One of the many vendors with a bacon theme, State Fair of Oklahoma, 2015.
Since all the cool history is gone from the fair, the only reason left to go is the food. This is one of the biggest attractions to the fair- let’s see how many different foods we can deep fry. In the old days you had your standard corn dogs and cotton candy. Then the cinnamon rolls showed up, I remember standing in line for over an hour just to get some. I also remember working in television news and a state fair representative brought those rolls in, they were still hot, and gone within five minutes (seriously, I’ve seen wild animals eat with more manners than that news room full of news weasels).
But in the past decade or so, the ante is upped at every fair- how wild can the combination be, how much bacon can be in it, and can we put it into a deep fryer. So we’ve gotten bacon covered chocolate, deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos, pizza on a stick, and turkey legs. You can get just about anything you want as long as it’s not health food. No, if you are on a diet, the fair is not for you.
One of my personal favorites is the deep-fried cheddar curds from Wisconsin Cheese. These things are huge, served up all hot and melty, with a side of ranch. This is always the first treat to pass my lips after I arrive. So after I enjoyed that cheesy goodness, I found the deep-fried chocolate covered bacon. Now to be honest, I love bacon and I love chocolate but the first time I had them together was disappointing. I mean two of the best foods on the planet combined, should have been better than sex. But no, I just didn’t like it. So when I heard they were going to deep fry it, I was skeptical but curious. Of course it comes to you on a stick with some powdered sugar on top. I think the cake like breading is what saved it, the chocolate melts inside and the whole thing becomes a sweet, salty mix of flavor. I highly recommend it.
My new favorite food, yum!!!!
Then I walked around looking for more decadence and it didn’t take me long to find it. I found possibly the best fair food ever- bacon covered chocolate chip cookie dough on a stick. Now this really was as good as it sounds. They start with raw chocolate chip cookie dough (a big thanks to my aunt Janet for introducing me to this wonderful treat when I was little), dip it in chocolate, then roll it in bacon pieces. Even a few days later I’m still dreaming about it, I’m just not sure anything will ever be able to top this for me. I also tried the deep-fried chocolate chip cookie dough on a stick from the same vendor- it was good, the cookie dough melts inside the batter but it just doesn’t live up to the bacon covered cookie dough.
Now you think I would be full or broke but not yet, I still have another of my favorites to eat. Deep-fried beer battered bacon. This is always worth getting if you are a bacon fan. It does make the bacon a little crisper than I like but since it’s been deep-fried, it’s ok. I also tried the cheesy bacon bombs this year. An interesting twist- cheese inside a biscuit type dough with bacon wrapped around it, then deep-fried. They’ve been out there for a few years but this was the first time I tried them. They were good but I have an idea I can replicate them at home.
So now I was stuffed and ready to leave. I know there were so many other foods to try, of course there are some I just won’t touch- I’m not a turkey fan so no turkey legs for me. My only real complaint this year is that fair administration shut down the wine vendors, so no samples, damn. So my suggestions is, take a lot of money and a big appetite, try everything that looks good to you and don’t worry about your weight. I give it five strips of bacon.
I don’t normally post food pics but this is just too beautiful, beer battered bacon.
The Fat Okie 