How Hot Beef Sundaes Went From The Iowa State Fair To The Senate

With more than 200 food stands, the Iowa State Fair has all the classic fair foods, including corn dogs and deep fried Twinkies. It also boasts over-the-top eats like lobster corn dogs, buckets of cookies, and a curious but adored treat called a hot beef sundae. Created in 2006 for the Iowa State Fair by the Iowa Beef Council, hot beef sundaes quickly became the food to sample at the fair, and within just a couple of years, the sundaes began popping up at other state fairs around the country. They've even been served at fairs in Canada. 

The dish is, first and foremost, an Iowan specialty, and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst was very keen to introduce her colleagues to it. She did so at the Capitol in Washington D.C. during 2018 when she hosted a lunch called "Thursday Lunch Group." The lunch menu looked like it could have been taken from the Iowa fairgrounds themselves. Senator Ernst made a post on X, formerly known as Twitter on the day of the lunch, stating, "Loved showing my colleagues a little taste of #Iowa at today's lunch! Nothin' says the Iowa State Fair like some hot beef sundaes, Iowa pork chops, loaded tater tot on a stick, Mexican street corn, butter cow with rolls, ice cream from LeMars, IA." Senator Ernst even repeated the trick in 2021 when she once again gave colleagues the opportunity to try hot beef sundaes. This time the sundaes were served alongside another interesting-sounding dish: Greek Salad on a Stick.

To be honest, if I walked by a fair stand bearing the name "hot beef sundaes," I would assume we were talking about a bad punchline or a cartoon geared toward Generation Alpha. As for the name of the dish, I don't hear the appeal, but, when you break the dish down, it's really just something you might eat during any given weeknight dinner. And, by golly, hot beef sundaes actually look like well-built ice cream sundaes!

The classic Iowa State Fair dish starts with a scoop of smooth mashed potatoes (this would be the vanilla ice cream). Often, there's a serving of ground beef below the potatoes. I suppose you could liken this to that pool of hardened chocolate that gathers at the bottom of a Drumstick. Next, the "chocolate sauce" or in this case, a helping of beef gravy goes on. There must be sprinkles, which take the shape of shredded cheese and corn kernels. Finally, a cherry tomato is placed right on top, mimicking the essential maraschino cherries (which are made from real cherries, by the way) that go on top of all picturesque ice cream sundaes. It's actually a cute, cheeky dish and, well, it kind of makes sense from a culinary point of view.