Nostalgia and Iowa pride are two of the best ingredients for new foods at the Iowa State Fair. Of course, the dish has to taste good, appeal to the masses, and it helps if it’s served on a stick, as 50-plus of the hundreds of dishes found on the Fairgrounds are in 2025.
Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ & Brew thinks it has the magic recipe for fair food success in 2025. The restaurant’s creative take on an iconic Midwest classic — the ham ball — comes to the 11 days of the Iowa State Fair with pride for an iconic Iowa dish and nostalgic ingredients that remind fairgoers of dinners with grandma.
This Luther-based barbecue joint brings its smoking expertise directly to the Fairgrounds with this dish.
For the third year, Whatcha Smokin’ has been a bona fide contender for Best New Fair Food after making the top three in the previous two years. And while Whatcha Smokin’ hasn’t won yet — as owner Gwen Page says, “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride” — perhaps year three is the lucky one.
The Three Little Pigs: a nostalgic fair food innovation
Pitmaster Paul Babberl said the restaurant’s contest entry, Three Little Pigs, represents more than just another fair food — it’s a carefully crafted homage to Iowa tradition with a modern twist.
“Everybody’s got their aunt who made them, their mom, their grandma. So it’s kind of cool, that nostalgia to bring everybody together,” Babberl said.
The dish isn’t simply “a ham ball on a stick” but incorporates multiple nostalgic elements designed to bring fairgoers together.
The ham balls are made from a blend of ham and pork, but the real innovation lies in the accompanying elements. The dish of three ham balls features one that’s an ode to the corndog with ketchup, honey mustard, and cornbread crumble. Another, a hat tip to funnel cake, comes coated in powdered sugar. The third is a rendition that reminds you of a Cherry Coke. It uses a Cherry Coke reduction made with maraschino cherries, creating a complex flavor profile that goes far beyond traditional fair fare.
Since the restaurant doesn’t use fryers at the Iowa State Fair, Babberl had to come up with another way to cook the ham balls using the white oak smoker.
The team starts smoking early in the morning, around 4 or 5 a.m., at the Fairgrounds. “They’re hustling butts and brisket from Luther down to the State Fair,” Page said. “They are smoking at the State Fair as well,” Page said.
The dish sells for $13 at the fair.
What are ham balls?
Food historians say this distinctively Midwestern dish is primarily associated with Iowa, with some theories linking the dish to the Amish ham loaf tradition in Pennsylvania. In the late 1800s, ham balls were a staple of the Pennsylvania Dutch communities. Butchers popularized the dish.
Others point to ham balls as a way to use leftover ham. Following World War II, housekeeping magazines and cookbooks helped popularize the dish.
Most recipes call for a combination of ground ham and hamburger mixed with binders such as eggs and cracker crumbs. The dish is served with a sweet glaze made with brown sugar and vinegar, or tomato soup.
Building on past success
This isn’t Whatcha Smokin’s first time creating innovative fair foods. The restaurant’s previous creation, the Iowa Sm’Oak’ed Roll, became a massive hit, selling more than 20,000 units and establishing itself as one of the top three Best New Food competitors at the fair in 2024.
Page called it an “Iowa take on sushi” with a flattened pork tenderloin stuffed with jasmine rice, jalapeno cream corn, and smoked poblano queso, topped with poblano ranch and Giddy Up Texas taco sauce.
The year before, the Iowa Twinkie was one of the Best New Food competitors. The smoked bacon-wrapped jalapeno comes stuffed with pulled pork, sweet corn, cream cheese, and ranch seasoning. It is then glazed with Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ & Brew house-made Sweet + Sticky BBQ sauce and drizzled with house-made ranch dressing. It’s become a regular dish on the Whatcha Smokin’ menu in Luther, served as a special on Sundays. It returns to the Iowa State Fair this year. Whatcha Smokin’ sold 27,000 units in its first year.
The team’s approach to developing new dishes starts with ideas from the previous year and refining them. They focus on creating items that aren’t just novelty for novelty’s sake, but foods that have staying power and genuine appeal to fair visitors.
In July, the fair invited 11 vendors to compete for Best New Food at the Iowa State Fair, with three, including Whatcha Smokin’, moving on to compete at the fair. Fairgoers can vote for their favorite through Aug. 13, with the winner announced on Aug. 15.
Among the competition for the Best New Food at the Iowa State Fair were diverse offerings including bacon chicken ranch egg rolls from Winn & Sara’s Kitchen (the defending champions), Nashville hot chicken mac and cheese pizza slices, Korean corn dogs, a scotcheroo shake, and the butter cow tornado, showcasing the creativity and variety that makes the Iowa State Fair food scene so distinctive.
Over the Top’s scotcheroo shake and Winn & Sara’s Kitchen’s bacon chicken ranch eggroll are the other two finalists.
The Iowa State Fair’s new food competition has become a significant platform for food vendors to showcase innovation while honoring tradition. Previous winners and popular items have included everything from a deep-fried bacon brisket mac-n-cheese grilled cheese and apple eggrolls to the ultimate bacon brisket bomb.
For Page and Babberl, the competition represents an opportunity to share their passion for quality barbecue with a broader audience while contributing to the rich tradition of Iowa State Fair food innovation.
“It’s a dish that celebrates every nostalgic feeling, from all the fair flavors,” Page said. “One thing that I really loved is when we showed up to the judging, … the first thing they said was, ‘That makes me think of my ham balls’, and ‘That makes me think of my grandma’. It’s another level of nostalgia.
“I’m just very proud of the creativity behind the dish, and I have a feeling this year, it’s gonna be our year.”
Where to find Whatcha Smokin’ at the Iowa State Fair
Location: West of Jacobson Exhibition Center
Other dishes on the menu:
Where to find Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ & Brew
Location: 403 Iowa Ave., Luther
Contact: 515-257-7490 or whatchasmokinbbq.com
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Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Three Little Pigs dish brings grandma’s ham balls to the Iowa State Fair — with a twist
Reporting by Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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