Will Fried Beer Take the Prize at the State Fair of Texas?
August 31, 2010 at 1:01PM by Eric Burkett
China has xiaolongbao, succulent steamed dumplings that burst with a small flood of rich pork and crab broth when you sink your teeth into them. Texas has deep fried beer.
It took Mark Zable three years to develop the recipe – he won’t divulge the secret for successfully frying a liquid – but his entry is among eight vying for glory at the Sixth Annual Big Tex Choice Awards. For the past five years, scores of hopefuls have entered their recipes for everything from deep fried butter to deep fried lattes, as well as deep fried peaches and cream and chicken-fried bacon, in an all-out effort to capture the crown at the State Fair of Texas.
Zable’s creation features
beer – Guinness, to be specific – secured away in a ravioli-like envelope of pretzel dough. The whole concoction is then deep fried for about 12 to 15 seconds and – voila! – you have yet another source for alcoholic input.
Deep frying cooks the beer dumplings all the way through but doesn’t burn off the alcohol. Anyone planning on indulging in Zable’s entry this year will have to be at least 21 years old, according to the Toronto Star.
Zable came up with the idea after pondering – bored – over a menu of deep fried appetizers one evening but even after consulting with a food scientist, it wasn’t until earlier this year he finally hit upon the right combination of, well, whatever the right combination is to successfully fry beer. Actually, he didn’t come up with the idea himself, he admits. His 4-year-old did.
Zable, who took over his father’s Belgian waffle stand at the fair 15 years ago, has “been a Big Tex Choice finalist twice before, but that doesn't cut it,” said the Dallas Morning News. “He yearns for the trophy, an Oscar-like award with a Big Tex head.”
"I really, really want one of those trophies this year," he said.
The competition this year, as always, will be heart stopping to the say the least. Zable will be going up against deep fried frozen margaritas, fried lemonade, fried chocolate, and deep fried club salad, among many others. Judges will announce the winning dishes over Labor Day.
August 31, 2010 at 1:01PM by Eric Burkett
China has xiaolongbao, succulent steamed dumplings that burst with a small flood of rich pork and crab broth when you sink your teeth into them. Texas has deep fried beer.
It took Mark Zable three years to develop the recipe – he won’t divulge the secret for successfully frying a liquid – but his entry is among eight vying for glory at the Sixth Annual Big Tex Choice Awards. For the past five years, scores of hopefuls have entered their recipes for everything from deep fried butter to deep fried lattes, as well as deep fried peaches and cream and chicken-fried bacon, in an all-out effort to capture the crown at the State Fair of Texas.
Zable’s creation features
Deep frying cooks the beer dumplings all the way through but doesn’t burn off the alcohol. Anyone planning on indulging in Zable’s entry this year will have to be at least 21 years old, according to the Toronto Star.
Zable came up with the idea after pondering – bored – over a menu of deep fried appetizers one evening but even after consulting with a food scientist, it wasn’t until earlier this year he finally hit upon the right combination of, well, whatever the right combination is to successfully fry beer. Actually, he didn’t come up with the idea himself, he admits. His 4-year-old did.
Zable, who took over his father’s Belgian waffle stand at the fair 15 years ago, has “been a Big Tex Choice finalist twice before, but that doesn't cut it,” said the Dallas Morning News. “He yearns for the trophy, an Oscar-like award with a Big Tex head.”
"I really, really want one of those trophies this year," he said.
The competition this year, as always, will be heart stopping to the say the least. Zable will be going up against deep fried frozen margaritas, fried lemonade, fried chocolate, and deep fried club salad, among many others. Judges will announce the winning dishes over Labor Day.
