East Idaho Eats: You can find award winning food from the Billmans at the fair

BLACKFOOT — Meat smoked for hours, and made-to-order steaks are just some of the savory treats you’ll find at the Eastern Idaho State Fair this year.

Every day this week, EastIdahoNews.com is featuring some of the best fair foods as part of East Idaho Eats. After winning multiple awards in this year’s Best Fair Food Competition, James Billman’s two vendors, Smokin’ B’s BBQ and Billman’s, are two stops you won’t want to miss.

Taking home first place in the fairest of them all entree category, Smokin B’s The Whole Dam Farm really gives a wide range of flavors and textures. A layer of crispy french fries smothered in smoked creamy mac and cheese is topped with smoked brisket, pork and chicken.

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“The name came from one of our customers out here,” Billman said. “We had a guy in line and we used to just put pulled pork on top of it and he said ‘hey give me the whole damn farm.'”

Billman’s food is not only winning at the state fair but also internationally, taking first place at the Calgary Stampede with the “best hamburger.” Many establishments have their own cowboy burger, but Billman took it a step further using two quarter pound patties, cheese, smoked ham and brisket all between a kaiser roll. Billman’s Smokin’ Cowboy also won first place in the fair’s “Best New Entree Winners” category.

You also don’t have to go all the way to a sit-down steakhouse to find a choice ribeye topped with onions and mushrooms. Billman’s takes it a step further, sandwiching the massive steak between a kaiser roll.

“We grill them to order, so you can have it medium, well, however you want it,” Billman said.

You can find Billman’s, Smokin’ B’s BBQ and dozens of other food vendors at the fair until Sept. 11.

A map of all the food vendors at the Eastern Idaho State Fair is available here.