With the Minnesota State Fair in full swing, one particular food item has proven to be a hit: deep-fried ranch.
Hundreds of people have queued up to see this deep-fried ranch served at Lulu's Public House, as customers — perhaps out of curiosity — wait to get their hands on this fair dish everyone is talking about.
Described by the Minnesota State Fair as a “ranch dressing filling made with ranch seasoning, buttermilk and cream cheese in a panko shell, deep-fried and sprinkled with ranch powder,” the deep-fried ranch is accompanied by “a side of hot honey sauce made with Cry Baby Craig's Hot Sauce.”
A sign at Lulu's Public House indicates the item is made with Hidden Valley Ranch and ranch flavoring.
“People in Minnesota love their ranch dressing,” Lulu’s co-owner Charlie Burroughs told Fox News Digital in an email in July, adding that “diners will ask for ranch with almost everything.”
Burroughs told Fox News Digital in July that he worked on the concept of deep-frying ranch dressing for more than a year and a half.
Despite the unusual nature of the dish, Burrows predicted that people would love it, saying he was “really excited”.
“If we didn't like the taste, we wouldn't do it,” he said.
Minnesota State Fair
As it turns out, Burroughs was right. He told Fox News Digital that just two days after the fair opened on Aug. 22, he had to order 150% more than he originally planned.
Lulu's marketing team describes the item like this: It's like “Hidden Valley Ranch and cheesy wontons had a baby.” But Burroughs told Fox News Digital that he compared his dish to ravioli fried in panko breadcrumbs.
The dish has been tasted and enjoyed by common fair-goers as well as politicians and celebrities.
Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, a Minnesota native, posted a video of her visit to the fair on Aug. 26, in which she tasted various foods.
Her eyes widened as she took her first taste of the deep-fried ranch and she exclaimed, “Oh my god.”
One of his security guards can be heard in the background saying, “The deep-fried ranch was awesome.”
Country singer Blake Shelton also enjoys deep-fried ranch, even mentioning it during his Sunday night concert at the fairgrounds.
“I ate it and it was great,” Shelton said. “I mean, look — what's wrong with us? I loved it.”
Shelton said one “has to be a hillbilly” to like such a thing.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who previously called ranch “the Midwest's most sacred condiment,” also sampled the deep-fried ranch.
“It's really good,” she said. “The warm honey makes it even more delicious.”
“The ranch is suitable for just about anything, but this might be the best execution of it ever,” he said.
Kelly Morrison, congressional candidate for Minnesota's 3rd district, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that “Lulu's Deep-Fried Ranch Dressing was even better than advertised”, along with a photo of herself holding a half-eaten triangle.
“Chef Reactions,” a TikTok food creator with more than 3 million followers, also found himself among fans of deep-fried ranch — albeit a bit reluctantly.
“I just ate deep-fried ranch and I must reluctantly admit that it wasn't bad at all. I wanted to hate it. But I don't,” he said in an Aug. 23 post on X.
