Tater Pig Stand at the Western Montana Fair
Recently I had that opportunity to help out at a booth during the Western Montana Fair. Being new to Missoula, it was a great opportunity to people watch. It was also an affirmation that people in the United States are the same, whether from Boston, Kentucky, or Missoula. They all like to attend the fair, and they all like to eat something deep fried as part of the experience.
If the fair had a official smell, it would be hot oil. If it had an official sound, it would be the sizzle of a freshly breaded corn dog being dropped into a deep fryer. Among the many choices at this year's Western Montana Fair were fried Wisconsin cheddar cheese curds, corn dogs, fry bread, french fries, even deep fried Oreos. While all of these are pretty standard fare, there are two traditions at the Western Montana Fair that are a little out of the ordinary. The first is the Viking. The viking is a long running tradition. It involves a deep fried piece of meat on a stick.
The myth, the legend, the Tater Pig
The other local delicacy was something I've never come across. It's something that I wish I would've thought of. Lovingly named the Tater Pig, this Western Montana delicacy is a bake potato stuffed with a pork sausage. Genius. Served along with the tater pig are a side of shredded cheese, sour cream and butter. The sausage steamed inside the potato most closely resembles a breakfast sausage, but the concept could easily be expanded to include any variety of meaty deliciousness.
It was the Tater Pig that caught my attention and earned my dollars at the fair. I would describe the experience in further depth, but it was exactly as you are imagining it right now. It was a potato, stuffed with a sausage and it tasted exactly as such. To go with this unique little morsel, the volunteers in the Tater Pig booth will serenade you. In the style of barbershop quartet they sing a special little ditty about, you guessed it, the Tater Pig.
Something tells me that I haven't seen the last of the Tater Pig. Someday he may even make an appearance at my dinner table. Minus the song of course.
The finished product - a fully dressed Tater Pig
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