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Thursday, September 8, 2011

A Texas Delicacy: Frito Pie

It was brought to my attention recently (by this Yankee) that ... GASP ...Frito Pie is not a staple in all of your lives!  This truly befuddles me.

I legit thought EVERYONE knew what Frito Pie was and how to wash it down with an ice cold Big Red.  If you are unfamiliar with Frito Pie, then odds are you've probably never gulped a Big Red either, which saddens me even further.  Please go here to acquaint yourself with Big Red.  It's another Texas staple that you need in your life.    

While I can't change the fact that you've been missing out of this gourmet greatness, I can introduce it to you today. Better late than never, right?  The concept is quite simple: Fritos + Chili topped w/ cheese = Frito Pie
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This, my northern neighbors, is a Frito Pie in all its yummy, high-caloric glory.  And yes, it tastes as amazing as it looks.  Some people top theirs with onions or jalapenos, but I prefer mine the old fashion way: Chips, Chili and Cheese only. Thankyouverymuch.
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You can go the civilized route and eat out of a bowl like pictured above, or if you are feeling a little cray cray; Slice open a personal sized bag of Fritos, top with chili and cheese and eat directly out of the bag.  It's illegal in Texas to eat Frito Pie this way using anything but a plastic fork. You've been warned. 
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As a Texan born & raised, I have grown up eating Frito Pie, so I just assumed every one else did too.  Clearly I was mistaken.  This Frito Pie revelation has made me wonder ... what are YOU eating that I don't know about?  I think it's only fair that you divulge some Northern delicacies with me.   Spill Yankees.


VOTING ENDS TOMORROW! Don't forget that if I win, I'm making all of you bargainistas famous:
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50 comments:

  1. hahhahahhahahahahhahahahhahha

    i have to laugh b/c i SO didnt know about this until i moved to texas for a year.

    then i forgot about it (which should be impossible b/c of its yumminess) and then was reintroduced when i was visiting my friend in dallas.

    the hotter the chili the better :) love this post

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  2. I had no idea Big Red is a Texas thing!! I can't believe it! Love that stuff!

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  3. oh girl.... love love love me some frito pie. i do have to say i love mine extra spicy with onions on top.... eww maybe now some jalepenos too... but i loveeeee it!

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  4. Frito Pie and the Walking Taco are both relatively new up north here. My favorite food that you may not know about is anything from Tastykake. They're a Philadelphia bakery and they make such yummy things as krimpets. If you can't get them in your area, they ship and they are well worth it!

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  5. OMG. You just changed my life. I thought walking tacos were the most amazing thing in the world. But I never thought to use Fritos, thus creating...Frito Pie. Will be making this tonight. And putting exactly one entire cup of sour cream to the top. Because I like to add calories where they are unnecessary.
    P.S. Please tell me Farrah is on you last nerve these last couple of weeks? I find myself daydreaming of her demise. It's bad.

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  6. Yo I never heard of this... but it does look phenom. Also looks like it could be a great snack of the after the bar variety. knowwhatimsayin.

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  7. I grew up on Frito-Pie which is why i got SOOO excited that a restaurant here in Washington DC that "specializes" in chili sells it on the menu! GLORIOUS!!! ANyone in the DC area needs to go to Hard Times Cafe and order Frito-Pie topped with "Terlingua Chili"!!

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  8. OMG, Frito Pis the bomb. How can anyone live w/o it????????? Poor things!

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  9. Donald is getting his butt kicked for never introducing me to this. It looks amazing, and I might just have it for lunch.

    <3 Big Red! And my in-laws always bring several cartons of diet big red since we don't have any here in CO.

    <3

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  10. PS - do you ever get the Frito chili cheese wrap at Sonic. I die. They even have a smaller 'party' size for like a buck. Such cheap, delish hangover food. Or non-hungover food.

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  11. For reals? Frito chili pie is the ONLY way to eat chili!

    OMG and I LOVE Big Red! I remember one time at twirling camp (ha ha!) there was a girl from Georgia and she wanted to know what it tasted like before she drank it. I'm like, "It just tastes...red." Some people think it tastes like bubble gum, but I disagree!

