Well, Waddaya Know… Another First for Pittsburgh: World’s Largest Pierogi

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On National Pierogi Day, this morning, chefs at Rivers Casino made what Guinness World Records verified to be the world’s largest pierogi. The giant dumpling weighed in at 123 pounds (56 kilos), establishing a record. Filled with 60 pounds (27 kilos) of potatoes and 5 pounds (2¼ kilos) of cheddar cheese, the pierogi was so big that the casino had to make a stainless-steel holder to first boil and then bake it. The total cooking time was about 2 hours. Executive Chef Richard Marmion said, “It’s pretty cool. What a totally neat experience we can be proud of”. He laboured for more than a year to come up with the recipe and figure out how to cook it. Assistant Executive Chef Adam Tharpe added, “We’re part of that Guinness weirdness in a very Pittsburgh way. Only in Pittsburgh would there be so much excitement over pierogies”. However, already, controversy is brewing. Minutes after the official proclamation by Guinness adjudicator Michael Empric at 10.00 EDT, the folks at PGH Pierogi Truck took to Twitter in protest. They tweeted, “We have fundamental problems with this ‘pierogi’. Because it isn’t one. It’s pagach”. The pagach is a variation on the pierogi. It’s an Eastern European yeast bread stuffed with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut or sweet cabbage, and then baked.

8 October 2014

Gretchen McKay

Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/10/08/Another-first-for-Pittsburgh-World-s-biggest-pierogi/stories/201410080174

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