State Fair Food Attract Crowds Every Year

Bacon is served almost any way you want it.

What makes the food at a state fair so appealing? For some, it’s the novel approach for preparing familiar ingredients in an unusual way. For others, it’s finding food that they’ve never thought about eating before. And for many, it’s simply discovering something surprising on the fair’s midway among the throngs of people. And finally for a few, it’s observing the long lines at the food vendors and being curious about why so many people want what’s being sold.

Turkey legs are no longer as popular as they once were.

Standing in the midway, I watched couples and family groups walking together and sharing their recent purchases. Whether it was sweet or savory or a mixture of the two, every craving was satisfied quickly except where the lines at food vendors were extremely long.

The longest line was for donuts.

New Foods This Year

New foods at the N.C. State Fair this year were innovative concoctions of very inspired imaginations. Lines were long to order fried frozen watermelon, cookie butter frozen banana, freeze-dried marshmallows, chicken feet (baked, fried, and barbecued), and deep-fried lamb chops. Of course, old favorites were also part of the food scene again this year.

Eye-Catching

What first caught my eye was a fried waffle served on a stick. Topped with whipped cream and strawberry sauce, it also captured the attention of many others, particularly kids.

What can be better than a fried strawberry waffle?

Street Corn 

Street corn (elote) has become more popular each year. With origins in Mexico, it has quickly gained a following throughout the South. Grilled corn on the cob is slathered in a creamy sauce that is a mixture of mayonnaise, chili powder, and garlic. Next it is topped with cheese, chili powder, and lime juice. Then it is served on a skewer and eaten hot. Less popular was Hawaiian street corn that was served in half a pineapple.

Hot off the grill, street corn is slathered in a creamy sauce.

Pickles And More Pickles

A popular food vendor was Mr. Pickles Concessions. Of course, it was not the only one with pickles on the menu. Some of the unusual pickle items were flaming-hot Cheetos pickle pizza, Nashville hot pickles, pickle fries, pickle pop (a frozen treat made from dill pickle juice), pickle soup (really!), and a pickle sub (sliced deli meat stacked on a dill pickle sliced in half that served as a bun).

Pickle fries were sold by several food vendors.

Comfort Food

For me, nothing is more satisfying than banana pudding after tasting something sharp, spicy, or hot. Fortunately, there was no line at a banana pudding vendor that I spotted just in time to remove an unusual flavor from my mouth. See if you think these new items fit in the category of comfort food: Cheerwine lemonade, fried turkey leg, coconut shrimp on a stick, potatoes loaded with bacon and cheese, deep-fried cheese curds, fried fish and waffles, and a frozen banana covered in peanut butter, jelly, and nuts.

Banana pudding is a great way to finish a visit to the state fair.

How many people go to a state fair just to say that they tried one of the novel foods for the first time? Creative food is clearly a reason that the fair continues to be so popular.

Making Biscuits at the State Fair

A huge mixing bowl is used to make 80 biscuits.

My first year as a biscuit-maker at the N.C. State Fair is now in the history book, and I am very happy with my experience. I was fortunate to work with dedicated people who have worked many years at the booth of Cary United Methodist Church, which is the longest-serving food vendor at the fair and is renowned for its biscuits, especially country ham.

Cary United Methodist Church, which first opened its booth at the fair in 1916, is the longest-serving food vendor.

First Experience

The biscuits that I made at the fair were far superior to than the ones made at the training class. I was surprised at how good they looked. Midway through the first shift I had a 10-minute break, so I took a ham biscuit outside to eat. It’s hard to be modest. I don’t think I’ve eaten a better biscuit. 

Biscuits just taken out of the oven are ready for the "stuffers."

The shifts that I worked were all in the afternoon, so I missed the morning crowd that comes early and wants biscuits for breakfast as well as the late-night fairgoers who order a few (or a dozen) ham biscuits to take home for the next day. In one five-hour afternoon shift about 600 biscuits were made—a busy time—but the previous shift that morning had baked 1,360 (in six hours).

Ham cooking has to keep up with the orders, too.

Fortunately for my first experience I was paired with a veteran biscuit-maker. Suzy worked five days this year, which is her seventh consecutive one. I could tell that she had been a kindergarten teacher: She was very patient and positive, and she offered tips and ideas that were helpful.

Biscuit "stuffers" keep busy fulfilling all the orders.

