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The Best Food Stands to Try at a County Fair

There’s something about the county fair that brings everyone back to their childhood. The colorful lights, the music, the sound of laughter and most importantly, the mouthwatering scent of food floating through the air. For many fairgoers, food is more than a treatit’s a tradition. Best Food Stands at the County Fair to Try And with so many choices, knowing which food stands to try can turn a good day at the fair into a great one. Whether you’re craving something sweet, salty, smoky, or deep-fried, here’s your guide to the best food stands to seek out on your next visit to a county fair. Why Fair Food Stands Are a Must-Visit Food vendors are the heartbeat of any county fair. They offer more than just meals, they serve up memories. Local families, independent cooks, and traveling food trucks bring out their best recipes during fair season, hoping to win over new fans and maybe even a blue ribbon or two. The variety is unmatched. You’ll find nostalgic snacks, wild creations, regional delicacies, and dishes from around the world all made fresh, fast, and often served on a stick. And part of the fun is sampling as many as you can. Classic County Fair Favorites You can’t go to the fair and not grab these timeless snacks. They’ve stood the test of time for good reason. 1. Corn Dogs A golden-brown corn dog fresh from the fryer is a fairground staple. Served hot and crispy, it’s the perfect on-the-go bite while you explore the attractions. 2. Funnel Cakes Soft, crispy, and piled high with powdered sugar, funnel cakes are made to be messy and shared. Some stands offer variations with chocolate drizzle, fruit toppings, or even ice cream. 3. Kettle Corn The smell alone will lead you to this stand. Cooked in giant kettles, this salty-sweet popcorn combo is addictive and perfect for snacking while waiting in line for a ride. 4. Cotton Candy A cloud of spun sugar in pink or blue, cotton candy is light, nostalgic, and a hit with kids and adults alike. Regional Specialties Worth Finding County fairs often reflect the flavors of the local area. These foods might vary depending on where you are, but they’re always worth the hunt. Deep-Fried Delights Fairs are famous for deep-frying just about anything. Some of the most popular fried snacks include: Fried Oreos  Deep-fried pickles  Cheesecake bites  Fried cookie dough  Fried butter (yes, it’s real)  While not the healthiest, they’re part of the experience so [...]

By |2025-07-08T10:12:28+00:00July 2nd, 2025|Fair Food|0 Comments
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Three Hacks for Safe Cookouts for Backyard, Tailgate or Campsite!

So you’re camping out and getting your cooking gear together! Or, maybe you’re just going to fire up the grill in the backyard and cook for family and friends. Maybe you’re gathering your tailgate supplies for the College and Pro football season. Whichever version of outdoor cooking you’re leaning towards it’s always a great idea to keep a few food safety tips in mind. Hopefully, there won’t be any problems! But here are three safety hacks that are perfect for the back yard, tailgate or the campsite. Safe Cookouts ONE – Cold and Hot - Safe Temperatures – Digital Thermometers The general rule of thumb that I mention during my chef demos is this; Keep the cold food cold and keep the hot food hot. Use ice to keep cold foods chilled while serving. Such as a bowl of pasta salad resting in a tray of ice. Never mix ice used for consumption with ice used to store food – especially any meat that could drip raw fluids. Also, cook/grill meats to their proper internal temperature. The only way to do this is with a thermometer. Personally, I use Digital Thermometers for a variety of things. I have a Digital Instant Read Thermometer that’s pocket-sized and perfect for camping and tailgating. Safe Cookouts And I have a Bluetooth Thermometer which sends the chamber temperature of my barbecue smoker to my cell phone. Plus I have a couple of older plain cooking thermometers for backups in case a battery dies. Use your thermometer to check the internal temps so you properly cook items to the USDA recommendation. This takes care of harmful bacteria that may cause illness. Temps differ from meat to meat so I’ve added the USDA Temperature Chart below. Beef, Pork, Veal & Lamb Steaks, chops, roasts 145 °F (62.8 °C) and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes Ground meats 160 °F (71.1 °C) Ham, fresh or smoked (uncooked) 145 °F (62.8 °C) and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes Fully Cooked Ham (to reheat) Reheat cooked hams packaged in USDA-inspected plants to 140 °F (60 °C) and all others to 165 °F (73.9 °C). All Poultry (breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, and wings, ground poultry, and stuffing) 165 °F (73.9 °C) Fish & Shellfish 145 °F (62.8 °C) Source USDA.gov If the food you are serving was stored in the fridge then that food needs to be kept chilled during serving. Hot food from the grill, oven, grill or stove should [...]

