Folks, beans have been a staple for Old Cookie since cattle drives began. Who is that? Old Cookie was the cook who fed and made the trail drive cowboys happy after a long day of stealing cattle.
Cookie had to dry all the food she brought on the trail before ice boxes and batteries came along. This included coffee, sugar, flour, beans, spices, and more. All of it. Beans need no refrigeration and they’re cheap. Cookie could buy a 50-pound bag of beans and take out the amount he needed to feed his team for the next two meals.
On trail drives, there weren’t three meals a day. There was a morning meal and a late-night meal. Old Cookie would have a pot of coffee and a pot of beans on the stove as long as the fire was going. As cowboys traded shifts to watch cattle, they’d come to camp and eat when they could.
All different types of beans can be used to make cowboy beans, but the king is the pinto. You’ll see a lot of anasazi and kidney beans used, as well. Today I am using a mixture of pinto and kidney because that is what I think tastes good. You can use what you want. They’ll all come out great once you learn how to cook ‘em properly.
Cooking times on beans are going to vary depending on where you park your wagon. At lower altitudes, beans cook faster. At higher altitude, beans cook slower. Why? Well, the water is going to boil at a lower temperature the higher the altitude is. Because you’re at sea level, those beans won’t need to be soaked at all. Just boil them well.
There is also less water at higher elevations, so you’ll need hot water on hand to add to the beans more often than at lower elevations. Beans don’t have a set cooking time, so you can try different times until you find the best one for your homestead.
Now, I like Casserole beans because I’ve used them a lot and know they’ll be clean. Always sift through your beans a little to remove any rocks or shriveled beans.
Beans were a dietary staple for cowboys in the American West during the late 1800s. Simple, non-perishable, and packed with protein, beans provided perfect sustenance for life on the trail. But cooking beans over an open campfire required some special techniques. Here’s a look at how cowboys cooked up this versatile food while driving cattle across the rugged frontier.
A Staple Food for Life on the Range
The cowboy lifestyle required food that was inexpensive, transported easily, and wouldn’t spoil. Beans checked all those boxes. They were an essential part of chuck wagon supplies for cattle drives across the Great Plains, Southwest, and beyond.
While fresh vegetables were scarce on the range, beans provided important vitamins and minerals. Their high protein boosted cowboys’ energy and stamina for long days herding cattle. When cooked properly, beans delivered stick-to-your-ribs satisfaction to power the cowboys through any grueling task.
Tools for Cooking Over a Campfire
Cowboys did most of their cooking outside over an open fire. This required sturdy, rugged cookware.
The main cooking pot for beans was a Dutch oven – a heavy cast iron pot with legs and a tight-fitting lid Dutch ovens hung or sat right in the coals, evenly distributing heat The thick walls kept moisture in while cooking.
Other gear included frying pans coffee pots and iron kettles. Metal cooking utensils like ladles and spoons rounded out the outdoor kitchen. With just these simple tools, cowboys could cook up hot meals under the stars.
Prepping and Cooking Techniques
Cooking beans in the traditional cowboy style involved a few key steps:
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Cleaning: Beans were carefully sifted and rinsed to remove any debris before cooking.
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Soaking: Most beans required an overnight soak to rehydrate them and shorten cooking time.
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Simmering: Beans simmered for hours in the Dutch oven, softened by the constant low heat.
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Seasoning: Salt pork or bacon provided smoky flavor. Onions, peppers, or chili powder sometimes seasoned the pot.
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Thickening: The liquid reduced down, coating the beans in a savory, gravy-like sauce.
The result was a rich, tender bean dish perfect for filling up hungry cowboys after hours on the trail.
Cowboy Bean Variations and Recipes
While pinto and kidney beans were most common, cowboys worked with what they had available. Chili beans mixed beef tallow and chili peppers into the stew. Cowboy baked beans included molasses or coffee for sweetness.
Here are a few old-fashioned cowboy bean recipes cooked using traditional campfire methods:
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Frijoles Charros: Pinto beans simmered with onions, tomatoes, chiles, and bacon.
