Forget the waterslides, the pumpkins, or the unique history of the city’s name – Manteca is about to become the record-holder for California’s largest hamburger.
Fagundes Meats and Catering is planning on cooking a 250-pound hamburger on Saturday to keep in spirit with the Super Bowl on Sunday and to top the previous 222-pound burger that owner Frank Teixeira had a hand in creating three years ago.
The community is welcome to come partake in the spoils once it’s finished at around noon.
“It’s going to be a chance for people to come down and have a piece of history,” Teixeira said of the plan. “It’s all about having fun.”
It was two years ago when Mike Linker of the Stockton-based Fat’s Bar and Grill had the urge to try to cook up the world’s largest hamburger.
The only problem was learning from the Guinness World Records office in London that the official record was a gigantic 8,000 pound hamburger cooked up in Seymore, Wisconsin – sending Linker back to the drawing board.
After digging through some records and discovering that California’s official record was 85 pounds, he set out to claim the Golden State’s biggest burger – calling up Teixeira to come figure out exactly how they were going to grill up that much ground beef.
Using the massive grills on one of his barbecues, Teixeira built the burger and figured out that by placing a grill on top of the burger, enough people would be able to turn the massive piece of meat over to allow the opposite side to cook. He’ll use the same technique on Saturday.
“It was something that we wanted to do for fun, and when we finally came up with the idea to do it, I called Frank and he came up with the idea,” said Linker – who sold the bar two years ago and now runs the Fagundes Gourmet Seasoning line. “Everybody who came out had a great time, and it’s an atmosphere that we’re going to repeat on Saturday.
“We’re going to best that previous mark by 28 pounds, and we’re inviting anyone who wants to come out on Saturday to come down and be a part of this.”
But figuring out how to craft the meat proved to be only the beginning of the massive burger. After using a case of tomatoes, a dozen heads of lettuce, and two huge jars of pickles – as well as placing it all on a custom-baked bun – the wacky project stood more than two feet tall and had to be served up like a pie.
Linker will again be turning to the Stockton-based Genova Bakery to craft a bun big enough to hold the double-decker and all of the fixings that will grace the finished product.
“They have these huge ovens down there, and when we went to them at first to see if they could do it, they said that they could,” Linker said.
Cooking the massive cheeseburger is expected to begin at around 7 a.m. with serving to begin around noon.
Fagundes Meats and Catering is located at 142 Jason Street, and can be reached at 239-4184.
Fagundes Meats and Catering is planning on cooking a 250-pound hamburger on Saturday to keep in spirit with the Super Bowl on Sunday and to top the previous 222-pound burger that owner Frank Teixeira had a hand in creating three years ago.
The community is welcome to come partake in the spoils once it’s finished at around noon.
“It’s going to be a chance for people to come down and have a piece of history,” Teixeira said of the plan. “It’s all about having fun.”
It was two years ago when Mike Linker of the Stockton-based Fat’s Bar and Grill had the urge to try to cook up the world’s largest hamburger.
The only problem was learning from the Guinness World Records office in London that the official record was a gigantic 8,000 pound hamburger cooked up in Seymore, Wisconsin – sending Linker back to the drawing board.
After digging through some records and discovering that California’s official record was 85 pounds, he set out to claim the Golden State’s biggest burger – calling up Teixeira to come figure out exactly how they were going to grill up that much ground beef.
Using the massive grills on one of his barbecues, Teixeira built the burger and figured out that by placing a grill on top of the burger, enough people would be able to turn the massive piece of meat over to allow the opposite side to cook. He’ll use the same technique on Saturday.
“It was something that we wanted to do for fun, and when we finally came up with the idea to do it, I called Frank and he came up with the idea,” said Linker – who sold the bar two years ago and now runs the Fagundes Gourmet Seasoning line. “Everybody who came out had a great time, and it’s an atmosphere that we’re going to repeat on Saturday.
“We’re going to best that previous mark by 28 pounds, and we’re inviting anyone who wants to come out on Saturday to come down and be a part of this.”
But figuring out how to craft the meat proved to be only the beginning of the massive burger. After using a case of tomatoes, a dozen heads of lettuce, and two huge jars of pickles – as well as placing it all on a custom-baked bun – the wacky project stood more than two feet tall and had to be served up like a pie.
Linker will again be turning to the Stockton-based Genova Bakery to craft a bun big enough to hold the double-decker and all of the fixings that will grace the finished product.
“They have these huge ovens down there, and when we went to them at first to see if they could do it, they said that they could,” Linker said.
Cooking the massive cheeseburger is expected to begin at around 7 a.m. with serving to begin around noon.
Fagundes Meats and Catering is located at 142 Jason Street, and can be reached at 239-4184.
