Cooking for a crowd

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs for 24

These are estimates. They come from rules of thumb, not a recipe we tested at this size. Go by the recipe's own doneness cues and a thermometer, and taste as you go.

The plan

Make it 6 times over: about 24 servings.

The recipe serves 4. How it cooks: one big pot.

Pans, pots and the oven

About 16 quarts in all (one batch is about 2 ¾).
It goes in the oven, where a big stockpot won't fit: 4 Dutch ovens (5½ quarts), no more than 3/4 full. Two fit side by side on one rack, so that's 2 rounds in one oven, or fewer with a second oven.

Timing

Prep: about 2 hours 23 minutes of hands-on work (the recipe's 30 minutes, times 6, a little faster once you're set up).
Coming to a simmer: each pot takes about the recipe's time, with four burners going at once, or one after another.
Browning: in 6 batches no bigger than the recipe's, about 2 hours 18 minutes in all. A crowded pot steams the meat instead of browning it.
Simmering: about the same time once it's simmering. Stir and scrape the bottom more often; a big pot scorches more easily, so lower the heat a notch.

Ingredients for about 24

Every amount × 6, except the marked ones: those don't grow in a straight line.

24 lb bone-in beef short ribs, English cut, about 8 pieces
¼ cup kosher salt Start with 3 tbsp. Add 3/4 of it, then taste near the end and add the rest only if it needs it. In a big batch salt adds up fast, and broth, cans and cheese bring their own.
2 tbsp black pepper Start with 1 ½ tbsp. Ground spices and dried herbs: start with 3/4, taste after it has cooked 15 minutes, and add more if you like.
¾ cup vegetable oil
6 onion, diced
12 carrots, diced
12 celery ribs, diced
24 cloves garlic, smashed
¾ cup tomato paste
¾ cup all-purpose flour
12 cups dry red wine Start with 11 cups. Hold back about a tenth: a deep pot loses less to steam, so it thickens more slowly. Add the rest if it gets too thick.
12 cups beef broth Start with 11 cups.
24 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
7 bay leaves Whole spices give off more in a big, long-cooking pot: about half the extra is plenty. Fish them out before serving.
¾ cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Rounded to kitchen measures. Eggs are rounded up to whole eggs.

Keeping a big batch safe

Keep hot food at 140°F or hotter and cold food at 40°F or colder; nothing sits out more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F). (USDA FSIS: "Danger Zone" (40°F to 140°F))
Split big batches into shallow containers so they cool quickly. Hot food can go straight into the fridge. (USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety)

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How we work it out

How it cooks decides how it grows. Baked dishes and casseroles are made as separate batches of the recipe as written, one pan's worth at a time. Soups, stews and chili go in one bigger pot, or several. Slow cooker and pressure cooker recipes get one batch per cooker or per round. Roasts become more roasts, not a bigger one. Skillet, griddle, grill and fried recipes cook in rounds.
Pans and the oven. We assume a home oven with two racks, two baking dishes or cake pans per rack, or one sheet pan per rack. More pans than that means another round in the oven.
Pots. The volume comes from the weight of the ingredients (about a liter for each kilogram; dry pasta, rice and grains count 2½ times, since they soak up water), in a pot no more than 3/4 full.
What we don't simply multiply. Salt: add 3/4, taste, then the rest. Cayenne, chiles and hot sauce: start with 2/3. Ground spices and dried herbs: start with 3/4 once it's 3 batches or more. Bay leaves and other whole spices: about half the extra. Baking soda, baking powder and yeast: batch by batch. Frying oil and the water for boiling: by the pot, not the recipe. A big pot of soup or stew: hold back a tenth of the liquid.
Timing. Each extra batch adds about 3/4 of the recipe's prep time. A big pot takes about 3 more minutes per extra quart to come to a simmer on one burner. Meat browns in batches no bigger than the recipe's. A full oven bakes a little slower: swap and turn the pans halfway, and allow 5 to 10 minutes more.

These are our rules of thumb, not tests of each recipe at each size. The recipe's own doneness cues and a thermometer come first.