Cowboy Cooking
History
About
Us > Cowboy Cooking History
The
History of the Chuckwagon
In the early days of cattle ranching, many cowboys simply
packed their own food and ate on their own. But as the
cattle business grew, trail drives and roundups meant
more cowboys to feed. In the mid 1880’s, Texas
Rancher, Charles Goodnight introduced the “chuckwagon”
(the word chuck was another term for food) to solve
the dilemma of hungry cowboys on trail drives. Goodnight
rebuilt an army surplus Studebaker wagon and designed
and added a chuck box and boot to the rear of the wagon
for serving food.
The chuckwagon was considered a ranch
headquarters, serving as a kitchen, hospital, and hotel.
The chuck box is the most important feature on the wagon
and consists of a number of drawers and shelves to hold
what the cook needs for feeding cowboys. Bed rolls,
personal items and food supplies were stored in the
wagon box. Essential food supplies on hand included
salt, flour, beans, sugar, molasses, coffee, lard, canned
goods, salsa, dried fruit, bacon, fresh beef (wrapped
in tarps), tableware, some basic medical supplies and
a coffee grinder nailed to the side of the wagon. A
hinged lid could be dropped down to serve as a work
surface, and the cook had everything within easy reach
for preparing meals. The boot carried the Dutch ovens,
skillets and the cooking utensils needed to feed large
and a large water barrel was attached to the side of
the wagon.
Because wood for cook fires was scarce
on the prairie, the cook would fashion a storage area
under the wagon by using a canvas or cowhide harness
or “coonie”. The coonie stored any wood
or fuel collected during the day.
Cowboy
Cookies
The camp cook drove the chuck wagon and prepared
all the meals for the cow crew.Common nicknames for
the camp cook included "cookie," "biscuit
shooter," or "belly cheater." The cook
kept a keg or crock of fermented flour, called "starter,"
to make sourdough biscuits. A small amount of the starter
was added to the dough to make the biscuits rise and
gave them a tangy taste. Many cowboys loved “airtights”
(canned foods) like peaches and tomatoes, because the
canned goods were a welcome relief from the everyday
cowboy diet of meat and beans. Cooks wasted little food.
Leftovers were used to make dishes such as "son-of-a-gun"
stew, which contains beef brains, guts, liver and other
leftovers!
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