State Fair of Texas Drops the (Burnt End) Bomb on 2024 Food Finalists (2024)

After the finalist list played it on the safe side last year, the State Fair is back with some classic wild fair food in the finals. The judges faced a record-breaking 65 entries this year, according to a press release from the State Fair of Texas, and among the 24 semi-finalists, the bonkers Lay’s potato chip drink caught our eye. Thankfully, that item didn’t make it to the finals, but if it’s available on the grounds, we will drink it and report back on how it is.

The final ten are ahead, and they are in contention for the Best Taste—Savory, Best Taste—Sweet, and Most Creative awards, all of which will be announced on August 22. The fair itself opens on September 27.

Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick

Isaac Rousso is a frequent flier on the Big Tex food finalists, though, for the last few years, he’s done his work in the biscuit and sandwich space. This year, he swings in with our most anticipated bite, combining two legendary fair foods: bacon and cotton candy. It features 12 inches of bacon on a stick (gulp) with a cotton candy glaze that gets swirled in the pink fluffy stuff until it’s coated. Simple, brilliant, and a strong contender to win the big prize.

Hot Chick in a Pancake Poppers

It is brat summer, even at the fair, so poppers had to be on the menu somewhere. However, the surprise inside of these is Nashville hot chicken and pimento cheese, which get fried inside a ball of pancake batter. That is brat, though.

Nevins Nutty Bar-laska

It’s a Nutty Bar topped with Oreos, it’s a baked Alaska — stop, only one of you is right. This sounds like peak fair food, although it’s guaranteed to end up on you. The base is a Nutty Bar (yeah, that’s gonna melt) with a toasted marshmallow on top alongside Oreos, strawberry sauce, and freeze-dried strawberry chunks. This one’s for the kids (and kids at heart).

The Drowning Taquitos

There is something endearing about the presentation of this dish. It’s also practical, and we can see ourselves walking around, dipping some savory chicken taquitos into sour cream and guac, and then sticking our fingers in the cup to get every last bit of it. It’s a genius invention.

Texas Sugar Rush Pickles

Okay, this is the “buckle up” dish of 2024. Also in a plastic cup, it features cotton candy flavored pickle slices (yes, you read that correctly) alongside Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, and Cap’n Crunch cereal with layers of cotton candy, cotton candy sugar crystals, and powdered sugar that all gets coated with strawberry sundae syrup and topped with a scoop of vanilla. God bless your souls.

Texas Fried Burnt End Bombs

These are guaranteed to be a hit and would be our best guess for the savory award. It’s everything we love about barbecue: brisket, shredded potatoes, and cheese — all deep fried. Then they top it with raspberry chipotle barbeque glaze which could be the finishing touch that pushes this over the edge into amazing or could bring the whole thing down.

Strawberry Pop-Tarts Beignetffle

Awkward timing since Eater just declared that the kolache is superior to the beignet, but we’d still eat it. It somehow combines a beignet and waffle which is then stuffed with strawberry filling to get a Pop-Tart vibe. It gets both vanilla icing and whipped cream, so it’s gonna be sticky.

Dominican Fritura Dog

It’s about time someone improved on the classic hot dog for the fair. This one is made with corn dog batter, which surrounds fritura cheese and Dominican salami. It gets split open and served like a dawg, with garlic plantain chips, a top-secret Dominican dipping (or pouring) sauce, and cilantro on top.

Tropical Two-Step Punch

This year, after a few years of family-friendly punch finalists, brings something more akin to a tropical vacation. Fruit juices of citrus, passionfruit, and mango are blended overnight, and fair-goers can get it plain or with a bit of booze to really land those island vibes.

Hippie Chips

Don’t let the name fool you. These chips would not make the cut at your local health food store—even in the ‘80s. It’s a potato chip version of nachos that uses ranch or blue cheese dressing, dealer’s choice, in place of queso. It gets topped with bacon bits, green onions, and sriracha. We’re down.