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Hoppin’ John: Black-eyed peas cooked with salt pork and rice.
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Senate Bean Soup: Navy beans flavored with ham hock and potatoes.
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Cowboy Beans n’ Bacon: Pintos baked with bacon, onions, ketchup, and brown sugar.
No matter the variation, beans served up protein-packed fuel for the hard-working cowboys and their cattle drives across the Western frontier.
The Legacy of Cowboy Bean Cookery
Simple, hearty cowboy beans became a symbol of the cowboy lifestyle. While cooking technologies evolved, the flavor and spirit of the original recipes persist today.
From chuck wagon cookoffs to family camping trips, Dutch oven bean dishes connect us to the life of the American cowboy. Their cooking techniques remind us that a tasty, satisfying meal can come from the humblest of ingredients when prepared with care around a crackling campfire under the open Western skies.
Grandma said to leave the rocks in and they’ll float to the bottom and be good for your gizards.
Some extra flavor is added to my beans, but the ingredients are the same, and the taste will knock your hat right off your head.
Get the water good and warm before you add the beans.
My usual recipe involves jalapeno, onion, garlic and cilantro. But after a while on the trail, Old Cookie didn’t have many fresh foods left, so he used dried chiles and spices. For these beans, I’m going to use the masher to break up a dried guajillo pepper into small pieces so it adds more flavor to the pot. I’m not going to make a fine powder out of it. Ancho or Cascabel are also good chiles to add to the pot if you can find ‘em.
There wouldn’t have been a ham hock on the wagon with Old Cookie, but I’m going to add one to my beans. Besides salt pork, he would use any meat left over from any game the cowboys brought back from the trail.
Use your hash knife to mash the garlic and cut up the onion. I love a white onion in beans. Don’t make the onions too small, you don’t want to lose them in a pot of beans. I’m using two onions for four pounds of beans, so you can use a half onion per pound.
I like my food to have a kick, so I’m not going to remove the seeds from my jalapeno. I’m going to cut it into chunks and toss it in the pot, seeds and all. If you want those beans mild, scrape the inside of the pepper and rinse out the seeds.
We’ve already talked about how Old Cookie didn’t have a lot of fresh herbs like cilantro on the trail. A lot of people taste soap when they taste fresh cilantro, so I prefer to use it dried.
For now, just add the dried cilantro. We won’t add any more spices until the beans have been boiling for a while. You can boil some of the flavor out of your beans if you spice too early.
Put the Beans on the Fire
Start ‘em up and let them come up to a good rolling boil. After 15 minutes of a good boil, get them simmering low. Now is the time to season. I’m using chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin and my original and mesquite seasoning. Season to taste, folks. Use my spices as a guide to make a good pot of beans. But if your beans need more salt or garlic, add it.
Traditional Cowboy Beans
FAQ
How did cowboys prepare their beans?
How did Native Americans cook beans?
Did they eat a lot of beans in the Old West?
Did cowboys eat beans for breakfast?
Why did Cowboys eat beans & rice?
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture speculates that beans and rice were likely added to “a bowl of red,” otherwise known as chili, to make the meal stretch further. After all, feeding up to 20 ravenous cowboys at a time meant that a cook had to be seriously efficient.
Do Cowboys eat dried beans?
Lightweight dried beans are highly portable and could soak all day in the wagon, making prepping them fairly simple in the evenings once the crew had settled down for the night. Additionally, dried beans keep for a long time and are an excellent source of protein, making an incredibly filling meal for cowboys out on the range.
What did Cowboys eat in the Old West?
In the early to mid-1800s, food in the old west would have been significantly better than pretty any other wilderness fare. A significant part of the cowboy diet was made up of the large amounts of cattle that abounded. Smoked jerky was the most common way of consuming beef since it lasted longer and could be used in stews.
What kind of beans were used on the trail?
Pinto beans were the primary choice of cooks on the trail, according to True West. However, other varieties such as kidney beans and white beans were likely used. Lightweight dried beans are highly portable and could soak all day in the wagon, making prepping them fairly simple in the evenings once the crew had settled down for the night.