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  12. I'm with you... befuddled. O my goodness everyone has to have a frito pie or "frito chili pie" as we call it here in MS. AMAZE!!! Yall have no idea what you've been missing out on :)

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  13. norwegians have something kinda similar (i think) called taco pie, it is basically tortilla chips with chilli or taco meat and cheese. it looks...interesting ;)

    also voted! good luck

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  14. laughed out loud SO bad as I was reading this ... right before you write "if you havent heard of Frito pie you've probably never heard of Big Red" either I said "whats big red?!"

    I need to get on this if I ever want to be a somewhat respectable Texan.

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  15. I've heard of a frito pie, but not until I moved to OK. And I still haven't had one - But I know exactly what it would taste like, I *taste* it when I look at it, is that possible? It must be. Well, I like it. They sell them here at basically any place that sells coney dogs. And usually they only take cash... Which is kind of shady, but I think when you want a frito pie or coney dog, you don't care what you have to do to get it.

    I had someone visit me from Houston the other day who didn't know what a Jimmy John's was. Excuse me? Next people won't know what Five Guys is? Also... no one one the East Coast knows about Braum's. My husband literally takes people by there on their way to our house from the airport. He thinks it's God's gift to this Red Dirt earth. "Hey, welcome to OK, please taste our fast food!". This is why so many Okies are fatties.

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  16. Also, never heard of Big Red. But I don't represent the Okies on this one - they may know. In fact, they probably do. I'm still considered an East Coaster by most.

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  17. hahaha They used to serve this to us in the school cafeteria when we were kids! (clearly, they were looking to feed us only the healthiest meals)

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  18. OH. MY. GOODNESS! As a N. Texas girl I cannot believe people haven't ever heard of FRITO CHILLI PIE!? It's amazing & a staple food at foot ball games and such! Yanks, I suggest you rush to the store and have some of this goodness TONIGHT!

    tipsfrommykitchen.blogspot.com

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  19. I'm a born and raised California girl... but I know about frito pie!! Haha my bf loves it... he likes to use baked beans and some pulled chicken to make more of a bbq thing. Sooo good!

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  20. What is this Big Red you speak of? I'll have to track it down. I have had a frito pie. It was delish. My dad is from El Paso and gets super excited whenever we eat somewhere that he can make one.

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  21. I will be making that!! Can't believe I've never heard of it!

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  22. We call those 'walking tacos' and they are super popular at high school football games. You can get them in the Frito's bag from the concession stands. They are so good!

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  23. When we moved from Connecticut, my very first day of Texas school my parents sent me with lunch money and Frito Pie was for lunch. I was so confused all day what I would be eating, and then after that first day I started begging my parents for it all the time. They used to give it to use at school with onion rings on top, too. SO YUMMY.

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  24. LINDSEY LEE LESLIE RIGGS!

    I will NOT be eating this! This has to have like ten million calories.

    I can't even believe this.

    I am just going to believe that it isn't true. That's people don't eat that soupy mess out of a chip bag.

    Can't be possible.

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  25. Good news. The ghetto Walmart in Milwaukee used to sell Frito pie at their little food area. It's gone now, of course, replaced by Subway or some such thing. I love to eat this with my sister, and we're Wisconsin people.

    Do ya'll have Petro? It's basically a fast food place in East TN that sells nothing but Frito pie.

    As for northern food you should know, I'm drawing a blank. In Wisconsin every meal you order at a restaurant, practically, is served w/a potato. We love potatoes.

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  26. I mean, who eats plain frito's by themself? :)

    I have to be honest tho...Ive never heard of Big Red...and I live in Nashville. *hangs head in shame*

    But...we do eat Deep Fried Snickers! Does that make up for the not knowing of Big Red?!? :)

    Love your blog btw :)

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  27. So crazy to think that people have never had frito pie! It is seriously delicious...one of those things I miss most since becoming a vegetarian! We did try to make it once with vegetarian chili...haha, don't try it, not the same at all!

    I do still enjoy my Big Red though!

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  28. OH MY FRITO PIE!!!!!

