MINNEAPOLIS — The Cedar Lakes Casino-Hotel in Cass Lake broke the world record for the largest Indian taco as part of its grand opening celebration Saturday.
According to the Bemidji Pioneer, the Indian taco weighed over 350 pounds and measured 8 feet in diameter. The fry bread alone weighed 150.2 pounds
In 2011, residents of Gallup, N.M., attempted to write themselves into the Guinness Book of World Records by constructing the world’s largest Navajo taco.
The colossal taco, which was more than 10 feet in diameter, used 150 pieces of fry bread, 65 pounds of ground beef, 65 pounds of beans, 50 pounds of lettuce, 90 pounds of cheese, and more than 30 pounds of green chilli.
At the time, New Mexican officials said there was no record for the world’s largest Navajo taco, so they decided to build one.
But weighing in at 350 pounds and measuring 8 feet in diameter, the Indian taco put the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s new Cedar Lakes Casino-Hotel into the Guinness world record book for 2019 on Saturday, Aug. 10.
Official Mike Marcotte announced that the fry bread itself, which weighed 150.2 pounds without toppings, set the record, according to a news release. The chilli, lettuce and cheese toppings added another 200 pounds to the scale.
More than 500 people in attendance split the taco, which has traditionally been a staple at Indigenous powwows across the country.
The specialty is fried dough, fluffy and soft at the base, with taco toppings and thick chilli on top. It was born in the late 1800s from government rations of flour, lard, salt and baking powder, according to Indian Country today. The toppings came about later as time went on and access to fresh veggies came.
For the record-setting fry bread, Rick and Jeff Baird, owners of Cass Metal Craft in Cass Lake, provided the cooker. Tana Robinson created the recipe, and chef William Erickson organized the event.
The title-holder of world’s largest flour taco still belongs to Mexico, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The cheese and meat filled concoction, which was prepared by the city of Mexicali in March 2003, weighed in at 1,654 pounds.
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s new casino opened on August 8.
