Our Chuck wagon is full of authentic old west menus and recipes so you can
create a real cowboy Christmas in your own home. From forts and fancy hotels to
just plain cowboy cooking we have a bit of something for everyone, all served
up with a dash of fun thrown in.
As you read through the pages you might find it curious that there are such
vast differences in the menu items. Some dined handsomely on lobster while
others, less fortunate, had a holiday dinner which consisted of boiled mule and
snow.
Trappers, explorers and mountain men came early on in the westward
migration. They lived mostly off the land, luck and good relations with the
Native Americans. Later as outposts and forts sprung up they were able to trade
as well but even then, limiting those provisions to what was easily kept and
carried.
Time went on bringing with it a wave of new inhabitants, among those -
womenfolk. Women kept their eastern magazine subscriptions which were full of the current fashionable recipes and
latest kitchen wares. The stage coach allowed for the delivery of these mail
order treasures from the more civilized eastern life left behind.
The west was growing up.
Then came the train which carried almost anything that could be desired,
westward. Even such perishables, as seafood were now easily within reach. All
that was required was money and location, location, location. Then, as now, it
makes all the difference. Forts and larger towns that were close to the rail
lines wanted for little, while those in more rural settings still had the issue
of making what might amount to several days journey to town in order to get
their food products so time and weather remained a limiting factor.
Christmas Dinner in the Wild West
Menu Pages
Old West Christmas Camp Desolation, Colorado 1848
Christmas Dinner at Four Mile House, Colorado 1883
Old West Mountain Man Christmas Dinner 1842
Old West Christmas Dinner Fort Custer, Montana 1889
Christmas Dinner at the North Pole 1881
Old West Christmas Dinner La Veta Hotel, Colorado 1889
Trappers & Indian Christmas, Utah 1840
Recipes
HoofFin It - meat & fish
Sidekicks - side dishes
3-Eyed Jake's - libations
Sugar Plum Gang - desserts
The Crusty Cowboy Rib Rub & BBQ Sauce
Double-Spur Rodeo Potato Salad
Old West Recipe Cooking Weights