How many tamales could you eat in 10 minutes?
There’s something deeply Texan about sitting in front of a seven-pound burger with a ticking timer and a cheering crowd. Maybe it’s the competitive spirit, maybe it’s the everything-is-bigger-here mentality. Either way, food challenges in Texas aren’t just sideshow spectacles—they’re a full-blown cultural event, complete with emcees, prizes, and bragging rights.
From the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, roadside diners and festival tents across the Lone Star State have turned over-the-top eating contests into local legend. Want to watch someone take down a 72-ounce steak in Amarillo? There’s a restaurant for that. Curious how many jalapeños one human can consume in 60 seconds? Head south to Brownsville’s Sombrero Festival and find out. Whether you’re a curious spectator or a brave contestant with an iron stomach, there’s a Texas food challenge ready to test your limits.
The OG Texas Food Challenge
The granddaddy of all Texas eating contests started in the 1960s when the founder of The Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo, R.J. “Bob” Lee, hosted a steak-eating contest among 12 cowboys. The winner consumed 4.5 pounds of steak, a baked potato, salad, shrimp cocktail, and a bread roll within an hour. Lee was so impressed he made it a standing challenge: eat the whole thing, and the meal is free.
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Since then, 90,000 people have pulled off of I-40, parked near the colossal fiberglass cow looming over the parking lot, entered the blinding yellow building, sat at the table onstage in the middle of the restaurant, and tried to eat the same amount of food in less than an hour. Before the challenge begins, an announcer grabs the mic, informs the crowd that a new contender is stepping up, rattles off the rules, and starts the red countdown clock. Throughout the hour, the announcer chimes in with play-by-play updates and crowd-pumping encouragement.
The lore of this Texas steak-eating contest has long been part of local legend, but technology has catapulted that fame onto a national—and even international—stage. Owner Bobby Lee credits viral social media posts, some racking up millions of views, for the surge in popularity.
“Last year we would have about five contestants a day, this year it is about 12 – 13 a day,” he said. “Last week we had 24 in one day and we thought we were going to run out of steak.”
About a quarter of the restaurant’s guests are international. For those who can’t make the trip, Lee livestreams the contest table on his website. If the feed goes down, he gets calls from as far away as Bangkok and Taiwan asking him to fix it. Apparently, betting on whether a contestant can finish the steak has become a popular pastime in bars halfway around the world.
The Tamale Eating Contest
The World Tamale Eating Championship is a ten-minute race to see who can eat the most tamales. Held just north of Dallas, the annual contest draws elite competitors from across the country. The format is simple: eat as many pork tamales as you can in ten minutes.
The Tamale competition began in 2005 with a humble 36-tamale win and has since evolved into a marquee event, attracting stars like Joey Chestnut and Tim “Eater X” Janus. What makes this contest particularly punishing is the tamale itself—dense, doughy, and wrapped in corn husks that must be peeled off mid-bite. With a $4,500 prize purse and a cult following of fans, the tamale contest has become one of the most iconic—and undeniably Texan—food challenges on the circuit.
In 2019, Geoff Esper stunned the crowd by downing 95 tamales in ten minutes—a record that still stands and serves as the gold standard for every challenger who steps up to the plate. Esper resides in the Northeast but frequently travels to Texas to compete in various food competitions. He credits the state’s “everything is bigger” mentality for the sheer number and scale of its eating competitions.
The Spiciest Food Challenge
The La Costeña Jalapeño Eating Contest held each February during Laredo’s WBCA Jalapeño Festival ranks among the most blistering food competitions in Texas. Billed as “the hottest 15 minutes in South Texas,” this annual face-off challenges participants to down as many whole jalapeños as they can in just a quarter of an hour. Participants must eat one pepper at a time, ensuring each is fully consumed before proceeding to the next. Water is available, but seasoned competitors know it only spreads the burn.
The contest is open to the public, but participants are required to sign a waiver acknowledging the risks associated with consuming large quantities of spicy peppers. The record to beat? A jaw-dropping 279 jalapeños, set in 2019 by professional competitive eater Molly Schuyler, edging out the prior high of 266 by Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti.
The Hottest Burger Challenge
The Four Horsemen Challenge at Chunky’s Burgers in San Antonio takes all the spiciness from the jalapeno eating contest and piles it high on a half-pound of beef. Touted by the Travel Channel’s Man v. Food as the “Hottest Burger on the Planet,” this burger is packed with jalapeño, serrano, habanero sauce, and the infamous ghost pepper. Before you even take a bite, you’ll need to be at least 18 (or have a permission slip) and sign a waiver acknowledging the real risk of regret.
In order to win, contestants must finish the burger in 25 minutes—no restroom breaks, no spitting—then survive an extra five-minute burn without food or drink. A “chuck bucket” is on hand for anyone who taps out early, but using it disqualifies you (and missing it adds a $20 cleaning fee). Winners don’t even get a free meal, but they do get a photo on Chunky’s “Wall of Flame” and bragging rights.
The Breakfast of Champions Challenge
For those who want to start the day with a stomach full of pancakes, look no further than the Mega Pancake Challenge at Ol’ South Pancake House in Fort Worth. This legendary contest dares diners to conquer eight massive pancakes—each weighing about a pound and spanning a foot in diameter—within a 60-minute timeframe. Participants can enhance their stack with butter, syrup, or other toppings and are allowed any beverage offered by the restaurant during the challenge. Because of the density of the pancakes, this is one of the harder challenges to complete, said Houston resident Chris Dale.
“It took me 20 minutes to finish the last half of a pancake,” he said. “I remember staring at that last bite on my fork for a while, not knowing if I could actually finish it.” He did and is now one of the few who have a coveted spot on the restaurant’s Wall of Fame.
The Burger to End All Burger Challenges
At Kenny’s Burger Joint in Frisco, Texas, the El Jefe Grande Challenge stands as a formidable test for even the most seasoned eaters. Contestants have an hour to eat a colossal 7-pound burger with a 3-pound beef patty topped with chili, queso, jalapeños, a half-pound of bacon, onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and a generous serving of French fries—all nestled between two oversized slices of Texas toast. Those who can finish the 7,000-calorie behemoth are a rare breed— only 14 people in 15 years have successfully completed the challenge. Dale has tried and failed to eat the Kenny Burger three times.
“The bun is the hardest part. It is about two pounds of just bread,” he said. “Bread gets me every time.”
