Classic Cowboy Cuisine
Photo Courtesy of Travel Alberta/ Hero Images
Keeping the cowboys properly fed was a critical job of the old west. This task was entrusted to the camp cook. Hugh Dempsey, in his book The Golden Age of the Canadian Cowboy, describes how the chuckwagon had a leading role back in the late 1880s as cattle began to move in and through Alberta on drives and roundups. “Chuckwagons usually went ahead of the roundup to the next camping place and had a meal ready when the tired cowboys came off the range,” writes Dempsey. Quoting reports of a visiting journalist, Dempsey describes the typical chuckwagon
food. “For breakfast, he said the cowboys had steaks, buns, jam and coffee; for lunch and dinner, beef, canned tomatoes or corn, rice pudding, prunes, pie, bread, butter, jam, coffee and tea.” One of the cooks said his job “was to keep the belly wrinkles out of the crew.” In more modern times, the menu might vary some, but the objective remains the same. Brad McCarthy, ranch wrangler and cook at Homeplace Ranch west of Millarville a few years ago shared his Shepherd’s Pie recipe in Cooking the Cowboy Way, a cookbook written by Grady Spears By: Lee Hart
Shepard’s Pie Recipe Ingredients:
Directions:
2 tsp vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat the vegetable oil in a large
1 lb ground sirloin
skillet, over medium heat and add the meat and onion.
1 medium yellow onion, diced
Cook until the meat browns and the onion is translucent,
3 cloves garlic, minced
about five minutes. Add the garlic, green beans, carrots
1 cup green or yellow beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
and corn; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the
2 cups peeled, sliced carrots
with salt, pepper, and herbs and stir. Remove from heat
3 ears corn, shucked and kernels removed
and scoop the mixture into a six by nine inch buttered
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
casserole dish. Cover with the mashed potatoes and
3 tsp dried thyme
bake until browned at the edges - about 30 minutes.
3 tsp dried rosemary
Serve with brown gravy, if desired.
vegetables are just tender, five to seven minutes. Season
3 cups mashed potatoes
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