Austin Daily Herald

THE FREMONT TRIBUNE

FREMONT, Neb. — Thanks to Spam, a Nebraska town has found its way into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Don Cunningham, event organizer, holds a small open-faced sandwich while standing in front of the world's largest open-faced sandwich created Saturday as part of John C. Fremont Days. (Chris Bristol, Fremont Tribune)

Volunteers spent hours Saturday under mostly sunny skies in Fremont, Neb., constructing what is believed to be the world’s largest open-face sandwich. Nebraska State Patrol troopers weighed the ‘Spamwich’ at 1,652 pounds — nearly 300 pounds more than the previous record.

The record was set at the town’s annual celebration, John C. Fremont Days.

Fremont Days officials still have to get the record attempt certified. Plans are under way to have the necessary documentation delivered to Guinness’ London office.

Officials spent Saturday morning mixing the bread dough in the kitchens at Hy-Vee Food Store and Midland University.

That dough was spread on a 14-foot by 6-foot baking surface designed for the event. Once the dough was ready, a forklift placed it in a special oven made from a trailer body that was rigged with heating elements capable of producing 400,000 BTUs.

Hormel employees and their families grilled about 11,500 slices — 1,242 pounds — of Spam for the sandwich, and spent hours piling those slices onto the freshly baked bread. The Spam was topped with nine cases of pickles and two cases of mustard to meet the Guinness specifications.

Afterward, throngs of people lined up to sample the sandwich and to be part of history.

“The Spam brand was excited to donate 1,400 pounds of Spam product to Fremont, Neb.’s, attempt at breaking the record for the largest sandwich, or Spamwich, as we like to call it,” said Nicole Behne, product manager, Hormel Foods. “It was a tasty treat for all involved, and we love that it helped showcase one of the most popular ways Americans eat Spam today.”

— The Austin Daily Herald contributed to this report.

Dozens of volunteers gathered Saturday to create the world's largest open-faced sandwich as part of the annual John C. Fremont festival. The sandwich, made of bread, Spam, pickles and mustard weighed in at 1652 pounds. (Chris Bristol, Fremont Tribune)