The Top 20 Wildest New Fair Foods At The Iowa & Wisconsin State Fairs
We're going into fair season and there's plenty of brand-new, deep-fried goodness that will be waiting at both the Iowa and Wisconsin State Fairs.
The Iowa State Fair announced that they will offer 64 new menu items at this year's fair, and according to NBC Chicago, the Wisconsin State Fair will add a whopping 104 new foods to their collection this year.
Fair food is a delicacy in general. Seemingly everything is either deep-fried, with bacon, on a stick, or so sweet that you might as well stick your head in a vat of sugar. It's all extremely unhealthy but it's the level of unhinged that you'll only find on the fair food menu.
So while scrolling through the list of these very 'Merica foods, there were some that just made me pause a bit. So in no particular order (because they're all just wild beyond imagination) here are the top 20 unhinged new foods that will be at the Iowa & Wisconsin State Fairs this year.
20. World's Hottest Slush (Atomic Slush)- Wisconsin
The description of this esophagus-wrenching bevy says: "This cinnamon slush is made with Carolina reaper powder, then topped with whipped cream, spicy caramel sauce and spicy candy pieces. Drink if you dare! (Caution: SPICY)"
19. Iowa Twinkie- Iowa (of course)
The Iowa Twinkie is a jalapeno filled with pork, corn, and cream cheese. It's wrapped in bacon and smoked with sweet and sticky barbecue sauce and drizzled with ranch. It indeed sounds like an Iowa Twinkie.
18. Cotton Candy Jerky- Wisconsin
Okay, did anyone ask for this? The description of it is "an old-fashioned beef jerky flavored like cotton candy". Pretty sure this is one of those "I dare you to eat that" snacks.
17. Dough Crazy Sweet Stick- Iowa
If you're a cookie dough fan, the Iowa State Fair has this incredibly sweet creation for you. It's cookie dough on a stick but not just basic cookie dough. It's almost every cookie dough under the sun: chocolate chip, cake batter, brownie batter, brookie, chocolate chip cookie dough without the chips (isn't that sugar cookie dough?), monster, cherry chocolate chip, and cookies and cream. It doesn't say if the thing is fried but you can almost bet that it is.
16. Dill Pickle Donut- Wisconsin
I'm not a huge pickle person so this kind of makes me sick but, per the website, it's a "hand cut yeast-raised donut "frosted" with a dill pickle juice whipped cream cheese and topped with thick cut dill pickles and a dill sprinkle".
15. Deep-Fried Bacon Brisket Mac-n-Cheese Grilled Cheese- Iowa
This is at least 3 independent dishes smashed into one. Brisket + macaroni and cheese + grilled cheese. And obviously, you have to deep fry it and add bacon. In theory, it sounds great. In practice, it would make me sick on the rollercoaster.
14. Flamin' Hot Cheetos Chocolate Bark- Wisconsin
Sometimes I feel like these fair food folks just roll the food dice and blindly pick random combinations to create. This is one of those times. It's your standard milk chocolate bark, just with the add-in of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Maybe if you like spicy chocolate?
13. Butterbeer Ice Cream- Iowa
For all Potterheads, the Iowa State Fair is rolling out Butterbeer Ice Cream this year. Butterbeer, from the "Harry Potter" franchise, has a butterscotch flavor to it. Personally, I love butterscotch and we're all likely to need cold refreshment during fair weeks so this sounds appetizing to me.
12. Maple Bacon Turtle-on-a-Stick- Wisconsin
Give something bacon and put it on a stick and it's fair food. It's "a pretzel stick resting on salted pecans, topped with homemade caramel and milk chocolate, along with freshly smoked and caramelized bacon". It's topped with a maple drizzle.
11. Dill Pickle Flavored Cheese Curds- Iowa
The most tame on this list so far, the Iowa State Fair will offer cheese curds with a dill pickle flair.
10. The MAC + JOE- Wisconsin
This creation in a cup is: "half Wisconsin Mac + Cheese and half classic Sloppy Joe topped with crispy, crunchy onion straws, a Wisconsin cheddar blend, chopped bacon, diced onions, diced jalapeños for a fresh kick, a dollop of cool sour cream, and even more crispy crunchy onion straws". So basically: a lot going on in a styrofoam cup.
9. Iowa Sweet Corn Sundae- Iowa
Corn and ice cream aren't two things I would think to pair together. But leave it to an Iowa fair to do exactly that.
8. Loaded Doner Fries- Wisconsin
This is the dish that happens when you only have a few of whatever random ingredients at home and you're trying to cook dinner. It's "spit-roasted chicken, red cabbage, arugula, red onion, iceberg lettuce, carrots, white sauce, and house spicy aioli all over a bed of fries".
7. Grinder Ball- Iowa
This one has no description on Iowa State Fair's website and really, an endless amount of possibilities based on the name.
6. Deep-Fried Red Hot Ice Cream- Wisconsin
What is it with the Wisconsin State Fair and spicy foods this year? This creation is vanilla ice cream, rolled in crushed cornflakes, topped with "Red Hot" cinnamon candy, and obviously deep-fried. It's garnished with whipped cream, and- you guessed it- more "Red Hot" cinnamon candy.
5. Cotton Candy Art- Iowa
Like the Grinder Ball, there's no explanation here. Are we talking swans made of cotton candy? The state fair logo designed in multicolor candy floss? I'm intrigued by this one.
4. Deep-Fried Garlic Gator Toes- Wisconsin
I love gator and wild game meat already, but what exactly are we talking about with "toes"?
3. Ube Funnel Cake- Iowa
If you're not familiar with it, ube is a purple yam common in Filipino food. It has a kind of nutty taste to it. It sounds like a good addition to the light vanilla flavor a funnel cake.
2. Crispy Jalapeno Chipotle Chicken Sandwich- Wisconsin
You want to explain exactly how I'm supposed to eat that thing? That creation is a "lightly-breaded, spicy chicken breast is deep-fried to perfection, topped with an avocado mash, crunchy jalapeño cilantro cabbage blend, and a signature spicy jalapeño chipotle sauce on a toasted bun".
1. A-Hootenanny- Iowa
These things are delicious. Hootenannies are a combination of pancakes and french toast. They're kind of huge, and are also sometimes called German Pancakes.
To see the full list of the new Wisconsin State Fair foods, check out their website. Iowa's new State Fair foods can be found here.