The Big Tex Choice Awards — the annual culinary competition among concessionaires at the State Fair of Texas — have arrived for 2025. According to a release, 30 semifinalists have made the grade for the 21st Annual Big Tex® Choice Awards, presented by Karbach Brewing Company, with entries both savory and sweet.

The Big Tex Choice Awards kicked off in 2005 and has now become a staple of the annual fair.

The 2025 contest kicked off in June with 76 entries represented by 50 concessionaires, marking the highest number of submissions in Big Tex Choice Awards history.

All competitors are required to have at least one year of experience as concessionaires before they can enter the competition.

The selection process is headed up by a panel of internal judges and requires “blind judging” from start to finish, meaning the panel does not know which concessionaire is behind each recipe.

To vie for a spot in this semi-final round, contestants put their creativity to the test by coming up with an enticing name and description for their original concoctions. Then, the judges taste and score each dish to see if they are as delicious as they sound and look.

In mid-August, the semi-finalists will be further narrowed down to 10 finalists.

Bacon Jam Cannoli 
Bacon jam is cooked with brown sugar, maple syrup, and spices, mixed into ricotta with milk chocolate bits, then piped into cannoli shells. Each end is topped with bacon jam, and the whole thing is drizzled in chocolate.

Brisket and Brew Stuffed Pretzels 
Brisket is blended with beer cheese made from cheddar, wrapped in pretzel dough, sprinkled with salt, and baked.

Candy Lemon Sour Face 
Sweet-and-sour candy-coated lemon.

Chill & Thrill Delight 
A twist on Colombia’s famous Salpicon de Frutas featuring a cup of diced mango, pineapple, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries, soaked in watermelon juice with a splash of lime, topped with shaved mango sorbet.

Churro Cheesecake Jalapeño Popper 
Jalapeño poppers with a cheesecake filling, covered in churro batter and fried, with a side of dulce de leche sauce.

Coconut Quadruple 
Fresh young coconut served with a coconut slushy topped with soft-serve coconut ice cream and coconut flakes.

Colada Limonada 
Frozen twist on piña colada and tangy lemonade blended with coconut, pineapple juice, and lemonade, topped with cherry syrup, a cherry, and a mini umbrella.

Cookie Chaos Milkshake 
Over-the-top cookie butter milkshake with snickerdoodle chunks, Golden Oreo Cookies, classic Oreo Cookies, whipped cream, edible cookie butter cookie dough, Biscoff cookie, cookie butter drizzle, and a rim of crushed Biscoff cookie pieces.

Crab & Mozzarella Arancini 
Rice ball made of crab, rice, mozzarella cheese, onion, red bell pepper, lemon, black pepper, garlic, coriander, and basil, served with marinara.

Decadent Dubai Chocolate Dream
16-oz cup drizzled with strawberries, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, freeze-dried strawberries, pistachio floss, and a gold-dusted Dubai chocolate chip cookie stuffed with pistachio kataifi, marshmallow, and chocolate.

Deep Fried Deli Tacos 
New York deli meets Dallas taqueria: Pastrami, mashed potatoes, cheese in a corn tortilla, fried and served with a spicy green sauce.

Dirty Red Bull Tex-arita 
Cocktail contains sweet cream liquor, Blue Razz Pop Rocks, Watermelon Red Bull margarita, and Blueberry Red Bull margarita, topped with' Pop Rocks, blueberries, and watermelon.

Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake 
Served in a cup, featuring Belgian chocolate, pistachio spread, kataifi, tahini, chunks of New York-style cheesecake, drizzled with chocolate, pistachio cream, and crushed pistachios.

Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries 
Funnel cake strips drizzled with chocolate, topped with pistachio cream and knafeh pastry.

El Cono Loco 
Tex-Mex chicken spaghetti with Hatch green chiles, queso, Monterey Jack, inside a garlic parmesan bread cone, topped with pico, sour cream, and slice of avocado.

Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up 
Lemonade Shake Up, a Fair favorite with lemons, sugar, and water, enhanced with honey, fresh jalapeño, chamoy and Tajin, and skewer of honeycomb.

Meat Lovers Crunchy Calzone 
Flour tortilla filled with shredded mozzarella, diced pepperoni & salami, and seasoned ground beef, topped with red sauce, served with fried mozzarella bites and a side of ranch and marinara.

Pop-Elotes 
A popcorn version of elotes with popcorn, spicy mayo, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, and cotija cheese.

Poppin' Boba Rita 
Frozen margarita with wine-infused poppin’ boba pearls in mango or strawberry flavor. Make it "dirty" with cold foam, coconut syrup, and a Tajin rim.

Pop Rocks Margarita 
Frozen margarita with fizzy Pop Rocks and a firework-style garnish.

Russell’s Key Lime Pie Bombs
Key lime pie mixed with extra graham cracker crust and crushed Nilla Wafers, rolled into bite-sized pieces, dipped in pancake batter, fried, then topped with Chantilly cream, powdered sugar, and a sugar-coated lime jelly candy.

Texa-misu
Layers of Quadratini wafer cookies topped with frozen “cremespresso,” whipped cream and more Quadratini wafer cookies.

Texas Smoked Brisket Crepe
Brisket, onions, tomatoes, arugula, and melted cheese in a cone shaped crepe, with smoky sriracha mayo and chimichurri sauce.

Texas Water 
Natural flavors transform any spring water, sparkling water, or pale ale into a pineapple or lime refresher.

Tex’s Toast á la Mode 
French toast topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel, real maple syrup, and cinnamon cereal crunch for that extra pop.

Ube Rice-Cream Crunch 
Tribute to Filipino flavor starts with ube (purple yam) and gets a crispy topping of puffed rice made using the traditional South Asian muri method, where dry salt is heated to a high temperature, then special rice is added to puff and pop, plus Cool Whip and a cherry.

Vietnamese Crunch Dog 
Asian twist on corn dog, coated in a crispy mix of panko and bánh mì crumbs, with sriracha mayo and pickled veggies.

Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders 
Cajun-seasoned Wagyu patty with cheddar and bacon sandwiched between two fried, panko-crusted deviled egg halves, with ketchup-inspired sauce.

What on Earth is This? 
UFO-shaped smash burger features a smashed beef patty, chicken, steak, and vegetables in a bun, topped with mustard, provolone, chipotle mayo, fiery green chile, and "mysterious" sauce.

Yabba Dabba Doo
Dirty Sprite with crunchy ice pebbles, strawberry and green apple syrups, fresh mango and strawberries, coconut crème, Skittles, Lemonheads, pineapple slice, whipped cream, chewy ropes, and a sprinkle of Fruity Pebbles.