Is it FRY-day yet? Of course it is! It is always FRY-Day here at Iowa’s Largest Frying Pan in Brandon, Iowa.
This giant frying pan was built in 2004 to promote Brandon’s popular cowboy breakfast. The local fundraiser started as a semi-annual event in 2000 and is now held annually. Each year around one thousand people feast on favorite foods like scrambled eggs, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, potatoes, sausage, and ham — all cooked the “cowboy” way — outside in cast iron cookware over open flames.
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With 1,000 hungry fans, it’s no wonder Brandon decided to construct some giant cookware. But just how big is Iowa’s largest frying pan? The pan stretches to 9 feet, 3 inches at the rim. If you include the five-foot handle, this pan reaches a grand total of 14 feet, 3 inches. And it weighs a whopping 1,020 pounds.
And what can you cook in a frying pan this size? Well, just about anything you want, but, according to the informational sign here’s how this Iowa roadside attraction stacks up to a normal 10-inch skillet.
- A standard flying pan can fry up a half dozen — 6 — eggs for breakfast. This one? 528 eggs. That’s 44 dozen!
- A normal pan can hold 4 pork chops. This one? 352. A whopping 176 pounds of pork!
- Speaking of pork… you can’t forget the bacon! And while a normal ten-inch frying pan can fry up 1 pound of the meat, Iowa’s largest frying pan holds 88 pounds. That’s a lot of bacon!
Looking for more of the best Iowa roadside attractions? Be sure to check out Albert the Bull, the Giant Volkswagen Beetle Spider, the World’s Largest Strawberry, and the Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk.
For comparison, a 10 inch frying pan holds 6 eggs, and Iowa’s Largest Fryin’ Pan would hold 528 eggs, or 44 dozen. A 10-inch frying pan holds 4 pork chops, and this one holds 352 (1/2 pound) pork chops or 176 pounds of pork chops. A 10 inch frying pan holds 1 pound of bacon and Iowa’s Largest Fryin’ Pan holds 88 pounds of bacon.
The now annual Cowboy Breakfast is held the third Sunday (8am-1pm) in September. The first breakfast was held in 2000 and was held twice a year until 2010. We serve an average of one thousand people each year. Breakfast consists of scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, pancakes, fried potatoes, sausage gravy and baking powder biscuits. All cooked outside over open fires in cast iron frying pans/Dutch ovens. We have served nearly 22,000 people since 2000. The profits from the Cowboys Breakfasts are used for the construction and maintenance of he Brandon Area Community Center. (Iowa’s Largest Fryin’ Pan is located at the site of the Community Center)
The Brandon Kwik Stop has a variety of “Fryin Pan” souvenirs for sale.
Iowa’s Largest Frying
Address: 800-850 Main St, Brandon, IA
Cost: Free to See
Hours: Always Visible
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