Texas Treats Served At The NRA 500 NASCAR Race

In celebration of last weekend's NRA 500 NASCAR race, the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, featured a smorgasbord chef Joe Pena's Texas-inspired dishes. Some of these festive selections included Hawg Heaven Bacon Cotton Candy (chopped bacon whipped into the popular park snack) and Smokin' Hubcaps, a glazed donut topped with smoked Texas-style BBQ brisket, crunchy onion strings, Cheddar cheese, creamy coleslaw, and candied bacon bits.

To make the menu that celebrated the Lone Star State, chef Pena said that he utilized "flavors, ingredients, and cooking styles from the region." For the Smokin' Hubcaps dish, for example, he coated the beef brisket "with a dry rub of regional spices and herbs" before smoking it for up to 12 hours "just like they used to do at the campfire in the Old West."

Other specialties served at the event included a Bacon Cotton Candy Martini (a cotton candy-infused vodka cocktail garnished with a candied bacon skewer), as well as a "Jackalope" sausage, a sausage featuring a blend of pork, rabbit, and antelope meat. For those who are not familiar with Texas folklore, a jackalope, according to chef Pena, is a mythical animal "described as a jackrabbit with antelope antlers." 

When asked if there were any dishes on offer that didn't include meat, chef Pena confirmed that they make fresh veggie burgers daily, in addition to vegetable cups, fruit cups, and garden salads.