By |2024-02-29T07:25:03+00:00August 18th, 2019|Ham, Cooking, Meat|0 Comments
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Dry Rubs Made Simple

Dry Rubs Made Simple Have you ever taken a bite of something and wondered what spices were used to season it? In the world of barbecue and grilling spice combinations are called rubs because the mixture of spices is rubbed into the meat. I get several emails a year asking about making rubs and how to find combinations for different flavors. The simple answer is that rubs are whatever you want. Heck – salt and pepper is a rub! But, for developing certain flavor combinations it’s probably a good idea to do some research on the spices you like in your favorite dishes. For example, if you want an Asian-inspired rub then research oriental spices and Korean barbecue. Tex-Mex rubs include spices found in South of the border cooking. The same goes for Greek and Mediterranean cooking, Italian foods etc. If you like that “flavor” learn the basic spices associated with that style of cooking and start playing with spice combinations. Or, you can cheat! More on that below. Here are a few things to keep in mind when developing your own spice combinations – AKA, rubs! Add Before Long before Cooking The secret to using a spice rub on any meat is getting a head start. I apply my rib rub on my ribs a day before they hit the smoker. This allows the spices to dissolve as the meat soaks up the flavor. At the very least, apply your rub several minutes before cooking. Allow the rub to turn from dry to moist – you’ll see a notable difference over the course of ten to thirty minutes. If you plan on more than a few minutes, then cover and place in the fridge. But don’t go crazy with the above suggestion when it comes to delicate items like seafood. A few minutes to allow the seasoning to sink in will be perfect. Watch the Sugar and Salt! Going healthy is a great thing when you start mixing up your own batches of rubs. Don’t get me wrong – you can add a pinch of salt – just don’t go overboard. Avoid doubling up on sodium when you use salt and then another ingredient such as Garlic Salt. Suddenly you have double the salt! I include dashes of brown sugar, and even table sugar, in several of my rubs and seasoning blends. However – if you use a lot of sugar in your mix and heat things up too quickly you could end [...]

By |2024-02-29T07:22:48+00:00February 1st, 2019|BBQ, BBQ Recipes|0 Comments
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The Summer Grilling Checklist

Summer Grilling Checklist - Summer is here! Grills and smokers will be fired up for holidays, family meals, and outdoor dinner parties. Now’s the time to check your outdoor cooking items to make sure they’re in good shape fair. And, it’s perfect time to a few grilling safety tips into consideration. After all, you don’t want you grill breaking before the steaks are done. And, as I say during my book signings and chef demo’s; when it comes to food safety you want your guests to remember the wonderful time and tasty meal. Not a trip to the emergency room due to food poisoning. Here’s a brief Summer Grilling Checklist! The Summer Grilling Checklist GRILL CHECK: Before using a gas grill after it’s been sitting dormant for a while you should check the lines for damage. Replace any worn burners, tighten loose bolts and nuts, clean any rusted areas and clean out debris from the last grilling session! Perform similar maintenance on gas grills and smokers. PREHEAT: Pre-heat your gas grill before using to burn off any residue from cleaners. When you light the charcoal, or fire up the gas for the first time, you might run off a few insects that have made your grill their home. CHECK YOUR FUEL: Before the neighbors come over for your cookout you should double check your fuel. There’s nothing wrong with an extra bag of charcoal or making sure you have enough fuel. CHEF TOOL SPRING CLEANING: Throw away and replace any damaged or rusted utensils, sharpen knifes, and check the batteries in your instant read thermometer. WASH YOUR HANDS AND SURFACES: This act cuts down on cross contamination. If you don’t have an outdoor sink at your grilling area then simply place several handy wipe containers around for you, and your guests, to use freely. Constantly clean around your cooking area as well. ICE FOR DRINKS & ICE FOR EVERYTHING ELSE: If you’re having more people over than you would for a normal family cookout then plan on having two containers for ice. One container The Summer Grilling Checklist holds cans and bottles of beverages that are covered in ice while a separate container holds clean ice for consumption. An ice scoop should be used as well. Any ice used for keeping food chilled should be separate. TEMPS: I’m not going to go over all of rules for keeping foods at the proper temperature. What I’ll do instead is give you a rule of thumb that I mention [...]

