Skip The Steak — Make Chicken Fried Bacon Like A True Texan

Few things are better than a crispy piece of fried bacon. Unless, of course, you happened to be at the State Fair of Texas in 2008. If you were, you may have been lucky enough to taste-test chicken fried bacon. The salty Texan snack immediately made national news as it was so audacious and yet so enticing. The fried wonder was the brainchild of a smoked meat vendor from South Texas, Mr. Glen Kusak, who had been a fair vendor for 12 years but had never entered the food contest before. Upon submitting his unique recipe to the annual Big Tex Choice Awards, Kusak won the coveted best taste prize. His inspiration? Well, doesn't bacon make everything taste better?

Though the Texas State Fair is now infamous for its creative fried foods contest, the chicken fried bacon really rocked the culinary world and hasn't gone out of favor (or flavor) since. While Minnesota and Iowa's state fairs get plenty of press, it's probably no surprise that Texas boasts one of the largest state fairs in the United States. The fair's origins date back to 1886, with the Cotton Bowl Stadium (historic home of the annual Texas-OU game) being built in 1930. The park was also well known for its beloved 52-foot cowboy figure called Big Tex. The fair has always been a beloved yearly event for Texans, but it was the extravagant fried food contests that brought the national spotlight, and chicken fried bacon is a tasty byproduct of this.

Luckily, you don't need award-winning fry skills to make your next batch of chicken fried bacon. If you've ever made chicken fried steak, you can certainly fry some up. Just the term "chicken fried" is a bit of a misnomer, as no chicken is involved in the process. What you will need is some thick-cut bacon, your favorite seasoned flour, an egg wash, and plenty of oil to cook it in. Most cooks like to use peanut oil for its high smoke point, and buttermilk or beer are common additions to the egg wash. 

The finished product should indeed look a bit like Dairy Queen steak fingers (another Texan reference), especially if you were lucky enough to land some seriously thick-cut pork. The award-winning state fair dish was served with a side of ranch or honey mustard sauce, but most other recipes call for a side of cream gravy. Though chicken fried bacon certainly has its fans, there are plenty of detractors as well. Public health officials have decried the high amounts of saturated fat, while others note it's simply fat fried in fat and served with fat — yum! Whatever your cholesterol levels are, just know that there's always going to be an even more ridiculous fried fair food next year: one of Texas's 2024 winning dishes was "Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick."