Leave It To The Minnesota State Fair To Serve Deep-Fried Ranch Dressing

Over the years, people have looked past potatoes and come up with exceptionally creative foods to fry. From deep-fried Oreos to deep-fried milk, there seems to be no limits to what can be breaded and tossed into a fryer. Carnivals and state fairs are some of the most popular destinations to find deep-fried delicacies that defy logic. One vendor at the 2024 Minnesota State Fair has done it again with the creation of deep-fried ranch dressing, a concoction that seems impossible but quickly became one of the fair's most discussed foods.

This surprising fried fare was created and sold by LuLu's Public House, a veteran restaurant of the fair affectionately known as The Great Minnesota Get-Together. If you're wondering how chefs could possibly put liquid ranch dressing into a deep fryer, the answer is they didn't, exactly. Instead, they made a filling with Hidden Valley ranch seasoning, buttermilk, and cream cheese, stuffed it in panko-coated dough shells, and deep fried the triangular fritters, finishing them off with a dusting of even more ranch seasoning. The chefs at LuLu's Public House came up with the idea after being asked to provide sides of ranch and reimagining the sauce as the main event (via Instagram). Served with a side of hot honey sauce (a dressing for the dressing!), the fried ranch proved to be a huge success, dominating the fair's food media coverage, drawing huge crowds of hungry customers, and even receiving a shoutout from Blake Shelton during the country star's performance.

When news of LuLu's deep-fried ranch dressing spread, some people declared it was one of the most Minnesotan things they could imagine. The American Midwest is well known for its ranch dressing fanaticism, even though the condiment actually originated in California at the eponymous Hidden Valley Ranch. According to The New York Times, the Association for Dressings and Sauces determined that ranch is more popular in the Midwest than anywhere else in the nation. One possible reason is that the mass-marketed Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning was made shelf-stable in the 1980s and only required staples like milk and mayonnaise, making it an accessible choice for restaurateurs in the landlocked Midwest. And though extravagant fried food is a staple of state fairs nationwide, it certainly suits Minnesota, which is known for its comfort food-heavy cuisine. The Minnesota State Fair is one of the largest in the country, with over 1.8 million visitors in 2022, and its bevy of deep-fried delights are a major draw.

If you missed the fair but have to find out exactly what deep-fried ranch tastes like, you can try preparing a copycat version at home. Make a mixture of ranch seasoning, cream cheese, and buttermilk, then form it into balls and freeze. Coat your frozen ranch dressing clumps in flour, egg wash, and panko breadcrumbs, and fry away! If you don't have a deep fryer at home, you can also cook these in an air fryer, along with other state fair foods.