Page 89 - All About History 48 - 2017 UK

How to make…

CHUCKWAGONBUFFALOSTEW

COWBOY CUISINE AMERICA’S GREAT PLAINS, 1866–86
Did

Ingredients you know?
O 400 grams pinto beans
O Dash of olive oil
O 900 grams buffalo meat Cowboysoriginatedin
or beef Mexicoafter the Spanish
O 2 sticks celery settled.They werecalled
O 2 carrots
O 1 large white onion ‘vaqueros’,fromthe
O 2 tablespoon paprika Spanish word‘vaca’
O ¼ tablespoon cayenne
pepper meaning‘cow’
O 1 can chopped tomatoes
O Water
O Beef stock
O Salt and pepper
O A few rashers of bacon
(optional)

METHOD
ftertheAmericanCivilWarended
in 1865, the price of beef began 01 Rinse your pinto beans, put in a bowl and cover 06 Add the spices into the mix, along with the chopped
to rise, and to meet demand, generously with water. Leave to soak overnight. To tomatoes and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Then
Ahugeherdsofcattleweredriven skip this step, simply use canned pinto beans. use a 50/50 mixture of stock and water, pour over the
throughtheGreatPlainstothenorthern contents of the pot until just covered and bring to a
states.Thelifeofacowboywastoughat 02 This dish is best cooked in a Dutch oven. If you’re simmer for a few minutes.
themercyoftheelements.Thesemen under the stars, build a campfire, and get it hot.
were highly skilled in riding, shooting, 07 Dutch-oven chefs can now leave this bubbling away on
lassoing and wrangling, and needed to 03 For those with only a kitchen and not much else, set the campfire for around 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally
eatheartymeals.Driedmeatandbeans your oven to 180 degrees Celsius and use a large until the liquid has reduced a little and the meat is
madeupthecowboydiet,alongwith oven-safe casserole dish. tender. Kitchen cooks should pop the lid onto the
some tinned vegetables and freshly casserole dish and transfer to the oven for 1.5 hours.
caught game. The chuck wagon would 04 Cut the meat into large cubes, dice the celery and
move from camp to camp to feed the carrots and roughly chop the onion. 08 For a tasty addition, before serving chop up some
hungry herdsmen, cooking up meaty bacon and fry until crispy, then stir through the stew.
stews and buttermilk biscuits in Dutch 05 With your Dutch oven over the fire or your casserole
ovens–heavycast-ironpotswithlegs dish on the hob (medium-high), heat a dash of 09 Serve up with some steaming cowboy coffee and
andlidsthatcouldbeplacedinorover oil and add the meat to sear it. Then add in the crusty bread (or buttermilk biscuits for an authentic
a campfire. vegetables to cook for a few minutes. Wild West menu) and enjoy.
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