    Im loving this.

    This is "that time of the month" food when I can eat whatever i want and justify it because of aunt flow!

    linds the BB, you are amazing for sharing this. I need to be making frito pies and walking tacos someday in my future

    xoxo

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  29. I was obsessed with a place called Petro's at the mall growing up. Basically the same thing
    I think it's a TN thing
    http://www.petros.com/
    YUM.

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  30. from way up north in Quebec (canada) we do have a special meal that EVERYONE loves, especially at 3h00 am when clubs close... it's called ''poutine'' and it's like mixing heaven with calories of hapiness..all you need is some french fries, you put A LOT of cheese on the top and add a mix of barbecue-hot chicken sauce to it so that the cheese would melt a little hummmm ! Just look at the picture you'll want to try it ;)
    http://thedailyeater.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/poutine2.jpg

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  31. Frito Pie?!?!? This sounds amazing!!!!!! On the central coast of CA, at every party and every dinner and every football game and and sports event pretty much, there WILL be santa maria style BBQ. No sauce, no ketchup, we go crazy for the salsa. The tri tip or chicken or burgers or anything are cooked with just some spices and cooked over a flaming hot wood grill then when you pull it off the grill you serve it on some sort of awesome bread and load it up with salsa. SO AMAING. And we make some dang good clam chowder and fresh fish around her too...

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  32. I seriously will dedicate an entire pot of chili to frito pie. Love love love it!

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  33. This sounds so good! Never heard of it before but I am trying it for sure!

    I don't think we have anything special in LA. Just A LOT of Mexican food. And of course avocados.


    P.S. Been voting for you :)

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  34. yumo in my tummo.....i've actually had frito pie - being from SC even! my mom made it as "football watching" food when we were little! and it is amazing!

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  35. oh yum! never heard of a frito pie! sounds so good! i will have to try this!!!

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  36. We call them Frito Chili Pie in OK and I grew up on them too. Only we put yellow mustard on ours. YUM! Now I want one!

    And although I've seen Big Red all over, I don't know what it tastes like!

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  37. I'm from Northern KY (Cincinnati area) and we do that to but when we put in in the fritos bag we call it a "Walking Taco". Why, I'm not sure. And we have Big Red too! YUM!

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  38. MAKING FRITO PIE for Sunday Football!!!!
    what is delicous is taking a can of chili and a can of the fritos jalapeno chedder and heat those up together and use that as a dip...almost orgasmic if you ask me and the perfec amount of spicy..also of course you can never go wrong with the deep fried pickles!

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  39. I am from MD, born and raised, and I have never heard of anything like this until about a year ago. It was called a "walking taco" though and you used Doritos instead of Fritos. Either way, a walking taco and a frito pie both look delicious and one will be my first meal post braces!

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  40. I'm not sure if we have Big Red here in Michigan but we do have Faygo Red Pop which I assume is similar and it is the the bomb.com!

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  41. Ummm....can I please say that I dream about Frito pies. AND Walking Taco's ARE NOT the same thing...Frito Pie = soooooo much better!

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  42. That's it... I'm moving to Texas! Frito pie sounds delisshhhhh! I have to say I love the idea of a walking taco too! YUMMMM in my TUMMMM!

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  43. I've had this! My grandma (from Florida) taught it to us when she was visiting once. It's not too shabby.

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  44. This frito pie sounds straight up amazing. they def don't have this yummy goodness up here in Jersey... can't wait to try it out... and then go straight up run 10 miles to burn off the bazillion calories of it! LOL

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  45. YUMMMM! love me some chili freaking pies!!!!!!!

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  46. This looks like the most delicious treat! I can't believe I have never seen this before. I will definitely be indulging ASAP!

    xo lamb loves

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  47. This looks like the most delicious treat! I can't believe I have never seen this before. I will definitely be indulging ASAP!

    xo lamb loves

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  48. I had no idea Frito Pie was supposed to be a Texas-only thing! I live in Idaho and we just call it chili, chips, and cheese. We had it all the time for lunch at school and I make it at home too. Soooo yummy.

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