half a million corn dogs per year.

That's because they claim to have sold

the first corn dog ever back in 1942.

Everyone in Texas will tell you that the corny dog

is the most delicious corn dog they've ever had.

Today, I'm gonna try the OG corny dog,

along with some traditional saltwater taffy

and a funnel cake bacon cheeseburger

to tell you which is my favorite.

The winner might surprise you.

Let's dig in.

I'm Skyler Bouchard.

For the past eight years, I've been traveling the world

and learning about different cuisines.

I've taken everything I've learned to my kitchen,

and now I'm on the hunt

for the best festival and fair foods in North America.

Today, I'm at the State Fair of Texas,

the longest-running fair in the entire country.

The State Fair of Texas

is the biggest state fair in America,

with over 2 million people attending each fall.

They also offer more food

than almost any state fair in the country.

Karissa Condoianis: The State Fair of Texas was founded

in 1886 as a livestock exposition.

We have hundreds of concessionaires out here

with thousands of food items on their menus.

Even if you're not from here, you know, as they say,

I may not have been born in Texas,

but I got here as quick as I could.

Skyler: I tried everything from fried butter

to fried peanut butter and jelly,

but I narrowed it down to three final contenders.

One of the reasons the State Fair of Texas is so famous

is because it debuted one of the most important

fair foods of all time: the corn dog.

In 1938, brothers Neil and Carl Fletcher

claimed to have invented the corn dog,

which they called the corny dog.

That year, the idea of a hot dog covered in corn

and deep-fried was so unheard of

that they had to walk around the fair

giving them away for free

in order to get people to try them.

Aaron Fletcher: First year they sold

a couple hundred of them,

once they finally got people to try them.

And now we sell about anywhere between

500,000 and 600,000 corny dogs a year.

We go through about 1,600 gallons of mustard.

About 800 gallons of ketchup.

I've heard people say that they've waited up to an hour,

hour and a half, back in the line.

We got generations that come out here

year after year after year after year.

Customer: They're actually hand dipped in cornbread batter.

And I know, it's a Southern thing, it's delicious.

There's none other that tastes like this.

Customer: They're the best.

They're crunchy, good, always hot.

They just taste better than any corn dog

you're gonna get anywhere else.

Skyler: I grew up eating corn dogs all the time,

so I'm really excited to try the one and only corny dog.

Mm.

All right, there's a lot of flavor happening here,

and it's not as sweet as

the other corn dogs I've had before.

The hot dog is smoky and savory.

All in all, this is a winner.

I can definitely see why people would wait hours

for this corn dog.

While this corn dog was delicious,

I'll be interested to see if it's really my favorite

since it's so simple.

And I have two other unique contenders to try.

Time to see how the hidden gem compares.

Sutter's Taffy started back in 1919,

and they still use old-fashioned methods and machines

to make their delicious saltwater taffy.

Ed Sutter founded Sutter's Taffy

after working at an amusement park as a kid.

He saw the taffy pullers there

making small pieces of taffy, which they called kisses.

And then he bought his own taffy-pulling machines

and went on the road.

Sutter's Taffy quickly became extremely successful,

selling over 1 million boxes of taffy

at the 1939 World's Fair.

Tony King and his family bought the business

from Sutter's granddaughter in 2008,

but they still use the same methods

that Sutter did back then.

Tony King: So, we bring in 660-pound barrels of corn syrup,

and so we batch each pot with corn syrup, sugar,

and butter, and then we put it on our taffy pullers

to aerate it, and that's where we flavor it.

At the State Fair of Texas,

we will make over a million kisses.

Skyler: So, I go in like this?

Tony: Yep, pull it straight down.

Skyler: Pull it down,

and whew!

Tony: It's fresh.

We make candy every day right here

on the State Fair grounds.

This is the candy you made.

Skyler: That we just made? Tony: Just made.

Skyler: Oh, my gosh!

All right, I have to try one.

We just made these. This is the peanut butter?

Tony: Yep, peanut butter.

Perfect.

Skyler: It's so sticky and smushy.

Tony: Yep, salty and sweet.

Skyler: Salty, sweet, creamy, delicious.

It's like peanut butter and marshmallow spread.

Tony: Yeah, it's great.

Skyler: Mm-hmm.

Finally, I'm heading to a fair stand

that's known for its bizarre flavor combos.

Time to see which will take the final crown,

the classic corny dog, simple saltwater taffy,

or our wacky snack.

The wackiest snack at the State Fair of Texas

is the funnel cake bacon queso burger,

which won the Most Creative Big Tex Award

and the Best Savory Dish Award back in 2017.

This burger is an estimated 2,100 calories.

I got in the kitchen to see how it's made.

Tom Grace: Are you ready to make it?

Skyler: I am ready to make a funnel cake queso burger!

With bacon! Tom: Let's do it.

Every year, we're looking for the most fantastic,

outrageous thing we can find to put out there

that will make fairgoers say, "Wow."

Little funnel cakes, awesome grilled burger,

crispy strips of bacon,

and then some really hot queso sauce.

So, the simplicity of it is what works so well together.

Here we go.

[Skyler cheering]

Now the only other thing we need is our little knife

that holds it all together.

Do you want to?

Skyler: Stab it in the center?

Tom: Yeah, right down the middle.

Skyler: All right, ready?

Tom: Yeah, push it. Skyler: There you go.

Tom: Oh, you did it.

Skyler: Yeah, nice work! That was awesome.

Let's see here. OK.

All right, some thoughts.

The funnel cake is crispy and sweet.

It's char-grilled, smoky, delicious burger.

The bacon adds that fat, which is flavor.

Everybody loves a waterfall of cheese.

This all came together so well.

Honestly, I always get skeptical

of those sweet and savory burgers.

This is better than I thought it would be.

And it had way more flavor than I thought it would have.

It really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

It's really a competition between the old and the new.

We had the first-ever corny dog,

Sutter's historic saltwater taffy,

and then this new fusion of the funnel cake queso burger.

But I have to say my favorite one

was the funnel cake bacon queso burger.

I love saying that.

You know, you come to these fairs,

and you want to eat foods that are an experience,

and it was really just that.

It had so much going on,

and obviously it had some fried food,

some meat, some cheese, things I love.

I loved getting behind the counter

and learning how it was made,

and eating it was truly an experience

that you could only get at the State Fair of Texas.

We'll see you next time.

Stay hungry.