Deep-Fried Butter is a food item that won the 2009 fried food competition at the Texas State Fair.
They were an entry by Abel Gonzales Jr. He offered four versions: plain, garlic, grape of cherry (the flavouring was in the butter.)
It consists of 100 % whipped butter with nothing added to the butter (except flavouring for flavoured versions), formed into balls the size of golf balls, frozen, then encased in dough, and deep fried. It tastes like a hot biscuit or roll, with butter. They are sold 3 or 4 at a time.
As of 2010, Gonzales made enough selling fried food at the three weeks of the State Fair, that he was able to take the rest of the year off
The concept of Deep-Fried Butter was actually presented by Paula Deen on the Food Network in the fall of 2006 [1] The idea apparently came from a fan of hers, who appeared on the show.
Gonzales said he had done an Internet search to see if anyone else was doing it, and found her recipe, but that her recipe was different from what he had in mind. Her centre was butter, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. This mixture was frozen in balls, coated in flour, egg and bread crumbs, re-frozen, then deep fried. [2]
History Notes
Other prizes won by Abel Gonzales Jr at the Texas State Fair :
2005 — Deep-Fried Peanut Butter, Jelly and Banana Sandwich (Best Taste Award)
2006 — Deep-Fried Coke
2007 — Deep-Fried Cookie Dough
2009 — Deep-Fried Butter (Most Creative Award)
In 2010, his entry was Fried Chocolate, but it didn’t win.
Gonzales was previously a computer analyst.
Sources
[1] Everything’s Better With Butter. Season 1, Episode 4. IP0112H. 20 October 2006.
[2] Deen, Paula. Paul’s Fried Butter Balls. Pauladeen.com. Retrived October 2010 from http://www.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view/paulas_fried_butter_balls/
Bonisteel, Sara. Deep-Fried Butter Update. Slashfood. 9 September 2009. Retrieved October 2010 from http://www.slashfood.com/2009/09/09/deep-fried-butter-update/
Brown, Kevin. Move over, Twinkies: Deep-fried butter is here . The Today Show. 15 October 2009.
Laussade, Alice. The 2010 Big Tex Choice Awards Fries Up A New Batch of Artery-Clogging Eats, Beckoning State Fair-goers To Come And Get Their Grease On. Dallas Observer News. 16 September 2010.