Photo: Steven M 61, Flickr

While well-intentioned do-gooders like us usually spend our time touting the shear greatness of wholesome and fresh food, we just have to tell you about a concoction that's so mind-bogglingly unhealthy, you can't help but be kind of in awe of it: Deep-fried butter. That's right, pure fat fried in fat. It's possibly the least healthy thing ever invented (hey, at least this calorie shocker has protein) -- in fact, the only thing I can think of that would be worse would be deep-fried butter wrapped in bacon and smothered in Velveeta. Do not try this at home, people.

Deep fried butter is the brain child of Abel Gonzales Jr., and it's vying for the top prize at the Big Tex Choice Awards, which showcases la creme de la creme (so to speak) of the fair food at the Texas State Fair. Just where did he get the idea? A love of buttered toast led him to the natural conclusion that his favorite staple would be much better deep fried (isn't everything?). The dish is made with frozen balls of whipped butter -- each about the size of a golf ball -- which are then covered in dough and deep fried. They can be injected with flavor, sprinkled with sugar -- or enjoyed in their natural, artery-clogging state.

But in case you're thinking this is your food dream come true, please heed the (totally obvious) warning of its inventor, who cautions that this should be just an occasional indulgence. "[The fair] is a special time of the year where you want something good. You work it off for the next few weeks eating salads," he says. Though if you actually want to burn this off, we think it will take more than a few salads -- a quick jog to Buenos Aires sounds about right.

Curious about other fair foods, like the funnel cake? A whopping 760 calories in this one.