We had another fun time in the kitchen with Chef Alli!  She is always teaching us something new with our favorite Kansas made products. With the canceling of the 2020 Kansas State Fair, From the Land of Kansas wants to ensure fairgoers still have the opportunity to purchase their favorite Kansas grown products. From September 11th-20th, we will provide a link to our virtual State Fair Store called the Purple Ribbon Marketplace where you can shop local Kansas products in the comfort of your own home. Watch Chef Alli and Sammy Gleason in the Kitchen while they make fair food and teach us about Kansas made products. 

How can you say no to fried food? Check out Kansas State Fair food recipes below.

Recipes

Fry Bread Tacos 

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. salt (or 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt) 

1 cup milk

2-3 cups oil for frying, as needed

Meat Filling 

1 lb. lean ground beef

2 Tbs. Black Dog Salsa and Pepper Jelly Salsa 

1-2 Tbs. Twisted Pepper Tex Mex Seasoning Mix 

15 oz. can of Ranch-Style Beans (may substitute chili beans) 

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

1 cup chopped tomatoes 

1 cup shredded Alma Cheese cheddar cheese

Your favorite toppings, as desired - sour cream, salsa, sliced olives, guacamole, Sour Cream, Guacamole (and more Black Dog Salsa and Pepper Jelly Salsa!) 

Make the Meat Filling 

In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the ground beef with the Twisted Pepper Tex Mex Seasoning Mix, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Once the ground beef is fully cooked throughout, drain any fats that have accumulated. 

To the ground beef mixture, stir in the Black Dog Salsa and the beans; simmer for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low; reserve and keep warm. 

Make the Fry Bread 

Meanwhile, prepare the fry bread dough. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, mixing until the dough comes together. 

Sprinkle some flour onto a clean work surface, placing the dough on top of the flour. (If the dough is too sticky to remove from the bowl, stir in a bit more flour until the dough in the bowl until is workable. The dough should still be slightly sticky when you remove it from the bowl.) 

Knead the fry bread dough, adding flour a little at a time and only as you need it, until the dough no longer sticks to your hands or the counter and has a smooth exterior, approx 2-3 minutes; let the dough rest for 5 minutes. 

Cook the Fry Bread 

While the dough rests, add the oil to a large, deep heavy skillet or Dutch oven until it’s about 1 1/2-inches deep. Over medium-high heat, let the oil heat to 350 - 365 degrees F. (If you don’t have a thermometer for temping the oil, you can always insert a wooden spoon into the hot oil as a test; if the oil bubbles around the spoon as it’s inserted, the oil is hot and ready.) 

While the oil is heating, portion the ball of dough into 4 equal parts, rolling each portion into a small ball. 

Using your hands and fingertips, flatten each ball of dough into a thin tortilla-sized circle. The fry bread dough needs to be worked until its pretty thin before going into the hot oil since it will definitely puff up and almost get rather fat. 

Working one at a time, place the flatted fry bread dough into the hot oil, frying until golden brown on each side, turning only once; repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Place the hot fry breads onto a paper towel-lined plate to pull the excess fats away. (The fry breads could also be placed onto a baking sheet and kept warm in a 200 degree F oven until its time assemble them.) 

Top each warm fry bread with the prepared warm ground beef mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and salsa, plus any other toppings you prefer. Enjoy at once! 

Serves 4 

Tips for Frying the Fry Bread Dough 

To make sure the dough gets pressed out thin enough before frying it, place the small ball of dough onto a large plate. Using your fingertips, work and press the dough into a thin circle, just thick enough that you can still lift it into the hot oil to cook. 

Consider frying the fry bread dough in a Dutch oven instead of a skillet. Because a Dutch oven has much taller sides and depth than a skillet, this keeps the hot oil better contained with lots less grease splatter to clean up. 

It's helpful to double your first batch of fry bread dough since this will allow you a few extra fry bread practice runs to get your technique perfected! 

Remember that fry bread is not supposed to look perfect, but rather hand-made and a bit irregular. Also, you’ll be topping the fry bread with the meat filling and assorted toppings, so the fry bread won’t actually be too visible,  anyway

Plain golden-brown fry bread is also delicious served warm, dipped in honey (similar to sopapillas) or spread with jam as a breakfast or snack with coffee. 

Brown-Sugar-Cinnamon Churro Bites

Honey Cream Cheese Icing 

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbs. Reme Bees Honey 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

milk, as needed 

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese until creamy; beat in the powdered sugar, honey, and vanilla, adding the milk a little at the time, until the icing is smooth, creamy, and the desired consistency. 

Churro Bites

1 angel food cake 

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar 

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2-3 Tbs. cinnamon

Oil for frying 

In a large bowl, combine the sugars with the cinnamon; set aside.

Cut the angel food cake into cubes, approximately 1 1/2-inches by 1 1/2-inches in size. 

In a large skillet, add enough oil to the bottom of the skillet to cover 1/4-inch up the sides. 

Heat the oil over medium heat. When the  oil is nicely hot, add some of the angel food cake cubes, frying them until golden brown; flip the cubes and fry the other side until golden brown, approx. 1-2 minutes per side. Keep an eye on the angel food cubes as they fry so they don’t burn! 

When the cubes are nicely browned, immediately add them to the prepared brown-sugar-cinnamon mixture in the mixing bowl. gently using two spoons to toss them, pressing the sugar mixture into the sides of each cube until well coated; repeat with the remaining warm cubes of angel food cake, placing the churro bites onto a serving platter. 

Drizzle the platter of warm churro bites with the prepared icing and serve. 

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