CLEARFIELD – On Saturday, Denny Leigey and the folks at Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub took the plunge to put Clearfield back on the map as home to the world’s largest hamburger.
Around 12 p.m., the crew wheeled out a juggernaut of a hamburger; one pound each of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, four-to-six onions on top, one pound of lettuce, 33 pickles, one pound of relish, 160 slices of cheese, tomatoes and, not to be remiss, 80 pounds of ground beef.
In all, the burger weighed in at 123 pounds.
The new burger, titled the Beer Barrel Main Event Charity Burger is targeted to help charities, according to Leigey. While the burger would cost people off the street $379 at the current market price, Leigey said he is willing to work with charitable organizations to help offset the cost.
Planning for the burger began five months ago after two other establishments, Big Bob’s BBQ in Thailand and Clinton County Station in New Jersey rolled out burgers weighing in around 105 pounds, surpassing Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub’s previous record.
To break the record, the burger needed to be on the menu, something that was being done as the finishing touches were being put on the mammoth Main Eventer.
Specialty equipment needed to be made specifically for the Main Eventer. T.D. Welding and Fabricating, here in Clearfield, did the work on that special equipment.
Work on the burger itself started on Wednesday. Then it spent between eight-to-10 hours in the oven.
As part of the festivities, competitive eaters drove from as far as New Jersey to take part in eating challenges. One group, the United Eaters of Pennsylvania took part in a two pound burger challenge. The older record to finish the burger, which when complete with the fixin’s, weighs in at around five pounds, was 15 minutes. Ian Hickman broke that record with a time of 14 minutes, 45 seconds.
Leigey will submit the paperwork to Guinness World Records on Monday. From there it will take between four-to-six weeks for verification of the record.
Leigey said that his goals were to bring the record back Clearfield and bring people to Clearfield. He said that brining people to the pub gives people the opportunity to explore other areas of Clearfield as well.
“We want people to come not only for Denny’s … but to see the many the many things people have to offer in Clearfield,” said Leigey.
