J.D. Myers, of Humboldt, checks on the pork burger as it cooks in a specially constructed pan during the Pork and Putt Classic Saturday in downtown Humboldt. The burger was 42 inches in diameter, 10 inches thick and weighed about 240 pounds.

HUMBOLDT – The state of Iowa can claim itself as the home of a number of tasty world records: the world’s largest popcorn ball, world’s largest pizza and now, quite possibly, the world’s largest pork burger.

Five cooks worked Saturday afternoon attempting to prepare the massive burger, which was 42 inches in diameter, 10 inches thick and weighed 240 pounds, in downtown Humboldt at the inaugural Pork and Putt Classic.

The oversized sandwich would be the first pork burger to make the Guinness Book of World Records. A 127-pound burger was once cooked by the city of Des Moines, but was not recognized by Guinness.

“We’d heard of the world’s largest tenderloin, and there’s a record for a beef burger, but so far, no pork burger,” said J.D. Myers, one of the cooks for the burger.

Preparation for the burger took two days, with the meat being placed in a specially constructed pan on Friday evening.

“We started with 240 pounds of pork,” said Myers. “We did everything at Hy-Vee yesterday, added some seasoning and put it in the pan to sit overnight in a cooler.”

Grilling also started bright and early Saturday.

“We were out here cooking at 7 a.m,,” said Myers.

The cooks expected it to take nine to 10 hours for the burger to be fully prepared.

“Things are looking good,” said Gary Vinsand, head of the five-man grilling team. “We hope to have it done around 4:30, we just have to get it to the right temperature at about 160 degrees.”

The Humboldt Hy-Vee store also baked what may have been one of the world’s largest buns for the burger to be placed on.

One of the biggest challenges for the team was expected to be getting the burger from the pan to the bun in one piece, but Vinsand said he had a strategy for that.

“We’ll weigh it as we go,” he said. “We’ll weigh the bun pan, then the bun, then we’ll bring out the pan, clean it up and weigh the meat.”

Once the burger was cooked and weighed, anyone could have a taste of Humboldt history for a freewill donation.

Contact Emilie Nelson at (515) 573-2141 or enelson@messengernews.net.