Oh, the Margaritas You'll Deep Fry
Twenty-five fascinating fried foods from the Texas State Fair
For years, county fairs have been at the forefront of deep-frying science, splicing and creating mutant "foods" that are all at once monstrous and wondrous. The Texas State Fair -- the largest state fair in the country -- holds a yearly competition for the most innovative deep-fried foods. Here are 25 fried Frankenfoods from fairs past:
Bubblegum

Collin Harvey/Flickr
It's actually bubblegum-flavored marshmallows, battered and deep fried and sprinkled with Chiclets. Do you chew this? Eat it? Who knows, but you can buy it.
Butter

mgerskup/Flickr
Frozen balls of butter, battered and fried and served with four sauces. Because why not.
Beer

Stacy Huggins/Flickr
Nope, this isn't beer battered. This is beer: battered and fried. The beer is poured into little ravioli pockets which burst with scalding suds upon first bite.
Peanut Butter Banana Cheeseburgers

Cheryl Reas via NBC
Elvis would probably make a special trip to Texas just to see this.
Coke

L. Richarz/Flickr
An enterprising chef found a way to deep fry soda without the 3rd degree burns.
Chicken Fried Bacon

ladybugbkt/Flickr
This is self-explanatory. And probably delicious.
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

RosieTulips/Flickr
It's really just batter with some Jelly Belly jelly beans mixed in, like a fritter on a sugar high.
Cadbury Creme Eggs

Easter doesn't have nearly enough fried foods... until now.
Pizza

Siggi Churchill/Flickr
It's not just pizza ingredients inside a ball of dough. No. It's an actual slice of pizza, breaded and fried.
Kool-Aid

nineminutes/Flickr
With an extra sprinkle of Kool-Aid powder over the top instead of powdered sugar.
French Fry-Coated Hot Dog

phil.lees/Flickr
See? It exists.
Pecan Pie

erichcpeters/Flickr
There's probably not a more delicious way to gain five pounds.
Lattes

Traveling Fools of America/Flickr
This one is a bit of a misnomer, it seems; the fried part is a sweet dough, which is topped with coffee-flavored ice cream, whipped cream and shaved chocolate.
PB&J

bittermelon/Flickr
With a banana thrown in for good measure.
Salsa

thestir.com
Deep-fried condiments can't be a good thing, but according to some people, this is the best-tasting item at the fair. It's salsa mixed with masa, then rolled in crushed tortilla chips before frying.
Pop Tarts

RosieTulips/Twitter
It's hard to see, but there's a pop tart in there.
Margaritas

David Berkowitz/Flickr
Funnel cake batter made with margarita mixer, fried and soaked in more margarita, all served in a salt-rimmed glass.
Club Salad

New York Daily News
The thing about salad is that it's good for you, usually. Not this time. This is a spinach wrap filled with ham, bacon, cheese, chicken, tomatoes, shredded lettuce and carrots, fried and served on a bed of lettuce.
S'mores

David Berkowitz/Flickr
It was only a matter of time.
Pumpkin Pie

It's a pocket filled with pumpkin pie, rolled in cinnamon and ginger snaps, fried and served with whipped cream.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Blazenhoff/Flickr
Each item is battered and fried individually, skewered and served with whipped cream and a cherry. The "upside-down" part is up to you.
Deep-Fried Cheesecake

Stacey Higgins/Flickr
Cheesecake filling wrapped in a tortilla, fried.
Oreos

Jenn Larsen/Flickr
These are amazing, actually.
And this year's winners, announced this week:
Fried Jambalaya: Best Taste

The Dallas Morning News
Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll: Most Creative

This post also appears on Mental Floss, an Atlantic partner site.