**The chili came out of the oven at 190* (with an instant read). Leave uncovered and stir often as the goal is to only have two hours where it is cooling through 140* down to 40*. Be careful not to warm up everything in the fridge, add some blue ice. But be sure it is cool before going in since it is such a large quantity.

**Chili improves with a day or two to set. The flavors really mature, I don't know why.

**Can cook or reheat two hotel pans in my oven and two more in downstairs oven. I want to reheat all the way to 180* - 190* consistently throughout

**For 4 hotel pans I preheated the ovens to 500*. Put two pans in each oven, turned down to convection 350*. After 90 minutes pans were heated to 160*. Then convection 250* for another 60-90 minutes.

***To avoid the cooling and heating process for 4 hotel pans of chili for church, I finished it Saturday afternoon and let it cool and have a rest. Then I held it all night in the oven at 170*. It was still fresh and good in the morning. I also didn't add the freshly chopped peppers until I put it in the oven for the night. They were still brightly colored and good!

Tomato quantities:
(4 lb tomatoes in TWO qt freezer box,  Each #10 can holds 6 1/2 lb tomatoes.)

~~Occasionally I want to make chili by cooking the beans separately, because it allows you to cook them to just the right creamy softness. Sometimes I've had a hard time with all the beans in the chili cooking evenly and to that creamy soft state. Then, I need to thicken the chili. So here's what I did.

~If you need to thicken the chili, blend some of the beans and add back. Their starches will thicken it right up. I think this would be especially good with a meaty chili in which you've used the broth.

~But I found that the cooking water was so tasty that I used a skillet to reduce the cooking water. I scooped out the beans once they were warm enough to leave the water behind. That way I don't cook the beans any more, since they are already perfect! The water and the few beans left in it became thick and starchy and very flavorful.

Quantity for 12 quarts - one hotel pan OR 15 qt brazier pan (hotel pan is 14 qts but 12 qts usable) (nearly 50 8 oz servings)

Brine 3 lb pinto beans in salt water (9.5 kangan) overnight. 3T salt into about 6 qt water.

Salt about 4 lb ground beef and refrigerate.

If using the large brazier pan, you are working on the stove-top as you normally would, but if you are doing multiple pans, you would be using the oven method.

In deep hotel pan at convection 500*
saute:
garlic
chopped onions, in lard, or beef fat, preferably, salted to taste, just until translucent then add:
about 3-4 lb ground beef, previously salted hopefully,
Saute just until meat begins to lose its pink color. Add a little of the tomatoes and break the meat up. (this keeps the meat soft) Return to the oven very briefly.

Meanwhile gather:
1/3 c ancho chili powder
2 T cumin
1 T coriander
1 T mexican oregano
Add to meat and return to convection oven 500* to saute for just a minute or two.

**  Can use my 'dry BBQ rub' spices in place of these spices. Use 1/3 to 1/2 cup and add the coriander.

Add:
-2 #10 cans whole tomatoes
-OR 6 qts fresh frozen tomatoes
-OR make it meaty and add 2 qts beef and/or chicken drip or broth along with 4 qts fresh frozen tomatoes
-OR 2-4 qts beef broth and 2 qts simmered and reduced my home canned tomatoes

-The soaked beans all rinsed off.

Cover and bake, or simmer, about 1-2 hours (at convection 500*, especially for two pans) until beans begin to soften.

Add:
chopped peppers and continue to bake, or simmer very gently,
until beans are soft and peppers are soft but still retain some shape. 60 minutes (at convection 400* downstairs oven quickly finished the chili!). Maybe want to turn oven down to convection 350* - 400* so the flavors develop.

~Thicken with masa or cornmeal. Just stir it in after the beans have softened, so they can have the liquid to cook in. The masa absorbs the extra fat and becomes so flavorful.

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