Querétaro's record-breaking taco.
The state of Querétaro earned the Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest carnitas taco on Sunday.
Stretching an entire city block, the enormous taco measured 102 meters long and weighed in at 1,200 kilograms of tortillas and 1,507 kilograms of seasoned pork meat.
The organizer of the event, Alejandro Paredes Reséndiz, said it began in 2011 when he made a promise to his uncle — head of the Querétaro gastronomical council — that he would make the world’s largest carnitas taco.
He researched the most consumed food product in the state and found that it was carnitas.
“I recognize that there are other states in the country, like Michoacán, where they make delicious carnitas, but here in Querétaro there are seven different styles,” he said.
He said the Guinness organizing committee had declined five previous applications for the record, waiting until event organizers had fulfilled all the requirements necessary to qualify for a world record.
“We used certified workers with history in Querétaro,” said Reséndiz. “We complied with all the regulations of the Guinness contract. All of the carnitas were made today, everyone had the proper equipment and, most importantly, we shared the food with all who attended.”
The event took eight months of planning, utilized local carnitas producers and gathered 15,000 people to witness the spectacle and then eat the results.
Guinness World Records does not award prize money, but Reséndiz said any money earned as a result of the record will be donated.
“If we earn even one peso, it will be donated to the DIF family services center, because Querétaro should be the best state in Latin America,” he said.
For Reséndiz, the achievement was not only a world record, but also a personal best.
“I broke my own record because the last taco I made was 75 meters long. It was registered, but not certified. I hope that all 15,000 people can eat. We began at six in the morning and we won’t go home until the volunteers feed the visitors until the taco is gone,” he said.
Carnitas are made by cooking the different parts of the pig in giant copper or stainless steel pots. The meat is traditionally seasoned with a mineral salt called tequesquite, but there are many different regional variations.
Source: Infobae (sp)
