ultimate Brookie Monster is a Big Tex Choice Awards finalist in 2022.

The State Fair of Texas runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 23, 2022, in Dallas. Find discounts on tickets here.

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For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.