Chuckwagon: Potato Pie
from 1885 Farmer Almanac
Boil on-quarter pound potatoes until soft, then peel them and rub them through a sieve. Add one quart of milk, three teaspoonfuls of melted butter, four beaten eggs, and sugar and nutmeg to taste. Bake as you would a custard pie.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Sorghum Cake
This was a dessert made either at the ranch or restaurants in town. It couldn’t be made on the cattle drive because of the need for butter and eggs, two items that would not remain fresh during a three month cattle drive.
2 Tablespoons butter
½ Cup sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup sorghum molasses
½ Cup water
½ Teaspoon baking soda
2 Cups flour
Start by mixing the butter and sugar. Then add the eggs. In a separate bowl mix the molasses, water and baking soda. Mix all the ingredients together. Bake about 45 minutes at a 350 degree temperature.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Cornmeal Pudding
3 Cups cornmeal mash
2 Tablespoons flour
5 Beaten eggs
½ Cup melted butter
1 Cup molasses
½ Cup milk
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
Stir altogether and bake ½ hour in a very moderate oven.
Serve with a sweet sauce.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Molasses Pie
3 eggs
1 teacupful of brown sugar
½ of a nutmeg
2 tablespoonfuls of butter
Beat well together. Stir in 1 teacupful of molasses with above ingredients. If you have no molasses, maple syrup will work. Bake in pie shell.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Stuffing For A Turkey
From an 1888 cookbook
Mix thoroughly a quart of stale bread, very finely grated; the grated rind of a lemon; quarter of an ounce of minced parsley and thyme, one part thyme, two parts parsley; and pepper and salt to season. Add to these one unbeaten egg and half a cup of butter; mix all well together and moisten with hot water or milk. Other herbs than parsley or thyme may be used if preferred, and a little onion, finely minced, added if desired. The proportions given here may be increased when more is required.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Corn Dodgers
2 Cups yellow cornmeal
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Cups milk
1 Teaspoon baking powder
Preheat Dutch oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook cornmeal in a saucepan with butter, salt, sugar and milk until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Add baking powder. Spoon the mix onto the Dutch oven in heaping tablespoon-size balls, then bake for 10 to 15 minutes. They are done when slightly brown around the edges.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Pickled Eggs
Because it was difficult to keep eggs fresh without refrigeration, pickled eggs were a delicacy while on the trail. Once a cowboy got into town, he was able to get pickled eggs at his favorite tavern to add a little solid food to offset the beer and whiskey.
1-cup tarragon vinegar. ½ tsp celery seed.
1-cup water. 1 clove garlic, minced.
2 Tbs sugar. 2 bay leaves.
½ tsp salt. 12 shelled, hard-boiled eggs.
Combine all ingredients in saucepan, except eggs. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Cool. Pour over eggs in a crock or jar. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 days before eating.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Brown Gravy
The following is a farm recipe for gravy from the late 1880’s.
This gravy may be made in larger quantities, then kept in a stone jar and used as wanted.
Take two pounds of beef, and two small slices of lean bacon. Cut the meat into small pieces. Put into a stew-pan a piece of butter the size of an egg, and set over the fire. Cut two large onions in thin slices. Put them in the butter and fry a light brown, then add the meat. Season with whole peppers. Salt to taste. Add three cloves, and pour over one cupful of water. Let is boil fifteen or twenty minutes, stirring it occasionally.
Then add two quarts of water, and simmer very gently for two hours. Now strain, and when cold, remove the fat. To thicken this gravy, put in a stew pan a lump of butter a little larger than an egg, add two teaspoonfuls of flour, and stir until a light brown. When cold, add it to the strained gravy, and boil up quickly. Serve very hot with the meats.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Cooked Cabbage Salad
1 Pint or more of chopped cooked cabbage
Add:
1 Egg well beaten
¼ Cup vinegar
1 Tsp butter
Dash of salt and pepper
Sweeten to suit taste. Simmer a few minutes and add ½ cup of thick fresh cream. Serve immediately.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
Chuckwagon: Black Pudding
Here’s an old ranch recipe courtesy of Winkie Crigler, founder and curator of The Little House Museum in Greer, Arizona
6 Eggs 1 Cup Sweet Milk
2 Cups Flour 1 Tsp Soda
1 Cup Sugar 1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Cup Molasses
Mix well. Pour into 1-pound can and steam for 2 to 3 hours by placing in kettle of boiling water. Keep covered.
This is to be served with a vinegar sauce:
1 Cup Sugar 1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Flour 2 Tbsp Vinegar
½ Tsp Nutmeg
Put in enough boiling water for amount of sauce wanted. Add two slightly beaten eggs and cook stirring constantly to the desired consistency.
*Courtesy of Chronicle of the Old West newspaper, for more click HERE.
