Dutch Oven Recipes Cowboys Survived On

Being a cowboy in the Old West was a hard life, with few luxuries. A cattle drive could easily take cowboys out on the trail for a month or more, and even on the ranch they often lived in pretty basic conditions – bunkhouses with crude cooking facilities were the norm.

Because they worked long days of hard physical labor in all weathers, they needed a lot of food to keep them going. And, because of that lack of luxuries, good food was important for morale. The problem was that, whether on the ranch or the trail, they didn’t have a lot to cook with.

Luckily they had a secret weapon that let them prepare a wide range of tasty meals even over a simple campfire. In movies we usually see cowboys with a coffee pot and a skillet, and those were important to them, but the real heart of cowboy cooking was the Dutch oven.

A Dutch oven is a heavy item, but while cowboys couldn’t take a lot of personal belongings on a cattle drive – most of their personal belongings had to be carried on their horse – there was always the chuck wagon. As well as carrying water, bedding and most of the food needed on a long drive, this also had space for cooking equipment.

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That equipment almost always included at least one Dutch oven, because cowboys loved them. A Dutch oven can be used to boil, simmer, sauté or even bake. If you want to cook a tasty, filling meal, and get enough to feed a dozen hungry cowboys, these big, versatile pans are the best way to do it. These classic cowboy recipes show why.

Beans and Bacon

On the trail, cowboys had to rely on preserved foods that traveled well. Sometimes an animal would die or be slaughtered, giving them fresh beef, or they’d be able to hunt or forage, but most of their meals were cooked from the supplies they carried with them. Dried beans and bacon were cowboy staples, and this classic recipe uses both.

Ingredients:

25 cups dried Navy beans
4oz bacon or salt pork
1 pinch baking soda
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp salt

Soak the beans for at least eight hours, then drain them and throw away the water. Put the beans in the Dutch oven and sprinkle the baking powder on top. If you’re using salt pork, rinse it.

Add the pork or bacon to the beans, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for an hour, skimming the top occasionally.

Drain again, add enough cold water to reach the top of the beans, bring to the boil again and cook for about ten minutes until the beans are soft.

Add the salt and molasses, stir to coat the beans, then put the lid on the Dutch oven and bake, either in the oven at 350° F or at the edge of a fire with embers piled on the lid, for half an hour.

This is a basic recipe that uses only typical chuck wagon supplies. If they had them, cowboys often added chopped onion or bell peppers as well as other seasonings.

Trail Stew

Beef wasn’t on the menu for cowboys as often as you’d expect – a lot of meals were based on bacon or salt pork.

Not every cow would survive a drive though, and injured animals often had to be shot.

When they were, the meat wouldn’t go to waste.

Usually it would end up in a simple but filling stew along with onions and root vegetables, which were rugged enough to survive in the chuck wagon.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef
2 pounds potatoes, diced
1 pound carrots, sliced
1-2 large onions, chopped
1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes (optional)
1 tsp salt

Brown the beef in the Dutch oven with a little oil. Add the onions and sauté for a minute or two. Add the carrots, potatoes and salt (and tomatoes, if you have them). Cover with cold water, put the lid on, scoop embers on top and leave it in the edge of the fire for an hour. Stir well and serve.

It’s not easy to have access to fresh vegetables, especially during a crisis. I learned from here how to grow a year-round, self-sustaining garden because you can never be too certain of what is next. I definitely don’t want to be at the mercy of others when it comes to my food sources.

Chili

There were times in the history of the Old West when up to a third of cowboys were Mexican. When they came to work on US ranches they brought their recipes with them, and chili quickly became a favorite.

Tasty, but easy to make with the basic ingredients cowboys had available, it was a popular choice when an injured cow had to be slaughtered on the trail. It’s also a one-pot meal, ideal for cooking in a Dutch oven.

Cowboys would add any extra vegetables they could get their hands on, often including corn.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
25 cups dried beans
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp salt
Ground, crushed or fresh chili peppers to taste
1-2 large onions, chopped
2-3 bell peppers, chopped (optional)
1 pound tomatoes or one 15 oz can chopped tomatoes (optional)

Soak the beans for at least eight hours, then drain and throw away the water. Put a splash of oil in the Dutch oven, heat it, then brown the beef.

I used this guide to can my own ground beef, ensuring I have a reliable supply stored in my root cellar. While most people rely on their freezer for ground beef, I don’t want to risk it spoiling during an extended blackout. And in these uncertain times, daily trips to the store for ingredients aren’t something I can count on.

After browning the beef, add in the onions and sauté a minute or two. Add the peppers if you have them, sauté for another minute.

Add the beans and enough cold water to cover them. Stir in the molasses, salt and chili, and the tomatoes if you have them. Bring to the boil, then move to the edge of the fire, put the lid on and scoop embers on top. Leave to cook for an hour, then stir well and serve.

Cornbread

Cowboys would take fresh bread with them on the trail, but a couple of days out from the ranch that was usually all gone.

The rest of the way, if they wanted something to dip in their stew they had to make it themselves. Usually that meant cornbread – and a Dutch oven is perfect for baking it.

Ingredients:

2 cups cornmeal
15 oz canned creamed corn
2 tsp baking powder
5 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk mixed with 1 tsp white vinegar)
2 large eggs
1 oz butter

Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Stir in the buttermilk and corn. Add all the other ingredients except the butter, and mix until smooth. Melt the butter in the Dutch oven.

Add the cornbread mix, put the lid on the Dutch oven and set it in the edge of the fire. Scoop embers onto the lid. Turn the oven a quarter turn every five or ten minutes to bake the bread evenly. It’s ready when a knife or toothpick pushed into the cornbread comes out clean (about 30 minutes).

Sourdough Biscuits

Sometimes cowboys would get cornmeal in their supplies; sometimes they got flour.

If the chuck wagon was loaded with flour they’d make up a few jars of sourdough starter and take them along.

As well as bread, it could be used to bake these tasty sourdough biscuits.

Ingredients:

4 cups flour
1 cup sourdough starter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 oz shortening

Put half the flour in a bowl and mix in the sourdough starter. Add the other dry ingredients. Mix in more flour until you have a firm dough. Divide it into balls.

Melt the shortening and roll the balls in it. Then flatten them slightly, put them in the Dutch oven and let the rise for 20 minutes. Move the Dutch oven to the edge of the fire and scoop embers on top. Turn it every five minutes to bake the biscuits evenly. They’ll be ready in about 30 minutes.

None of these recipes need complicated equipment or ingredients, but they’re all tasty, filling and will keep you going when you need the energy. They worked for our ancestors in the Old West, and they work just as well for preppers now.

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