The Minnesota State Fair is found a seven-hour drive from where I reside, however this year I may very well consider an excursion. The fair runs from August 24 to September 4, and since it’s the second-biggest state fair in the country (sitting simply behind Texas, at 2 million yearly guests), you’ve likely caught wind of its fun culinary contributions previously. The official lineup of new foods for the state fair in 2023 has been announced, and just like in previous years, the menu has us a little bit intrigued.
The Minnesota State Fair will introduce 34 brand-new foods and seven brand-new food vendors this year, according to a press release. However troublesome as it could be to trim down that rundown, we attempted to feature underneath the absolute most intriguing things and the ones that appear to be most worth going for — and negative, shockingly they aren’t all southern style.
What are the new food varieties at the Minnesota State Fair this year?
On the official Minnesota State Fair website, you can find the complete list if you want to get the full picture. Here are the ones we think look the best time:
Ba-sants: That’s two of us if you’ve never heard of a ba-sant. This “rich, fresh and caramelized cake” is a mixture of a bagel and croissant, loaded up with either everything-bagel-prepared cream cheddar or a sweet corn custard.
Waffle Dog Wrapped in Bacon: The concept of a hot dog served in a waffle with bacon, cheddar, pickles, onions, and burger sauce sounds both fun and novel, but the idea of using pancakes or waffles as a handheld vehicle for other food is nothing new.
Stuffed Pizza Pretzel with Cheese Curd: Cheese curds are the epitome of the Midwestern cuisine. However, I’ve never seen them stuffed inside a pizza-seasoned pretzel, and I’ve certainly never seen diced pepperoni on top of them. Pizza dough is used to make the jumbo pretzel, which will be finished with a coating of garlic butter and Parmesan. Pizza sauce will be served on the side for dipping.
Cheesecake Curds: These curds are entirely different. They are made of little Eli’s Cheesecake nuggets that are then dipped in funnel cake batter, deep-fried, and served. Tidied with powdered sugar and presented with a strawberry plunging sauce, they seem to be the ideal sharable fair food.
Fresh Lutefisk Steam Bun: One of the foods that is inextricably linked to Minnesota is lutefisk, and this year, the jiggly fish that has been treated with lye is getting a gourmet treatment. It will be served on a steamed lotus bun with vegetables, yum yum sauce, hoisin glaze, and sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
Dill Pickle Cheddar Curd Taco: Dill pickles, cream cheese, and raspberry chipotle sauce will be contained in a flour tortilla that has been deep fried for this vegetarian fried cheese curd taco.
Ravioli with Fried Butternut Squash: These ravioli sound more like treat than a flavorful dish, since they’re loaded up with somewhat sweet butternut squash and finished off with maple cinnamon sugar, presented with a side of whipped ricotta.
Cereal Milk Biscuit with Fruit: If you’re a fan of Fruity Pebbles, this biscuit is for you. It’s made with fruity cereal milk and rainbow cereal pieces, finished off with fruity grain icing and, surprisingly, more cereal pieces.
Hot Honey Cheddar Sticks: More seared cheddar comin’ at ya, this time as rotisserie halloumi showered in hot honey and presented with bits of what resembles Honeycomb grain.
“Sort of a Major Dill” Pickle Lemonade: At The Takeout, we are big fans of pickles, so this lemonade with pickling spices that is inspired by pickles sounds pretty cool to us.
Miami Mango Pickles: These pickles have been soaked in mango punch, so the fun with pickles isn’t over yet. They sound like Kool-Help pickles.)
Dill Pickle Lemonade Paletas and Smaller than usual Doughnut Paletas: Paletas are Mexican popsicles, ideal for bright climate, and these two profoundly attractive choices (loaded with genuine pickle cuts and whole scaled down doughnuts, separately) likely taste as one of a kind as they look.
Pickle Fries: The harsh hits go on with fry-cut pickles that are battered, southern style, and presented with a chipotle plunging sauce. Isn’t it odd that the fair hasn’t offered fried pickles yet, given how popular they are on restaurant menus?
Walleye Waste Pops: Walleye is a Midwestern staple (we’re huge devotees of the Culver’s broiled walleye sandwich), and these wastes on a stick integrate smoked walleye with cheddar and a pickle relish. You can spritz a little lemon juice on them and dip them in comeback sauce.
