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8 Foods That Got Their Start In The Old West – The Daily Meal

Depictions of the American Old West abound in pop culture, from music videos to old-school Western movies and books. Images of ancient towns and wooden buildings in dusty areas and fights between good and evil stylize this time period.

The “Old West” is typically considered as encompassing the years 1865 and 1900 (via the Library of Congress). During this time, railroad expansion made it easier for settlers to move further and further west. While American pop culture usually depicts the cowboys of the time as white, the first predecessors to cowboys were a combination of Indigenous Americans and Spanish vaqueros (via History). 

Cowboys, with their excellent skills in riding and ranching, began to find a place for themselves in what would become the American frontier. Still, life in the Old West was not easy, even with their incredible talents. Resources were limited, and food was not plentiful. In the act of self-preservation, a host of recipes were created in that era, often drawing from indigenous foods and traditional preparation methods. Some are better well-known than others, but each food has left its mark.

1. Chili

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There are many urban legends about the creation of chili. Myths involving nuns appearing in visions and other grandiose tales permeate chili’s history (via Wonderopolis). One thing is for certain, though: Chili was very popular in the Old West.

Chili con carne, or beef chili, was particularly popular at the time. Chuck wagons followed cowboys around on trails as the chefs prepared meals for them (via National Cowboy Museum). Their goal was to keep everyone fed on the arduous journeys they undertook. 

That meant they had to make giant bowls of filling food capable of feeding more than 20 people at a time, and chili was just the trick (via the University of Arkansas Cooperative extension). Sometimes the dish was called “a bowl of red,” and it gave cowboys a way to use cheap pieces of meat.

By the mid-19th century in San Antonio, Texas, “Chili Queens” began to set up shops and serve chili to customers. This helped the dish to gain even more popularity, and by the end of the 19th century, chili began to spread beyond the American frontier and to the rest of the country. Today chili remains a popular food around the country, but to help mark its origin, Texas declared it the official state dish in 1977.

2. Sarsaparilla

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If you think of any Old West saloon, and aside from mysterious bottles of liquor labeled with large “Xs” on them, you might think of sarsaparilla. This is because real sarsaparilla was made from the sarsaparilla plant (via SunSentinel), which has its roots in central and South America (via Beverage History). 

It was widely known and used by Indigenous peoples of those areas (via Bundaberg). So it is no wonder, given the history and demographic of the area, that the drink began to rise in popularity, especially as it was used for medicinal purposes.

The wild sarsaparilla plant is in the ginseng family and is said to have a strong flavor. This is partially why the drink often includes other ingredients. Bundaberg Bottled Drinks, for example, mixes its sarsaparilla with licorice root, ginger root, vanilla bean, and molasses. 

If this sounds similar to root beer, that is because it is. Sarsaparilla and root beer share many similarities, and root beer is thought to have been inspired by sarsaparilla. However, the first commercial root beer, Hire’s, was created by Charles Hire, a pharmacist in the eastern part of the country (via Lower Merion History).

3. Cowboy beans

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It should come as no surprise that a food called cowboy beans got its start with cowboys in the Old West. Like chili, cowboy beans were another staple of chuck wagons, which had to serve cowboys large filling meals (via Watson Lake Inn). The dish was typically made using pinto beans, meat, and spices to create a flavorful sauce. It resembled baked beans.

Beans were a popular choice for cowboys on the American frontier because dry beans and spices could be stored for long periods of time before being used. Once cooked, though, they had to be eaten. Pinto beans have been grown by Indigenous Americans for over 5,000 years, so it is no surprise that this food became one of the Old West staple meals (via Camellia Brand). There are many variations of the dish today. Cowboy beans, with its punch of flavor and its filling nature, is the perfect dish from the Old West.

4. Sowbelly (bacon)

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Bacon is one of the most beloved foods. While cured meats have been made for thousands of years, cured sowbelly has become a fundamental food in the Old West and has potentially helped America develop its love for this salty and fatty delicious treat.

According to True West Magazine, sowbelly was meat taken from the sides and backs of pigs. The pork taken from these areas was highly fatty, and in order to preserve it, the meat was cured with large quantities of salt. This made a long-lasting meat that could be brought on long trails without spoiling. Because of this, salted pork became one of the mainstay staple items for cowboys. 

