What did the cowboys eat on a cattle drive?

Along the trail, cowboys ate meals consisting of beef, beans, biscuits, dried fruit and coffee. But as cattle drives increased in the 1860s cooks found it harder and harder to feed the 10 to 20 men who tended the cattle.

What did cowboys actually eat?

The staples. Along the trail, the staples of a cowboy diet consisted of beans, hard biscuits, dried meat, dried fruit, and coffee. Occasionally, a type of bread known as pan de campo (or “camp bread”), which was cooked on a skillet was also available.

What did cowboys eat for breakfast lunch and dinner?

Cowboys in the United States relished similar "chuck" (also called grub or chow). Canned and dried fruit, "overland trout" (bacon), beans, fresh meat, soda biscuits, tea, and coffee. Breakfast might include eggs or salt pork. Eggs, sometimes shipped west for considerable distances, sometimes went bad.

What kind of beans did cowboys eat?

Pinto beans were the choice of the cowboys, and they were even better if the cocinero had some chili peppers to add spice. Out on the trail, the chuck wagon cook soaked beans in a pot during the day. He'd set up camp and cook up a batch, but the beans would have to be eaten right away.

What did cowboys eat for breakfast on the trail?

Meals often consisted of hot coffee, a large pot of beans, and biscuits that were baked in a cast iron pot and slathered with lard and gravy. Today the term “Cowboy Breakfast” has evolved to include eggs and skillet potatoes, bacon or sausage, and perhaps biscuits and gravy to round out the plate.

What Early Pioneers Ate To Survive The Old West

What toilet paper did cowboys use?

Mullein aka “cowboy toilet paper”

If the cowboys used the large velvety leaves of the mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant while out on the range, then you can too! Mullein is a biennial plant available for use in almost every bioregion.

How did cowboys keep bacon from spoiling?

The cowboys were actually eating “sowbelly.” It was pork fat from the belly, and perhaps the back and sides, of a hog carcass, cured with salt. Sowbelly could last a long time without spoiling. Marshall Trimble is Arizona's official state historian and the vice president of the Wild West History Association.

Did cowboys have canned food?

Canned goods were reported in abundance on the Colorado range in 1883 and within a decade were available to even the most remote ranching outposts throughout the West.

What kind of liquor did cowboys drink?

Cowboys never had a reputation for being very sophisticated connoisseurs. The whiskey they drank was simply fuel for the saloons' many other pastimes, whatever those happened to be. Quality and flavor among whiskies in the late 1800s varied widely.

What was the typical food a cowboy ate for lunch?

Beans, biscuits, potatoes and fruit were popular

Cowboys would have eaten hardtacks, a dense bread made with few ingredients that resemble modern-day biscuits.

Did cowboys drink warm beer?

Due to the lack of pasteurization, cowboys had to consume beer while it is still warm. A flat beer would result if this isn't done. No matter what temperature it was, whiskey remained tasty and potent.

What meats did cowboys eat?

Fresh beef was readily available, but cowboys also hunted wild game and fished in streams along the trail and during roundups. The cook used bacon grease to fry everything, but bacon also served as the main meat when supplies ran low. Beans made up the bulk of a cowboy's protein intake.

What desserts do cowboys eat?

What food did saloons serve?

Every town had at least one restaurant, and meals were also served at boarding houses and saloons. She says many frontier menus in the 1870s were limited to the basics and locally available fare. Meals consisted of meat, breads, syrup, eggs, potatoes, dried fruit pies, cakes, coffee and seasonal vegetables. And beef.

How many meals did cowboys eat?

The cowboys depended on him for three square meals a day, come rain, snow or shine.

Did cowboys sleep on the ground?

The last chore for the cook was to point the tongue of the chuck wagon toward the North Star so the trail boss knew his directions when he started out the next day. The cook was the compass for the cattle drive. Cowboys slept on the ground, and slept fitfully in spite of their exhaustion.

How much did a bottle of whiskey cost in 1880?

It was usually 25 to 50 cents for unaged, basic corn or rye whiskey, often made right on the premises or nearby, as it was often the case with beer.

Was beer cold in Old West saloons?

Saloons served beer for 10 cents a glass (paying that in 1870 would equal $1.77 for a glass today). In warmer climes the beer was a little warm, usually served at 55 to 65 degrees. Though the beer had a head, it wasn't sudsy as it is today. Patrons had to knock back the brew in a hurry, before it got too warm or flat.

Did they drink whiskey straight in the Old West?

Most western saloon regulars drank whiskey or rye straight.

Do cowboys eat beef jerky?

Jerky was also a convenient food for cowboys because it did not need any further preparation in the field. This was important because when they were on cattle drives, it was not always possible for cowboys to make a fire to cook with.

How did cowboys eat jerky?

Cowboys, called “cow hunters” in the 1820s, carried jerky or salted beef when they were moving cattle. The cowboys prepared the beef jerky through a variety of techniques that included sun-drying, smoking, and salting. They would slaughter the animal—cattle, bison, deer, elk, or antelope—and strip or jerk the meat.

What is a cowboy dinner?

This cowboy dinner is a hearty casserole of flavorful beef, corn and beans topped with soft, tender cornbread and a layer of cheese. YUM! Just the name of this meal conjures up extreme nostalgia for my college days.

Why did cowboys drink coffee?

In contrast to wimpy tea, coffee was an invigorating, robust drink that provided a jolt of energy, which was why strong coffee became a necessity for many Americans headed for the Western frontier. Many diaries and letters confirm the importance of coffee to Western pioneers.

Did cowboys carry knives?

Because they carried very little with them, a good knife was usually their only utensil as well as their only tool. Cowboys often lived off the land, hunting for the meat they would eat on trail drives rather than killing their own cattle. A knife was essential for skinning and butchering those kills.