Foods From The Old West That Need To Make A Comeback

Food on cattle drives in the Old West had to meet a number of practical criteria. Since refrigeration wasn't an option, anything carried along had to be non-perishable, and since space was limited, it would have ideally been compact and easy to carry. And while these constraints sometimes forced cowboys to settle for less-than-appetizing fare (such as hardtack, rock-hard, often insect-infested crackers that had to be thoroughly soaked in coffee or soup to be edible, according to Bushcraft Buddy), flavor was still a concern — according to History Hit, a chuckwagon cook with a good reputation could be a powerful recruiting tool for ranchers looking for help.

Among the historic foods that ticked all the boxes was smoked beef jerky. Per People's Choice Beef Jerky, cowboys made their own jerky from either beef or from game such as elk, deer, or bison. Theirs wasn't a refined version — it was tougher, dryer, and chewier than most modern jerky — but it was flavorful and a good source of protein. And modern snackers should embrace it for similar reasons: It's an easy-to-carry treat for long hikes or camping trips, and depending on the version you choose, a perfect high-protein, paleo-friendly snack option, per Prevail.

Cowboys in the Old West loved their caffeine — and they got their fix from cowboy coffee, a rustic concoction of coarsely ground coffee boiled in a kettle over an open fire. But if you're a serious coffee aficionado raised on the admonition to never let coffee boil (even Starbucks, known for its aggressively roasty brews, advises against the practice), hear us out. 

According to longtime cowboy cook Kent Rollins, cowboy coffee, if made correctly, is a treat. "Cowboy coffee, when it is made right, is probably the smoothest coffee in the world. I have had so many folks come up to me and tell me they can't drink coffee because it upsets their stomach or gives them acid reflux. But, when you boil coffee correctly, it takes the bitterness out and boils the acid out of the bean," he said.

So if you love coffee but don't feel like splurging on specialized equipment — or find yourself on a camping trip or in an AirBnB with a non-functioning coffee maker — give cowboy coffee a chance. If you're still worried about possible bitterness, try this trick from America's Test Kitchen and put clean eggshells in with your coffee before boiling it.

Another ancient food trend, once inelegantly called "don't waste meat," has been revived and rebranded with a romantic new name: nose-to-tail eating. As the name implies, this refers to the practice of eating every potentially edible part of a butchered animal, from the nose to the tail, according to Clean Eating. Not only does this allow daring diners to enjoy a richer range of flavor experiences, but it's also less wasteful and more environmentally friendly (since the resources used to raise the animal are actually providing more food) as well as budget-friendly (since traditionally overlooked cuts, such as tripe and pigs' feet, can be had inexpensively).

Cowboy cooks, who frequently hunted and regularly saw cattle being butchered, were among those who followed the principles of nose-to-tail eating. Meat was precious to hungry cowboys, and not a bit of it was wasted. For instance, among the cowboys' unenviable responsibilities (per Gastro Obscura) was castrating young bulls, both for contraceptive purposes and to curb their aggression. This left cowboys with large quantities of detached testicles, so they did what cowboys always did when encountering a free source of meat: They ate them. The standard treatment was to batter and deep-fry them (the larger ones would be sliced first). Today, the unusual treats, nicknamed "Rocky Mountain oysters" remain a regional favorite in the American west, and are worth checking out if you love adventure and hate food waste.

Even the most resourceful cowboy cooks only had limited space for provisions, and the few provisions they could bring along had to have a long shelf life. "Common provisions were flour, salt pork or bacon, dried meat, beans, cornmeal, coffee, molasses, vinegar, salt, beef suet or lard, and dried fruit," explained Elizabeth Nelson, associate professor of history at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

But while an experienced cook could easily whip up a hearty meal with just these ingredients, it would still end up a bit beige, even for a macho gang of cowboys. To break up the monotony and add some color and novel flavor to their meals, cowboys sometimes foraged for wild greens and herbs, according to Ask a Prepper. And the types of herbs and greens they encountered varied by location: One day, you'd encounter watercress, lamb's quarters, or wild asparagus, while another you might find wild garlic, chicory, or sage. 

And while these plants have never gone away, they remain underappreciated by most modern diners — which is too bad. Per Wild Edible, foraged greens are richer in essential minerals and vitamins than commercially grown produce; plus, gathering them is a great way to get in touch with your natural environment. But if you do decide to start foraging, do your homework: Find an experienced forager to show you how to identify edible plants in your area. And if you have any doubt about whether a plant is edible, leave it alone.

Another challenge chuckwagon cooks faced was limited cooking supplies. "The challenges of cooking over an open fire with simple cooking utensils limited the variety of what cowboys ate," Elizabeth Nelson, associate professor of history at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Mashed. "Most meals were cooked in a Dutch oven or a spider (a covered skillet with cast iron legs that could be set in the coals) or in a pot hung on an iron bar suspended over the fire."

This meant that stews were a common menu item. And it's likely there were as many variations of cowboy stew as there were cowboy cooks. "There really isn't much in the way of recorded recipes for cowboy food — that just isn't how it was done," Nelson said. Still, a common goal of cowboy stew was to render whatever meat it contained appetizingly tender. According to George Ranch Historical Park, in the days before cattle were cross-bred, Texas cattle tended to be lean, which meant it was at its best when slowly stewed at a low temperature. And according to food scientist Michael Murdy, canned vegetables such as tomatoes and carrots were another frequent component of cowboy stews. So if you want to save money by cooking with tougher pieces of meat but don't feel like researching complicated recipes, channel your inner Cookie and invent a stew of your own using whatever vegetables and seasonings you have around. After all, that's how it was done on the trail.

Chances are, the only reason you even know sarsaparilla exists is from watching old cowboy movies: In a typical scene, the hero strolls up to the bar and boldly orders a sarsaparilla, to the mockery of his whiskey-drinking (and less-than-honorable) peers. But in the real Old West, sarsaparilla was more than just a punchline. Per cowboy historian Chip Schweiger, the soft drink was indeed relished by cowboys, as much for its purported health benefits as its taste. The drink, made from a wild North American relative of ginseng (per the South Florida Sun-Sentinel), was first developed in the 16^th century by Spanish soldiers who considered it a cure for syphilis, and 19^th century Americans attributed any number of curative properties to the drink.

So how does it taste? According to the Sun-Sentinel, it tastes a bit like root beer. Indeed, sarsaparilla was one of the key ingredients in some early formulations of root beer, along with other herbs including wintergreen. According to Bundaberg, the plant extract used in sarsaparilla has a slightly bitter flavor, which drink manufacturers counterbalance with sweeter ingredients such as licorice. If you like root beer but wish the flavor could be cranked up a notch, sarsaparilla could be the drink for you — per Miss Vickie, it has a root-beer like flavor, only more intense with a slight bitter note. It's also still said to have health benefits, including alleviating pain and gastric distress.