cattle drive food question

[harmonica]

...the cowboys on cattle drives ate beef......my question is how did they store the beef? did they salt it/smoke it/etc? would they kill calves?
....I've read much on the Old West...sometimes specific detail on the food/cattle drives.....but I don't remember storage of beef.....did they even store it?
thanks all civil replies

 

[ABikerSailor]

Cattle drives became a lot easier when Charles Goodnight invented the chuckwagon. Most of the supplies that they carried in it were things that would store and travel well, and the meat that they ate came from either the cattle they were driving or from wild game they hunted along the way.

Here's a link if you're interested.....................

Cowboy Grub

 

[harmonica]

Cattle drives became a lot easier when Charles Goodnight invented the chuckwagon. Most of the supplies that they carried in it were things that would store and travel well, and the meat that they ate came from either the cattle they were driving or from wild game they hunted along the way.

Here's a link if you're interested.....................

Cowboy Grub

ty --I just read that one and another one that said they did kill yearlings

 

[harmonica]

.....I read where half a cow gives you about 200 lbs of beef ----?....so I'm guessing they did not kill the big ones? or did they?

 

[ABikerSailor]

Cattle drives became a lot easier when Charles Goodnight invented the chuckwagon. Most of the supplies that they carried in it were things that would store and travel well, and the meat that they ate came from either the cattle they were driving or from wild game they hunted along the way.

Here's a link if you're interested.....................

Cowboy Grub

ty --I just read that one and another one that said they did kill yearlings

Shoot, just think about it. A yearling would feed a crew for a couple of days, and to tell you the truth, leaving a slaughtered calf out for a couple of days won't hurt it much. And, it would more than likely be eaten and gone before it got too spoiled to eat.

I mean, there are lots of fancy steak houses that dry age their steaks for up to a month before they go on the grill.

 

[harmonica]

Cattle drives became a lot easier when Charles Goodnight invented the chuckwagon. Most of the supplies that they carried in it were things that would store and travel well, and the meat that they ate came from either the cattle they were driving or from wild game they hunted along the way.

Here's a link if you're interested.....................

Cowboy Grub

ty --I just read that one and another one that said they did kill yearlings

Shoot, just think about it. A yearling would feed a crew for a couple of days, and to tell you the truth, leaving a slaughtered calf out for a couple of days won't hurt it much. And, it would more than likely be eaten and gone before it got too spoiled to eat.

I mean, there are lots of fancy steak houses that dry age their steaks for up to a month before they go on the grill.

.....thank you--I just read where they would let it hang over night [ to chill ] , then cover it with tarpaulins during the day, and they let it hang overnight again

 

[ABikerSailor]

But, if you read the article I put in the link, you would see that cattle drives used to be small, but then they got bigger and bigger, which is why Charles Goodnight invented the chuck wagon. And, the chuck wagon became the center point for the camp when they stopped for the night.

Matter of fact, here in the TX Panhandle, they have memorials to Mr. Goodnight all over the place.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

1. In Lonesome Dove they bought some lambs from some Mexicans. Bit of variety there.

 

[harmonica]

1. In Lonesome Dove they bought some lambs from some Mexicans. Bit of variety there.

.....lamb isn't that popular around my area, that I know of .....it's more '''popular'' in the UK?
...also, the cowboys/ranchers didn't like the sheep herders in the Old West, I thought....so, I'm guessing it would've been hard to get lamb in a lot of places....??

 

[Muhammed]

...the cowboys on cattle drives ate beef......my question is how did they store the beef? did they salt it/smoke it/etc? would they kill calves?
....I've read much on the Old West...sometimes specific detail on the food/cattle drives.....but I don't remember storage of beef.....did they even store it?
thanks all civil replies

They stored it underneath their saddles to tenderize it.

 

[WinterBorn]

Feeding 15 or 20 cowboys 3 meals a day, a yearling wouldn't have time to spoil. They might throw some salt on it, but that is all it would take.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

1. In Lonesome Dove they bought some lambs from some Mexicans. Bit of variety there.

.....lamb isn't that popular around my area, that I know of .....it's more '''popular'' in the UK?
...also, the cowboys/ranchers didn't like the sheep herders in the Old West, I thought....so, I'm guessing it would've been hard to get lamb in a lot of places....??

Lamb is the best meat and Welsh lamb is the best lamb. Capt Woodrow was chuffed to get some lamb.

 

[Yarddog]

...the cowboys on cattle drives ate beef......my question is how did they store the beef? did they salt it/smoke it/etc? would they kill calves?
....I've read much on the Old West...sometimes specific detail on the food/cattle drives.....but I don't remember storage of beef.....did they even store it?
thanks all civil replies

Looks like a lot of dried meat like jerky and then dried and canned fruit, lots of biscuts and beans probably because flour and beans could be stored dry

Cowboy Chronicles: What did cowboys eat on the range?

Cowboy Grub

 

[harmonica]

...the cowboys on cattle drives ate beef......my question is how did they store the beef? did they salt it/smoke it/etc? would they kill calves?
....I've read much on the Old West...sometimes specific detail on the food/cattle drives.....but I don't remember storage of beef.....did they even store it?
thanks all civil replies

Looks like a lot of dried meat like jerky and then dried and canned fruit, lots of biscuts and beans probably because flour and beans could be stored dry

Cowboy Chronicles: What did cowboys eat on the range?

Cowboy Grub

but they didn't store ''too much'' fresh beef, I'm guessing??

 

[Unkotare]

Wouldn’t matter much as the age of the cowboys was quite brief.

 

[Yarddog]

...the cowboys on cattle drives ate beef......my question is how did they store the beef? did they salt it/smoke it/etc? would they kill calves?
....I've read much on the Old West...sometimes specific detail on the food/cattle drives.....but I don't remember storage of beef.....did they even store it?
thanks all civil replies

Looks like a lot of dried meat like jerky and then dried and canned fruit, lots of biscuts and beans probably because flour and beans could be stored dry

Cowboy Chronicles: What did cowboys eat on the range?

Cowboy Grub

but they didn't store ''too much'' fresh beef, I'm guessing??

Im thinking mostly dried apparently they learned the tecnique from the Indians, but when They got the chuck wagons, probably salted beef and pork and then the heavier stuff that came in cans.

 

[Yarddog]

Wouldn’t matter much as the age of the cowboys was quite brief.

they probably caught things like rabbits or quail but I doubt there were too many fat cowboys around. At least not until the founding of Taco Bell.... or so I heard.