Indiana, Illinois state fairs offer delicious specialities

This is the last leg of the state fair journey 2023 where we will stop and visit the Illinois and Indiana state fairs. I will present a highlight of the most popular foods of these fairs and a recipe on how they can be made in your home kitchen.

The Illinois State Fair runs Aug. 10-20 in Springfield. This fair attracts many state residents and neighbors from the surrounding states who swarm to this yearly excitement. The Illinois State Fair estimated attendance for 2022 to be over 636,700 visitors. 

When we talk about these two fairs the many food choices served received high scores and are the best in the United States.

The No. 1 seller at the Illinois State Fair is the Walking Deep-Fried Horseshoe. A signature dish of ground beef or chicken, crispy fries and house beer cheese sauce gets wrapped in a flour tortilla and deep fried (or not) with a final addition of cheese sauce. Although it can be served in a tortilla, it can be presented on a bun or bread. Here is the home kitchen version you will love.

The Indiana State Fair runs July 28 through Aug. 20 in Indianapolis. The Indiana State Fair debuted in 1852 at Military Park in Indianapolis and is the sixth oldest state fair in the United States. In 2022, this event attracted a total of 837,568 fairgoers.

The No. 1 seller at the Indiana State Fair is BBQ Pig Wings – a great dish to serve at home. You can place them on your home grill, smoker or oven.

I never tire of fairs and the food choices they have to offer. In summer 2024, state fairs across the country will bring more unique and surprising combinations to the circuit to satisfy our fair palates.

And with this I could not agree more.

Chef Jacki Corser is a culinary specialist and longtime Monroe resident who now lives in Cumberland, Indiana. She is a college professor teaching culinary arts and safe food practices. Chef Jacki also works with impoverished communities, offering healthy eating seminars to individuals and families. Contact her at [email protected].

Serves 2

Ingredients:

19 oz. bag of frozen crinkle French fries

1 pound ground beef or chicken breasts

4 slices bread (buns, bread or tortilla)

½ cup butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 cups half-and-half

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Your choice of hot sauce to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spread french fries out on a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden brown.

Divide the ground beef into four equal parts and form into patties.

Fry the patties in a large skillet over medium-high heat until well done, approximately 4 to 6 minutes per side.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour.

Then lower flame to low-medium while stirring constantly for 4 minutes to cook out the flavor of raw flour.

Gradually whisk in the half-and-half so that no lumps form.

Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat and add the cheese – stir until melted.

Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.

Place 2 slices of toasted bread onto 2 dinner plates (or bread choice) and top each slice with a hamburger patty.

Top each patty with cooked french fries.

Pour the cheese sauce on top of everything and serve immediately.

Note: Also at the Illinois fair, stop to have a slice of flavored watermelon – flavors like peach, blue raspberry, banana, cotton candy, etc. They also serve gumbo; you cannot go wrong with this.

12 Wings

Ingredients:

12 Pig Wings

1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory and Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce

salt and pepper to taste

3 cloves finely minced garlic

1 (14 ounce) box of chicken broth or chicken stock

Directions:

Using a convectional oven:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lay pork shanks out flat on a cutting board and rub both sides generously with salt and pepper and minced garlic.

Put a wire rack inside a shallow roasting pan to keep the ribs off the bottom of the pan.

Lay ribs across rack and fill pan with chicken broth under the ribs making sure the ribs are not touching the broth.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes in the oven.

Turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and allow ribs to cook slowly for at least 4 to 6 hours until the meat begins to fall off the bone.

Remove from oven and carefully remove foil to let out the steam.

Remove the bone and brush ribs generously with Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory and Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce.

Return to the oven to bake for 10 minutes.

Carefully remove with tongs and place on platter.

Note: Serve this all year around with coleslaw and hush puppies. And, of course, don’t forget to purchase Indiana corn served many ways. I tried the Sweet Corn Pizza, a delight of flavors!