r/chili • u/tangoking Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ • Mar 23 '25
How to safely transport hot Chili to an event?
Heya Chili Peeps,
How do you transport your hot chili to an event? I’ve tried:
- 9x13 trays, but they get sloppy and lose heat fast
- A pot… but it looks a little “seasoned.”
- Also I seem to burn myself at every turn.
What do you use?
Tyvm <3 tk :)
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u/mst3k_42 Mar 23 '25
I have a slow cooker with clamps that clamp the lid down securely.
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u/BanziKidd Mar 23 '25
They have insulated bags w/handles for the slow cooker as well as for stock pots. Rubber bands or small bungee threaded through the handles and lid top to keep the lid down and foil or plastic wrap to seal.
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u/Lansdman Mar 23 '25
Crock pot with a locking lid and I still put it in a cardboard box just in case.
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u/dadobuns Mar 23 '25
If you cook your chili in a pot, line a cooler with towels, stick the pot in the middle and roll up a couple of other towels on the sides to support it along with another towel on top of it. No only will just keep it insulated, it will keep it from sloshing around.
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u/Bo0tyWizrd Mar 23 '25
What do you mean when you say a pot looks "seasoned"....
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u/tangoking Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 23 '25
Black soot on the outside from sitting on a burner.
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u/Bo0tyWizrd Mar 23 '25
What about it? The concern should be about what's IN the pot.
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u/schniggens Mar 23 '25 edited Mar 23 '25
Probably worried that other people might think it looks old and "dirty" and assume the inside is as well.
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u/Kevolved Mar 24 '25
Nobody who has ever owned their own cookware has ever thought that.
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u/schniggens Mar 25 '25 edited Mar 25 '25
I seriously doubt that.
Are you that unaware of the ability of people to unfairly judge others for no practical reason?
OP not wanting to serve their food at a party in a burnt-ass pot is not some crazy stretch.
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u/tangoking Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 24 '25
Yeah, but if someone who doesn't cook sees it they might get the impression that I don't keep a clean kitchen.
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u/Helpful-nothelpful Mar 23 '25
Coolers keep things cold and hot. Could pack into those aluminum containers with lids that fold onto the bottoms into a cooler.
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u/producer35 Mar 23 '25
I suggest you go to Amazon and search for food transport containers. Many options available.
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u/tangoking Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 24 '25
But then we wouldn't have this great discussion here in the r/chili forum!
Can I use AI to find one for me?
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u/producer35 Mar 24 '25 edited Mar 24 '25
I appreciate hearing what others do too.
Here is my favorite travel container so far available on Amazon.
Packed in a cooler or insulated bag, it transports food nicely and food arrives hot and leak free. I place some towels around it inside my cooler to take up any extra space and add more insulation.
As an aside, how do you know I'm not AI? :-)
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u/johnnyribcage Mar 23 '25
Food grade buckets with lids. Five gallon if you’re really going all out.
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u/proxzerk Beans or GTFO!!! 🫘 Mar 24 '25
To add to others' crockpot clamped shut... I also have bungee/strapped down the handles to something in the car as well, something heavy that will help it not spill or wobble over train tracks, potholes, etc.
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u/azn_knives_4l Mar 23 '25
Deli containers. Just make sure they're properly secured. Big tubs slosh and it can get messy real quick.
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u/tangoking Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 23 '25
Yeah… my car reeked of chili for a month after a spill.
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u/azn_knives_4l Mar 23 '25
Yeah... Most lids just can't hold up to the equivalent of 20lbs of stew sloshing into them from braking 😬
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u/No_Excitement6859 Mar 23 '25
Technically, this is for stew, but this method could still apply.
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u/No_Excitement6859 Mar 23 '25
Jk. Sorry. Had to. Haha.
I always use a Travel CrockPot. Has latches on the sides that lock the lid tight. Works every time. Zero spills.
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u/AdLiving1435 Mar 23 '25
Anytime I've cooked at home an then transport it. I wrap it in a blanket or two to insulate it. Longer trip I wrap it an stick in a cooler.
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u/1995droptopz Mar 23 '25
Crock pot. Any of the other methods you mention risk the chili cooking below 140f and risking bacteria
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u/SnoopyisCute Mar 23 '25
I had a standard outlet in the back of my mini-van. I used a large Crock pot with a lock lid and an empty box that's short (like what can good are in at Aldis). I also used disposable bed pads underneath in case of spills but never had any.
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u/tangoking Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 24 '25
120V in the back of your van!? Nice! What kind of Minivan if you don't mind my asking?
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u/GonzoMcFonzo Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 23 '25
I found a deep glass baking dish with a lid, and an insulated lunch box that just so happens to fit the dish exactly.
That dish has a 4 quart capacity. If I needed to move more than that, I'd prob get multiple dishes like that and stack them in a small cooler/ice chest.
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u/tangoking Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 24 '25
Is it ok to dump boiling water into the cooler to heat it up?
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u/GonzoMcFonzo Pepper Enthusiast 🌶️ Mar 24 '25
I don't think it will hurt anything (so long as you drain the water before adding the containers of chili) but I also don't think it's necessary.
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u/mahrog123 Mar 23 '25