Tex-Mex Shepherd’s Pie

Prep Method: Baking, Boil

Ingredients

  • Water, boiling-12 cups
  • Mashed potato pearls-2 pounds
  • Milk, low-fat, 1%-2 quarts
  • Garlic powder-2 tablespoons
  • Salt (1 tablespoon+ 1 teaspoon) 1⅓ tablespoons
  • Onions, yellow, diced-2½ cups
  • Beef, ground, (85/15) (12 pounds + 10 ounces)-2⅝ pounds
  • Chili powder (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons)-0.38 cup
  • Cumin-¼ cup
  • Oregano-2 tablespoons
  • Corn, kernels, yellow-6 cups
  • Tomatoes, crushed-5 quarts
  • Chilis, green, diced-3 pounds

Instructions

  1. Preheat standard oven to 400°F / convection oven to 375°F.
  2. Mix mashed potato pearls in mixer with boiling water.
  3. Combine milk, garlic powder and 1 tbsp salt; heat to 135°F in steamer or oven.
  4. Add milk mixture to mashed potatoes.
  5. Brown the ground beef in a steam jacketed kettle or braising pan.
  6. Add diced onions to ground beef and cook until onions are softened.
  7. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and 1 tsp salt to ground beef.
  8. Add corn, tomatoes and green chiles to ground beef mixture and bring to a simmer.
  9. Divide ground beef evenly between four (4) 12″x20″x 2½” food pans.
  10. Top ground beef mixture with mashed potatoes, dividing evenly; spread to edges.
  11. Divide cheese evenly between each pan and sprinkle over potatoes.
  12. Bake 15 minutes; 400°F in standard oven or 375°F in convection oven.
  13. Serve by dividing the pan 6×4 for 24 even portions per pan.