Cotton candy turkey leg?! Inside Scarowinds food with the park’s executive chef
Halloween has arrived at Carowinds, and the park’s executive chef gave us a rundown of Scarowinds food and drinks — along with recipes to recreate two of them at home.
Scarowinds takes place select nights through Oct. 29, 2023. The event features five haunted mazes, six scare zones, several live shows, and an assortment of themed dining options.
John Loukas, executive chef at Carowinds, performed a live cooking demonstration of two seasonal menu items for media on Sept. 14, 2023: “Buffalo Brains” bites (fried cauliflower) and “Fear the Reaper” chicken dip.
While adding the finishing buffalo sauce to the cauliflower bites, Loukas said with a smile, “I think my grandma might beat me up for adding the sauce!”
Lucky for you, Loukas sent us home with recipes, shared below. Keep reading for info about more Scarowinds food.
Note: It’s our understanding that most, if not all, of the items listed in this article are available during both Scarowinds (nighttime haunt event) and The Great Pumpkin Fest (daytime family-friendly event).
Recipe: “Buffalo Brains” Bites
Available at Terminal A in Aeronautica Landing
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower (chopped into florets)
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
- 2 cups buffalo sauce
- 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oil to 350°.
- In a large bowl, add water, flour, garlic powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. Combine.
- Toss cauliflower florets into batter and drain excess.
- Fry in oil until golden brown for 3-4 minutes.
- Take them out of the fryer and place in a large bowl. Toss fried cauliflower. Garnish with green onion. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing.
Recipe: “Fear the Reaper” Chicken Dip
Available at Terminal A in Aeronautica Landing
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 2 cups blue cheese crumbles
- 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease 9” oven-safe baking dish.
- In a large bowl, add chicken, cream cheese, wing sauce, and 1/2 cup of each of the cheeses. Combine.
- Turn mixture out into prepared pie dish, smoothing top lightly with a spatula. Top with remaining cheese.
- Bake 30-35 minutes, or until lightly browned and bubbly.
- Garnish with blue cheese crumbles and serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or homemade pita chips.
Savory and Sweet Halloween Treats
It’s Halloween, so sweets are in plentiful supply. This includes, yes, the cotton candy turkey leg. To be clear, it’s a smoked turkey leg wrapped in cotton candy, not a turkey leg that tastes like cotton candy flavoring.
The cotton candy turkey leg was for display only during our event, so we didn’t get to try it. However, adventurous guests who were bold enough to taste the pickle milkshake, one of the new items at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival 2023, will no doubt want to add this to their 2023 theme park food list. You’ll find it at Blue Ridge Fixin’s in Blue Ridge Junction.
Oreo lovers should make a pit stop at Funnel Cake Emporium in Celebration Plaza. The Trick “Oreo” Treat funnel cake is a sandwich of sorts. Two chocolate funnel cakes serve as stand-in buns, with sweet cream between them and crumbled Oreos and chocolate fudge on top.
Shake Central near Kiddy Hawk serves several seasonally sweet shakes, including three variations of Dole Whip.
Scary Berry Lemonade Chiller combines Berry Dole soft serve with Minute Maid lemonade.
The Screamcicle Shake, which Loukas called his favorite item on the park’s fall menu, is a concoction of vanilla ice cream, Orange Dole soft serve, whipped cream, and a Hershey’s Orange Blossom bar.
The Swamp Juice Chiller (not pictured) pairs Lemon Dole soft serve with Grape Fanta and gummy worms.
If savory is more your speed, you’ll find a number of selections in addition to the aforementioned “Buffalo Brains” bites and “Fear the Reaper” chicken dip.
La Llorona Fries, available at Fair Fries in County Fair are loaded with pork, pineapple, pickled red onions, jalapeños, and cilantro lime crema.
Scarowinds Themed Cocktails
Carowinds’ spooky-themed alcoholic beverages are available at the Blue Ridge Bar in Blue Ridge Junction, the Harmony Hall Bar near Intimidator, Bob Lobotomy’s Harlequin Bar in County Fair, and Terminal A in Aeronautica Landing.
Additionally, “blood bag” cocktails and mocktails are available throughout the park.
This is just a sample of Carowinds’ fall menu. For a full list and descriptions, click here.
For more tips on visiting Carowinds this autumn, check out our Guide to Scarowinds 2023 and Guide to The Great Pumpkin Fest 2023.
