State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Awards Top Ten Finalists are Here

Fried mozzarella is complimented with locally-grown basil, sandwiched between two slices of juicy green tomatoes, hand-breaded with seasoned breadcrumbs and flash fried to gooey perfection. Each dish is served on a bed of field greens and balsamic drizzle and sweet local Texas honey.

A cream-filled sponge cake wrapped in bacon and dipped in a funnel cake batter. The treat is deep fried until golden brown and dusted with powdered sugar to finish.

Premium ice cream infused with funnel cake pieces and powdered sugar. You can add more powdered sugar or whipped cream and strawberry sauce on top.

Layers of moist chiffon orange cake, dairy-fresh whipped cream and citrusy orange preserves lightly blended to form a refreshing custard-like filling. It is spooned into a flaky puff pastry dough, folded turnover style and sealed with a pastry crimper. It is quickly fried then lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Each dish is served with two dipping sauces and garnished with a double citrus twist slice.

Ingredients include black-eyed peas, white rice, spicy smoked sausage, green onions and a secret blend of special spices combined with bread crumbs and eggbeaters and formed into a cake. The cake is breaded in an egg wash that includes flour and panko bread crumbs. It is then deep fried then topped with a zingy black-eyed pea relish and garnished with pickled okra. It's served with a side of Jackpot Sauce.

Start with skillet potatoes griddled golden brown. Then add diced, griddled breakfast sausage patties and mini Babybel cheese loaf. It's all rolled in a special seasoned flour and fried. It's served up in their potato skins and topped with melted cheddar and crispy bacon bites. A sour cream chipotle sauce is drizzled across the top and served on the side for dipping.

It's a mix of shredded cheddar cheese and cream into mashed potatoes. Each potato ball is filled with Grandma's shepherd's pie filling of ground beef, mixed vegetables and beef gravy.

The shell is a graham cracker waffle cone batter pressed into a crunchy taco shell shape. The inside of the shell is coated with a marshmallow glaze stuffed with chocolate, toasted marshmallow and organic cane sugar cotton candy. We then top it off with chocolate cookie crumbles and two chocolate cream-covered biscuit sticks with marshmallows.

Start with a fried cinnamon-spiced rice ball coated in crispy puffed rice cereal. It is then sprinkled with powdered vanilla and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's drizzled with a caramel sauce and powdered cinnamon.

It's a cornbread cake filled with a Tex-Mex grilled chicken white bean chili. Each twang-kie is served with cornbread fries and more chili for dipping.