Cowboy Recipes

Sam Whittaker, cowboy cook, LS Ranch, Texas, 1907. Photo credit: Edwin Smith.

“Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let’s go. We’re burning daylight.”

John Wayne, The Cowboys

No one and nothing held more sway over a cowboy’s pleasures or pains, whether in the saddle on a trail drive or riding fence at the ranch, than did the cook. Wild horses, ornery bulls, hot and cold or wet and dry weather, flooded rivers, Indians, rustlers, trail bosses, or ranch owners couldn’t damper a cowboys spirits any quicker than a surly cook who didn’t much care whether a little dirt got into the coffee or horse hair was mixed into the biscuits. As a general rule, cow cooks were grumpy, stubborn, and tyrannical old men. And no one—ranch owner, range boss, or trail boss included—questioned or crossed the cook. Not if you wanted your meals hot, on time, and free of suspicious ingredients.

Any group of men who labored in the saddle could overlook an ill-tempered cook if the quality of the food that came from his Dutch ovens and skillets were to their liking. And if it wasn’t, well, there was little they could do short of complaining or quitting. The fact is, a quality cook could make or break a cattle drive or roundup—and was a determining factor in the overall mood of the cowboys working on a ranch. Those who choose the cowboy life knew, with the exception of rodeo cowboys, that they’ll never get rich on the back of the horse. What little pay garnered in cash, cowboys expected to be well paid in vittles. So, to attract top hands, ranchers and trail bosses sweetened the deal with the promise that their grub would be hot, plentiful, and delicious. Whether a jigger boss or a rancher could hire and keep a first-class cook was always chancy. They were as highly prized as a well-bred horse. But regardless of the cook’s skill around the chuckwagon they all prepared a staple of meals. Here are the recipes for five of them.

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Sourdough Starter

2 cups lukewarm potato water

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

Make potato water by cutting up two (2) medium-sized potatoes into cubes, and boil in three (3) cups of water until tender. Remove the potatoes and measure out two (2) cups of remaining liquid. Mix the potato water, flour and sugar into a smooth paste. Set in a warm place until starter mixture rises to double its original size.

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Sourdough Biscuits

1 cup sourdough starter

1 teaspoon each salt, sugar, and soda

1 tablespoon shortening (or lard)

3 to 4 cups sifted flour

Place flour in a bowl, make a well in the center and add sourdough starter. Incorporate salt, soda, sugar, and shortening or lard. Gradually mix in enough flour to make a stiff dough. Pinch off dough for one biscuit at a time. Form a ball and roll it in melted shortening or lard. Crowd the biscuits in a round 8-inch cake pan and allow to rise in a warm place for twenty (20) to thirty (30) minutes before baking. Bake at 425° until done.

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Sonofabitch Stew

2 pounds lean beef

Half a calf heart

11/2 pounds calf liver

1 set sweetbreads

1 set calf brains

1 set marrow gut

Salt and pepper

Hot sauce

Kill a young steer. Cut up the beef, liver, and heart into one- (1) inch cubes. Slice the marrow gut into small rings. Place in a Dutch over or deep casserole. Cover meat with water and simmer for two (2) to three (3) hours. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Take sweetbreads and brains and cut in small pieces. Add to stew. Simmer another hour, never boiling.

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Cowboy Beans

2 pounds pinto beans

2 pounds ham hock (or salt pork)

2 onions, chopped

4 tablespoons sugar

2 green chilies (or to taste)

1 can of tomato paste

Wash beans and soak overnight. Drain, place in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until tender. Sample while cooking. Add salt to taste and water as needed.

Mex John, cowboy cook preparing pies, 1888. Photo credit: L.A. Huffman.

Red Bean Pie

1 cup cooked, mashed pinto beans

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Combine ingredients and place in uncooked pie crust. Bake at 350° for thirty (30) minutes or until set. Make meringue with the leftover egg whites. Spread on pie and brown in oven.

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Vinegar Pie

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup cold water

4 eggs, beaten

5 tablespoons vinegar

21/2 tablespoons butter

Combine sugar and flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and place in a saucepan. Cook until thick and pour into a prepared pie crust. Bake in a 375° oven until the crust is brown.