|
| Cook
up mouthwatering Dutch
oven meals, sourdough
specialties, and western
home favorites with
these recipes provided
for you by our chuckwagon cooks.
Click on your selection
to go to the cooking and
recipe pages. |
|
|
|
Dutch
Oven Cooking with Floyd Crandall
See Floyd's article on Dutch-Oven cooking
in the September 2004 issue of Western Horseman Magazine.
Floyd's
Dutch Oven Folding Stoves
More
Dutch Oven Cooking Recipes
Sourdough starter and roll/bread recipes-Grant Matthews
Sourdough
Recipes from Don Alexander's Galley
Cowboy Coffee |
| |
Western Home Recipes from our friends
Thank you for sending in your favorite recipes. Look here for
recipes from your neighbors. |
|
Chuck
wagon pictures |
|
Chuckwagon etiquette
On the old time cattle drives and roundups, the cook was
sometimes an aging cowboy hired for his ability to drive a wagon more
than his cooking skills. He was in charge of the wagon and everything
related to it. The cook was paid more than the other hands because
the success of the camp and the drive depended greatly on him and the
cook's job was arguably the hardest. A
cowhand earned about a dollar a day and the cook made twice that.
Ranch cooks today still command a great deal of respect and most expect
a certain strict etiquette in their vicinity.
Cowboys were forbidden to eat at the chuck wagon table-that was where
the cook prepared the food. A cowboy
never rode their horse through the "kitchen." The
cowboys always rode downwind of the wagon, so the dust they stirred up wouldn't blow into
the food.
At mealtime, cowboys got their own plate, fork, knife, and cup.
The cook would pour the coffee and the cowboys helped themselves to
staples like hot biscuits, beef steak, and beans. When they were
done, they stacked their dishes for the cook to wash.
|
| |
The ultimate delicacy served at brandings across
the west--calf fries (also known as Rocky Mountain oysters). You can
fry them on the branding pot as on the right, or roast them over the
branding fire. Serve hot on the tip of your knife. You have
to be there to appreciate this cuisine.
  |
Want to share your
favorite recipes or western ways of
cooking? We would love to hear
from you. Send your recipes and
tips to:
Cowboy
Showcase e-mail
|