How Deep Fried Butter Became A Fair Food Phenomenon
State fairs have transformed from educational affairs, teaching people about livestock and agriculture, to a much broader experience, which now encompasses rides, games, and especially fair food. This type of specialized cuisine is notorious for big portions, weird ideas (like the Ohio State Fair's chocolate deviled eggs) and deep-fried everything — including butter.
Deep-fried butter is a more recent invention than, say, corn dogs (a good thing for our ancestors' arteries), and it is credited to Larry Fyfe. in 2011, Fyfe, who had served up fried food for many a state fair, took a frozen stick of butter (dairy products like butter and mozzarella sticks should always be frozen before frying), dunked it in honey cinnamon batter, put it in the fryer for a little over a minute, and then topped it with sweet glaze.
He did this in order to honor the 100-year anniversary of the Iowa State Fair's cow sculpted out of butter, which had made an appearance at every state fair since 1911. In so doing, Fyfe created something so decadent, so outrageous that we're still hearing about it — the stuff of legends, really. But it was also merely temporary. After just two years on his menu, Fyfe swapped it out for something different, much to the disappointment of thousands of fair goers.
But who actually invented deep-fried butter?
Did Larry Fyfe actually invent deep-fried butter? Because enter one Abel Gonzales Jr. of Texas. Gonzales, also known as "Fried Jesus," had a take on deep-fried butter that entered the arena in 2009, two years prior to Fyfe's fair food submission. After winning three straight Big Tex Choice awards at the Texas State Fair (with decadent foods like deep-fried Coca-Cola), Gonzales missed the mark with his fourth entry. This setback led to him regrouping and coming back with an even stronger and wilder contender — deep-fried butter.
The difference between Fyfe's take and Gonzales' is the way they're served. While Gonzales served up pats of butter, closer to bite-sized pieces, Fyfe literally put half a stick of butter on a wooden skewer before frying it and serving it — and he only charged $4 to fair goers for the treat. Such a large portion of butter could be a bit messy to eat, however, with the deep-fried dairy product oozing everywhere after that first bite, so Fyfe served it with a paper tray for catching drips.