A year after having to settle for having merely the largest recorded meatball in North America, the Columbus Italian Festival can claim the top prize.
This year’s attempt at a world record for a giant meatball finished cooking yesterday with a weight of 1,110.5 pounds, according to organizers of the Columbus Italian Club’s meatball project. The old world record of 749.57 pounds was set in spring 2010 in Germany.
“We’re ecstatic,” said Vic Hipsley, sponsorship chairman of the project. “Not only did we beat the record, we shattered the record.”
Last year’s attempt started well above the German mark, but the cooking process melted away hundreds of pounds of fat, leaving the festival with only a 655.5-pound meatball.
This year’s meatball started at 1,492 pounds — the number was a coincidence, organizers say. It cooked in a specially built oven for three days to an internal temperature of 155 degrees.
The project was thoroughly videotaped and documented for submission to Guinness World Records, said Rick Willimott, a project spokesman.
A few specially designated people actually got to taste the meatball. A lack of refrigeration while the meatball is on display means samples can’t be widely distributed, Willimott said.
“It was good,” he said. “It needed some sauce, but it was good.”
The festival continues today from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Italian Village. Admission is $5.
jeb.phillips@dispatch.com 
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