Biscuits at the Fair

Making biscuits at the fair was almost the same as at the training class except we kept making tray after tray after tray. The biggest difference is at the fair most teams don’t make biscuits by feel—we use a recipe! Six parts flour to one part shortening. For each batch, we used 24 cups of self-rising flour, 4 cups of shortening, and 3 quarts of buttermilk. (Don’t try this at home unless you want to make 80 biscuits.) Otherwise, the process is the same as in the class.

Customers sit and await patiently their orders inside the booth.

For only $2, the ham biscuit is a hot seller, and we ran out briefly for only a few minutes one afternoon. Otherwise, we had hot biscuits ready for orders, although when someone ordered a dozen to go followed by another person who wanted ten biscuits to take home, we had to expedite the tray that we were making.

The kitchen space is limited, but everyone works as a team.

Best Biscuits Ever

When a young family was eating biscuits near my work area, I leaned over and asked if they were the best biscuits ever. The mother nodded and gave a thumbs-up sign. When I told her that it was my first day, we exchanged expressions that indicated we both were surprised.

"Veteran" biscuit-maker Suzy and I made a LOT of biscuits.

Now that I’m an authentic biscuit-maker, I’ve joined the circle of legendary bakers who have made biscuits for more than a century at the state fair. I hope to return next year and continue the tradition.

Above: My hat that proves that I worked in the kitchen.
Below: At the top of the 155-foot-tall SkyGazer Ferris wheel, the largest traveling wheel in the U.S., a rider can see up to 15 miles in any direction. The gigantic wheel is adorned with 524,000 LED lights.

Learning to Make Biscuits for the State Fair

A buttermilk biscuit with ham is a crowd-pleaser at the State Fair.

Walking among the food vendors at the N.C. State Fair held in Raleigh each October is enough to tempt you to try all the creative and traditional foods. Although the exotic creations—such as a double cheeseburger sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme donuts—captivates the media each fall and is what many fair-goers talk about, a simple buttermilk biscuit is what attracts my attention.

A lot of ham is cooked for all the biscuits at the fair.

Training Class

Last fall I was amazed at one booth in particular. Operated by First and White Plains Methodist Churches of Cary, NC, the booth was cranking out biscuit after biscuit (served with country ham or sausage) to a long line of customers. When I was told that this booth makes up to 1,200 biscuits each shift, I had to learn more and soon wanted to be a biscuit maker.

A training class is offered each year for new biscuit-makers.

Several days before the fair begins, First Methodist holds a biscuit-making training class for new volunteers. (During the fair, the booth is too busy to conduct training.) I quickly signed up for the class and was the first person to show up on the morning when it was held. Maybe I was that excited.

Working the shortening into the flour is the first step.

Flour, Shortening, and Buttermilk

For a couple of hours, we amateur biscuit-makers watched as veterans demonstrated the process. Then we divided into teams to make our own and see if we could be successful. The challenge is high because First Methodist is the longest-serving food vendor at the fair and is so renowned for its biscuits (many customers stop every time they come to the fair for the biscuits).

As the dough is kneaded, the flour and shortening begin to adhere to each other.

In the class we didn't use a written recipe, but the process is simple. Fill a mixing bowl about two-thirds full with self-rising flour. At the fair, the booth uses 25-pound bags of Snowflake brand. (For the training class, we used tried-and-true White Lily.) Then scoop a handful of shortening about the size of a softball and knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface. After a few minutes, you quickly learn if more shortening is needed (all the flour is not adhering in clumps) or if a little more flour should be added to have a good dough consistency.

Biscuits are placed on an ungreased cookie sheet for baking.

Next buttermilk (at room temperature, not chilled) is added. For our mixing bowls, we added about a quart of buttermilk and continued to knead the dough. Again from the feel of the dough, you can tell if more buttermilk is needed. When you are satisfied with the dough, it’s time to roll it into the desired height (about the distance from the end of your thumb to the first knuckle) to form the biscuits. An empty metal can (that once contained pineapples) cuts each biscuit simply by pressing it into the dough. No twisting!

Into the oven goes the first pan. 

