We love food that moves! Picnics, road trips, cruises, train trips, hiking and backpacking meals... you name it, and we love to bring food along.
This week, we are recognizing the birthday (March 5, 1836) of Charles Goodnight who is credited with creating the "Chuck" wagon to take food to the hungry ranch workers and cowpokes. Charles Goodnight was a rancher, a Texas Ranger and roamed the Western United States throughout the later part of the 19th Century. He saw a need to provide hot meals to the ranch workers and cowboys on the roundups and on the trail and outfitted an old surgeon's wagon as what might well be the very first chuck wagon. At first, the cooking was pretty plain and simple, but as the years have progressed, there are cooks who have elevated the simple fare of the chuck wagon and even compete in competitions throughout the American Southwest.
Take a look at some of the cookbooks available to help you experience life on the trail.
A Taste of Cowboy: Ranch Recipes and Tales from the Trails by Kent Rollins. If I knew the ranches served up food like this, I would have learned to ride a horse! This book is full of contemporary stories, photographs and recipes that share life on a ranch. We want to cook the WHOLE book!
Calf Fries and Cow Pies: Recipes and Remedies from the Old West Heritage. by Jayne Peace and Jinx Pyle. The authors are from some of the ranching families of Central Arizona. They've collected recipes from around the Southwest that highlight the history and evolution of ranch cooking - and a few stories to go with. Most people know what cow pies are, but are you wondering what Calf Fries are? Hmmmm?
National Cowboy Hal of Fame Chuck Wagon Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the Ranch and the Range. by B. Byron Price. Full of stories, folklore history and recipes that reflect this part of the Western American Heritage. Updated for modern families (instead of loads of hungry cowboys) this book takes you on a journey into the past. Lots of photos to help you imagine the dust trail.
Chuck Wagon Cookin' by Stella Hughes. Rooted in Arizona history and ranches around the west, this book gives both history and folklore about cooking out on the range. Hughes also includes some tried and true home remedies.
And don't forget to wet your whistle with Cowboy Cocktails! Take a swig of the Wild, Wild West with 60 historically inspired cattle kingdom cocktails. Based on trail life after the Civil War, the cow towns at the time, and on the drinks enjoyed there, Cowboy Cocktails gives you a true taste of the cowboy lifestyle. With charming sidebars throughout, learn some surprising history about cowboys and their experiences in the Wild West.
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