By |2024-03-04T06:22:05+00:00June 28th, 2017|BBQ, Raspberry BBQ Sauce|0 Comments
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The Best Tasting BBQ Sauce

Here we go again. I just read an article on Yahoo about what is the best tasting BBQ Sauce. In my humble opinion - we all have different taste buds so, it seems to me that we would all prefer something different. I have a tendency too, with my growing health concern to look at the ingredients in some of this stuff to see what exactly is in them. The point is that in my opinion. It needs to taste good but it needs to have wholesome stuff in it, or you are sorta of defeating the purpose, after all BBQ sauce is still a food product. It should be reasonably good for you too. Here is the Yahoo article, Yahoo's conclusion was Sweet Baby Ray's - a sauce I have never heard of before. What exactly are the ingredients of Sweet Baby Ray's? Well, I give them credit, they publish online their ingredients. However, thats where I stop, the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup, - more sugar for our diabetic population. The rest of the ingredients were fairly acceptable, except, sodium benzoate. These days I try really really hard to make sure I eat nothing with sodium benzoate. Sodium benzoate is what they use to set off the firecrackers on the 4th of July and has been proven to have cancer causing tendencies. Here is a quote from Wikipedia "In combination with ascorbic acid (vitamin C, E300), sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate form benzene, a known carcinogen. However, in most beverages that contain both, the benzene levels are below those considered dangerous for consumption.[10] Heat, light and shelf life can affect the rate at which benzene is formed." I would gather that most people don't know this about sodium benzoate. The fact is that you can make foods and bbq sauces without this ingredient. One should strive to eat organic and GMO free. These preservatives are simply not needed and can cause the human body a lot of problems. As for the best tasting bbq sauces? First ask yourself what is better, the taste? or your health? and second go to the health food store and look for bbq sauces - that taste go and are preservative free. Most by the way have vinegar in them which kills a lot of bacteria and the chemical preservatives are simply not needed.

By |2016-10-23T11:34:32+00:00May 27th, 2013|BBQ, BBQ Sauce|0 Comments
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BBQ for Vegetarians

If you have been to any good health food store lately and really looked around you would realize that there are all kinds of veggie foods being offere. I am a fairly new vegan, so I definitely have been looking. First if you are having a BBQ - don't omit your vegan friends. The health food store has all kinds of vegan burgers, some gluten free. These would BBQ great with some BBQ sauce on the grill. There are all kinds of cheeses in the health food store. I try to avoid dairy. In the health food store you can get vegan cheeses made from rice and one of my favorite is one mozzarella cheese made from almonds. There are all kinds of cheddars. Veggies can be grilled and taste great. Try corn on the cob, wrap it in foil and then remove the foil for the last few minutes to add bbq grilled flavor. Sweet potatoes also taste great grilled. Here are some great recipe links for Vegetarians Balsamic Green Beans and Peppers Packet-Roasted - this recipe does have feta cheese California Grilled Veggie the following does have yogurt  Veggie Burger This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan. Veggie Burgers

By |2016-10-23T11:34:37+00:00May 25th, 2012|BBQ, Food|0 Comments
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