As True West Magazine points out, it even makes it into the song “Old Chisholm Trail,” a song named after the Chisholm Trail, in which ranchers bring meat and cattle from the Old West up to Kansas (via Texas State Historical Association). The song encourages the consumption of bacon. 

5. Arbuckle’s coffee

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Coffee itself is not native to the midwest; however, cowboys loved it (via True West Magazine). Cowboys wanted strong coffee to the point that instead of emptying old grounds out before making another batch, they would simply add more coffee on top of it. It was even estimated by one cook that the group of cowboys he cooked for went through 175 pounds of coffee per month.

For a long time, the beans used to make this coffee were carried while still green and unroasted (via Cowboy and Chuck Wagon Cooking). This practice allowed the beans to keep longer without spoiling. But this all changed in 1868 when John Arbuckle Jr. invented a way to roast beans that kept them fresher for longer (via History Net). 

Despite being founded on the eastern side of the United States, Arbuckle’s coffee took off in the American frontier land, particularly for cowboys. Cooks no longer had to roast their own beans and began buying vast quantities of coffee. For a time, the name Arbcukle’s became synonymous with coffee; functionally, no other brand existed.

John Arbuckle died a wealthy man, and while the company is not as famous as it once was, it still exists today and is located in Tucson, Arizona, a part of what was once the Old West.

6. Pan de campo

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Pan de campo, or camp bread, is cooked in a dutch oven over hot coals (via Texas Historical Commission). It was originally created by the Tejano people, who are people of Mexican descent living in what is now Texas. While working on ranches, they, along with the Spanish vaqueros, would make this bread as a way to make a quick and easy addition to a meal.

Usually, it was made from just flour, baking powder, salt, some kind of fat, and water. In addition to being easy to make, the bread cooked quickly and had a tough exterior that made it portable. It was a very practical food, and over time, its appeal grew. 

By the 20th century, pan de campo was being prepared for festivals, and much like how chili now had cook-offs, an event called “Pan de Campo Cook Off and Festival” was founded in 1978. The event is hosted in San Diego. Pair pan de campo and chili together, and you have one competition-driven Old West food.

7. Rocky mountain oysters

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The name may imply a water source, but do not be fooled; rocky mountain oysters do not come from the sea. According to Huffington Post, Rocky Mountain oysters are actually bull testicles. This may not sound appetizing, but the dish was considered to be delicious food and something of a luxury, according to What’s Cooking America.

The dish gained prominence on ranches in the Old West. Every year calves had to castrate and have their horns removed. The Old West was not a place of abundant food choices, so ranchers and cowboys wanted to find a way to use what they had available and created Rocky Mountain oysters. They threw the testicles onto hot coals to cook them. 

What’s Cooking America notes that they were often peeled, breaded, and fried. Today deep frying remains a common preparation method for Rocky Mountain oysters. The Old West is not the only place where huevos de toro are eaten. Mountain oysters became one of the popular dishes in the American frontier and are still served in some locations in that area today.

8. Vinegar pie

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Many people think of vinegar pie as a depression-era dish, but recipes for it date back to at least 1905 (via Denver Library). This simple pie is made from a crust filled with fat, sugar, flour, spices, eggs, and, yes, vinegar (via True West Magazine). The creation of this pie came from a place of scarcity. When there is nothing else around, you still need to eat. But, as Chronicles of the Old West points out, one of the advantages of this pie was it could be made with easy substitutions. 

Cooks could swap out spices or sugar for molasses or honey, omitting eggs. The recipe was undefined and amounted to whatever someone had on hand in order to make the pie. This was why the pie got its start in the Old West. If cowboys were on the trail, things could get lean.

While the flavor profile may sound odd to contemporary eaters, the idea behind using vinegar is not that far off from the desserts we enjoy more commonly today. Off the Grid News explains vinegar was meant to act in a similarly tart way as citrus in baked goods. So instead of lemons or limes, you would use apple vinegar which did not expire. This way, those in the Old West could still have a dessert, even when there seemed to be nothing around.