Here are some of great-grandma's favorite family cowboy recipes
What cowboy or grizzled old sidekick doesn't get excited about the smell of great vittles cooking after a hard day of riding and roping. They all start running as soon as the cook hollers "Come git it!".
Here are some authentic western frontier recipes, from the days of round-ups, cattle drives, and gunslinging. They where taken from handwritten pages of an old 1870's frontier cookbook. They are all simple, and made with common ingredients found on the cowboy chuck wagons of the old west.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for - Hardtack
Every cowboy had some in his saddlebags
- 2 cups stone ground flour
- 1 cup water
Combine the flour and water. Knead until smooth. Sprinkle some flour on a smooth surface and roll the dough flat until it is 1/4 inch thick. Cut biscuits out with a can or a glass making each biscuit about 3-4 inches in diameter. Poke holes into each biscuit with a fork. Place on a floured cookie sheet. Cook at moderately high temperature until done, about 35-45 minutes. It should come out hard and dry.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for - Indian Bread
A old frontier favorite
- 1 quart of buttermilk
- 1 quart of corn meal
- 1 quart of course flour, (wholewheat?)
- 1 cup molasses
- and a little baking soda
- and a little salt
Mix all ingrediants well and bake till done, apprimately 35 to 45 minutes.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for-: Dutch Oven Bread
A chuck wagon cook's delight.
- 1 pkg. dry yeast
- 3 tsp. shortening
- 4 tsp. molasses - 3 Cups scalded milk
- 1/3 Cup lukewarm water - 4 tsp. honey
- 3 tsp. salt - 6 Cups whole wheat flour
Dissolve yeast in water. Melt shortening and combine with honey, molasses, salt and milk. Cook to lukewarm and combine with yeast mixture. Add flour, enough to make a soft dough and knead thoroughly, using extra flour as needed. Shape in rolls and place in Dutch oven. Let rise till almost double. Bake at about 350 degrees F. Use 6-8 coals on bottom and 15-18 coals on top for 12" oven. Bake about 30-35 minutes or until done.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for - Camp Bread
Original cowboy bread, circa 1850’s
- 10 Cups flour
- 3 tsp salt
- 4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tlbs lard
- 4 Cups water
- 1/4 Cup evaporated milk
Sift and mix ingredients together. Use lukewarm water, dough is rather dry. Let dough set for 20 to 30 minutes. Roll out into 1/4" to 1/2" thin rounds and cook in a hot (bacon) greased, cast iron, skillet or Dutch oven approximately 30-40 minutes. Prick with fork and turn when browned.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for - Corn Meal Mush
Breakfast cowboy recipe before the days of boxed cereals
- 1/2 cup Cornmeal
- 2-3/4 cups Water
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
Sprinkle cornmeal into boiling water, stirring constantly. Add salt and cook for about half an hour. Serve with sugar and cream.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for - Gingerbread
Grandma's ginger and spice and everything nice.
- 1-1/2 lbs flour
- 1/2 lb. real butter
- 1/2 lb. brown sugar
- 1/2 pt. molassas
- 2 tbls cream
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ginger (to taste)
Mix all ingrediants togather. Make in into a stiff paste, and roll it out thin. Put it on buttered tins, and bake in a moderate oven till done, approximately 30-40 minutes.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for - Jerky
A cowboy's overnight staple
- 1 flank or london broil steak (or other very lean cut of beef, venison, elk, or buffalo)
Cut the steak into strips with the grain of the meat. It is very important to cut along the grain or the cooked meat will fall apart. Dip in boiling brine (salted water) for a few seconds, then hang up to dry, usually on the rafters of the kitchen.
Old West Cowboy Recipe for - Pork & Apple Stew
This here is my all time favorite cowboy recipe
- 1 1/2 lbs. of lean pork cut into chunks
- 1 lb. chopped onions
- 3 tablespoons of butter, oil, or bacon drippings
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 1 1/2 cups water or stock
- 2 cups fresh Granny Smith apple slices (or substitute dried apples)
Mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a small bag, then place the chunks of pork in and shake to coat them thoroughly. Heat 1/2 the fat in a good heavy bottomed saucepan and brown onions lightly. Remove onions and add remaining fat to the pot and brown the pork in it. Pour in the liquid, scrape any browned bits on the bottom of the pan into it and then add onions and brown sugar. Reduce heat to low and cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours or longer til the meat is tender. Add the apples and continue to simmer till apples are soft, but not mushy! Season taste and then serve this with noodles, rice or potatoes and some whole wheat bread bread for "soppin'" with!
ENJOY