Baking to Perfection

The biscuits are then placed on an ungreased cookie sheet – about 40 to a sheet – and baked at 400 degrees initially for six minutes. After the sheet is rotated, the biscuits are baked for six more minutes. When the timer sounds, you have biscuits that every person who comes to the fair wants. If rolled to the right height (not too tall), the biscuits are perfect--and not gooey. If any extra flour is shaken off when they are placed on the sheet, they should be golden-brown when they come out of the oven. They are then filled with hot country ham or sausage by other kitchen volunteers.

Patience is needed as the biscuits bake.

About a dozen were trained in the class, and we are ready to show off our talents. Each one of us is expected to sign up for two shifts during the 11 days that the fair is held. Each shift has two biscuit-makers. When we beginners make biscuits, we will work with a veteran who will help to guarantee the consistency of our work.

After the biscuits have baked for six minutes, the tray is rotated in the oven.

A Tradition of Teamwork

Because each day of the fair has three shifts (usually five hours long each), a lot of biscuit-makers are needed. However, even more volunteers are required; about 40 are needed for each shift. The team effort is huge. More than 500 volunteers work at the booth each year. Although making biscuits is important, it is only a part of the much larger overall effort.

Finally a tray of biscuits just out of the oven are ready for tasting.

What First Methodist started in 1916 has developed into a great tradition, and amazingly it has continued unbroken all these years. The original hand biscuit has been served every year since the first one. I’m ready to show off my new biscuit-making skills.

A benefit of being in the class is the chance to take home extra biscuits, which I enjoyed with homemade strawberry jelly.

Note: Several biscuit recipes (with specific measurements) are available online, including this one by Crisco. 

Can I Win a Food Contest at the State Fair?

Entering a food competition at the state fair has never been high on my “bucket list” – until this year. Because I’m not a cook, know little about winning recipes, and seldom want to show my food projects to a judge, I’ve been content to observe winning entries and read about the winners. However, this year I was inspired to enter and compete.

Ribbons are ready for the winners.

For this year, I decided to enter the cooking competitions at the N.C. State Fair coordinated by the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Specifically, I was attracted to the contest sponsored by the N.C. Peanut Growers Association that was held on Thursday, October 12. Each entry was to be “a delicious breakfast recipe that is filled with peanut flavor and will be sure to get your morning started with a smile.” I could place in a contest that featured peanuts, right?

Cooking contests are held annually at the N.C. State Fair.

The first critical step is to submit a recipe by the deadline, which was ten days before the date of the contest and meant that I had to brainstorm about possibilities even a month in advance. After evaluating several options, I picked a favorite, which I called “Peanut Buttery Breakfast Pizza,” that I hoped would be a winner.

My entry starts to take shape.

The recipe starts with a package of soft tortillas about five inches in diameter. After spreading a tablespoon of peanut butter on each tortilla, banana slices are added to half of the tortillas (the remainder are saved to use as “tops”). A little honey is drizzled and finely chopped peanuts are sprinkled over the tortillas with bananas. Next, the tortillas without banana slices are placed over the other tortillas. Finally, the doubled tortillas are sliced into quarters.

Doesn't my entry look like a winner?

On the day of the contest, entries are turned in mid-afternoon, and judging takes place an hour later. Judging is based on flavor and taste (50%), creativity (25%), and ease of preparation (25%). I felt good about the flavor/taste category (what is better than peanut butter and banana flavors?) and the ease of preparation (the entry only took me about 10 minutes to prepare). Each recipe needed to contain at least one-half cup of peanuts or peanut butter, and entries needed to serve six to eight judges. The winning recipes were awarded cash prizes: $200 for first place; $150, second; $100, third; and $50, honorable mention.

I proudly turn in my entry with high hopes.

I was amazed at the creativity of the winners. First place was spicy peanut butter and banana breakfast braid. Second place was peanut butter French toast with nutty pig candy. Third place was peanut butter and jelly pop tarts. One recipe, peanut butter and banana waffles, received honorable mention. Although all are creative, the level of preparation doesn’t seem that easy. At least I was on the right track by combining peanut butter and bananas. If I compete again, I need to give more consideration to creativity, which seems more influential than only 25%.

Lisa Prince, host of the TV program NC Flavor, announces the winners.

Although I left empty handed without receiving a prize, at least I got to see what the contest is like and didn’t have to buy an admission ticket to the fair. A major benefit of entering the contest is free admission to the fair – plus the experience gained to compete next year.

Meanwhile, the carnival-like food attracts the attention of the fairgoers more than a cooking contest.