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The State Fair of Texas' Big Tex Award Finalists for 2016

Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 8:37 a.m.

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas Fernie’s Down Home Chicken Pot Pie Pocket with Mac 'n Cheese Dip by Christi Erpillo — "A savory cream sauce chock-full of shredded roasted chicken breast, tender diced white potatoes, sweet carrots, peas, corn and a special blend of herbs and spices" is ladled into pastry dough and folded "Hot Pocket-style." It's served with a mac 'n cheese-inspired dip. 1/8

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas Caribbean Pineapple Korn-a-Copia by Stephen Alade — Grilled chicken and shrimp served over Caribbean fried rice, topped with a tropical salsa and pineapple rum glaze and served in a pineapple half shell. 2/8

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas Deep-Fried Bacon Burger Dog Slider on a Stick by Brent and Juan Reaves — "A miniature, handmade seasoned ground beef patty is stuffed with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon and an all-beef hot dog on a Hawaiian roll. It is then placed on a skewer topped with a pickle, dipped in a tempura batter and deep fried to perfection. Every Bacon Burger Dog is served on a bed of shoe string fries with ranch dipping sauce." 3/8

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas State Fair Cookie Fries by Isaac Rousso — A deep-fried cookie — in flavors like chocolate chip or sprinkles — shaped like a French fry and served with strawberry or milk chocolate sauce. 4/8

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas Southern Fried Chicken and Dumplins by Clint Probst — "Juicy shredded chicken is mixed with bits of signature seasonings, dough and a touch of gravy. This decadent mixture is then rolled into balls, coated with bread crumbs and deep-fried golden brown!" The balls ares served with fried “biscuit bites” and a side of gravy. 5/8

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas Injectable Great Balls of BBQ by Glen Kusak — "Smoke-crusted barbecue beef brisket is hand shredded with bock barbecue sauce and molded to form balls. The ball of beef is then breaded with seasoned bread crumbs and deep-fried to a crispy perfection. Served on top of a bed of coleslaw, each order comes with its own pipette of bock barbecue sauce to be injected into the brisket balls." 6/8

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas Fried Jell-O® by Ruth Hauntz — Cherry-flavored Jello-O is coated in panko bread crumbs, flash-fried, dusted with powdered sugar and topped with whipped cream and a cherry. 7/8

Courtesy of the State Fair of Texas Deep-Fried Pulled Pork Funyun "Dings" by Chris Howard — "A Funyun, the traditional crunchy snack, is stuffed with pulled pork, pepper jack cheese, pineapple slices and bacon. It is then dipped in a flavorful batter and deep fried." 8/8

The State Fair of Texas' Big Tex Award Finalists for 2016

This morning, the State Fair of Texas announced the finalists for the 2016 Big Tex Choice Awards, a list of eight deep-fried, sugar-coated, heart-stopping carb-monsters that were selected from 55 original entries submitted by 34 concession vendors. The 12th annual Big Tex Choice Awards will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28 in the Tower Building at Fair Park. Click through the slideshow to start planning your artery-clogging trip to the State Fair, which runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 23 in Fair Park.

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