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Fried ranch and corny dog beer? 31 items that could win State Fair of Texas contest

Finally! The State Fair of Texas, the setting for headline-making oddities such as fried beer, fried butter and fried Coke, is now frying one of the only remaining liquids that matters: ranch.

God bless Texas.

The State Fair of Texas has unveiled its list of 31 semifinalists for its annual Big Tex Choice Awards, and fried ranch has to be one of the strangest. (But seriously: We are here for this. It's a garlic parmesan roll with ranch inside of it, all deep-fried.)

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Or how about this one: Texas Fried Hill Country. How do you fry an entire region of Texas?

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Or with:

Here's how the State Fair describes it: "Fried mozzarella complimented with locally grown basil, sandwiched between two slices of juicy green tomatoes hand-breaded with seasoned breadcrumbs and flash-fried to gooey perfection. Served on a bed of field greens, finished with balsamic drizzle and sweet local Texas honey."

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There's also deep-fried M&Ms, a cotton candy taco and funnel cake ice cream for those with a sweet tooth.

And for drinks, winners could include corn dog ale, a frozen hot chocolate and a Kool-Aid pickle sangria, among others.

Of the 31 foods, both sweet and savory, 10 will compete in the State Fair of Texas' final foodie round. Those 10 finalists become the celebrities of the State Fair of Texas: Their concession booths see serious foot traffic and they're the ones we at GuideLive taste on Day One of the State Fair of Texas every year.

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As many as three dishes can win awards: Best Taste - Sweet; Best Taste - Savory; and Most Creative. But, the same dish can also win more than one. Plot twist!

The State Fair of Texas runs Sept. 28 through Oct. 21 in Fair Park.

Here's a look at the 2018 Big Tex Choice Awards Semi-finalists:

Savory:

Corn dog ale

Deep-fried bodacious bacon bombs

Deep-fried chicken tetrazzini parmesana

Deep-fried lobster pops

Deep-fried ranch

Deep-fried shepherd's pie

Deep-fried skillet potato melt in a boat

Fried cup of corn "elotes"

Fried Kool-Aid pickles

Hoppin' John cake with jackpot sauce

King crispy coconut crab sliders

Deep-fried pico de gallo (called Pico Frito)

Southern-fried chicken nachos

Texas Fried Hill Country (fried mozzarella and green tomatoes)

Texas Twang-kie (a cornbread cake filled with grilled chicken white bean chili and served with a side of cornbread fries)

Sweet:

Bacon brittle

Cherish Erbert Champagne

Cotton candy taco

Deep-fried M&Ms

Deep-fried raspberry brie-ret (say it out loud)

Frosty's frozen hot chocolate

Fruity dessert nachos

Kool-Aid pickle-dilly sangria

Orange Julia's beer-mosa

Orange You Glad We Fried It!?

State Fair Fun-L Cake ice cream

Supra stuffed mini sopaipillas

Sweet bakin' bacon

Sweet crispy rice (arroz con leche)

Texas Thai Delight

The Roll Tide (three strawberry cream cheese pies, deep-fried and sprinkled with cinnamon)

The finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges who taste each one without knowing which concessionaire is behind each dish — which is important, because the Big Tex Choice Awards involves a small who's who of State Fair food fanatics who tend to enter the contest every year.

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Want details on any of the items above? Tweet @sblaskovich with questions.