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Printable recipe below! Go back in history with us for classic beans and cornbread as it was cooked on the cattle drives.
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0:00
[Music]
0:04
It's the days of open range. Picture
0:07
yourself horseback with a thousand head
0:09
of Longhorn cattle in front of you. Your
0:12
job to push these longhorns a thousand
0:14
miles from Texas to Kansas up to the
0:17
rail heads at Abalene. There are 15
0:19
cowboys, most the age of about 15 to 20,
0:22
and one old grumpy cook. But as the wind
0:25
kicks up across the prairie, you see a
0:28
thunderhead brewing in the west and a
0:30
crack of lightning hits in the distance.
0:32
There's an ominous rumble, but you don't
0:34
stop. Not yet.
0:38
[Music]
0:49
You know, cowboys lived awful lean out
0:51
here. There was just two meals a day if
0:53
you were lucky. And breakfast was way
0:56
before the morning light. And supper
0:58
sometime was way after the sun had set.
1:00
So breakfast was probably sourdough
1:03
biscuits and coffee. And some of them
1:04
cowboys had to mount up and ride up. So
1:06
a lot of them would just take that
1:08
biscuit, put in their pocket, get a swig
1:09
of coffee, mount up on that horse, and
1:11
head back out there to the herd. And
1:14
they were long days. They were. But hey,
1:16
them cowboys knew one thing they could
1:18
count on, and that was the cook. And as
1:20
the dust settled and the herd settled,
1:22
they'd look back towards camp and they
1:23
could see smoke just billowing up. They
1:26
knew it was getting close to supper
1:28
time. Now, Cookie was already back at
1:31
camp, hunched over a Dutch oven with the
1:33
fire crackling low. Now, there wasn't
1:35
fresh vegetables or meat, but one thing
1:37
that's on the menu tonight, beans and
1:40
cornbread. And the history behind them
1:42
beans, it stretches back thousands of
1:44
years. High in protein, full of fiber,
1:48
and dried. So they'd keep forever. Beans
1:50
were a staple going down the trail. And
1:52
they didn't just show up in the Old
1:54
West. Pinto beans go back a long way, 7
1:57
to 8,000 years to be exact. They were
1:59
first grown down in what's known as
2:01
southern Mexico and Guatemala. Part of
2:04
the planting system was called the three
2:06
sisters method. That's bean, corn, and
2:09
squash. Grown together to help nourish
2:11
the people. As time passed, those beans
2:14
spread north through the trade routes
2:15
through the migration and became a
2:17
staple for the native tribes across
2:19
what's now the US. The Cherokee, Navajo,
2:23
Hopi, and the Pueblo. They all grew and
2:26
cooked different kinds of beans and
2:27
stews and breads that fed the entire
2:29
communities. Then came the Spanish
2:31
explorers in the 1500s who brought even
2:34
more varieties like the black beans and
2:36
the pintos up into the southwest. And by
2:38
the time that cattle drives rolled
2:40
around, beans were everywhere. From
2:43
chuck wagons to army camps. Now, Cookie
2:46
had a lot of things in that chuck wagon.
2:48
I mean, he had Dutch ovens, lanterns,
2:50
crosscut saw, a pick, an axe, a shovel,
2:53
but also he had a lot of food items.
2:55
There was flyer, there was sugar, there
2:57
was coffee, and dried beans. Now, dried
3:00
beans he either had in a sack, like a 50
3:02
lb sack, or maybe had a small wooden
3:05
barrel. They'd pour the bins in and then
3:07
just nail that lid down tight. But you
3:09
know, in our cookbook, Comfort Food the
3:11
Cowboy Way, we talked about a lot of
3:13
provisions that old cook took down the
3:16
trail. You know, on some of them longer
3:18
drives, there was might even been 1,700
3:21
lb of flyer. Now, he wouldn't carry that
3:23
all at once. He would stop at like the
3:25
Fleetwood store when he crossed the Red
3:27
River, and he would stock up again as he
3:29
went down the trail. But there's so many
3:30
things, cinnamon, vanilla, different
3:32
spices, dried chilies that he would
3:34
take. And when he was talking about salt
3:36
pork, a lot of times that would be
3:38
rolled up in a bed sheet and then put in
3:40
an old burlap bag cuz he could just
3:41
slice that salt pork out whether he was
3:43
putting it in beans or he was frying it
3:45
for bacon. Cookie on a normal trail
3:47
drive would probably have anywhere from
3:50
75 to 100 pounds of dried pinto beans. I
3:54
mean, these things will keep forever,
3:55
but folks, that is a lot of beans. If he
3:57
could have figured up a way to gas that
3:59
chuck wagon with that, he'd have had
4:00
power all the way down the trail. Now,
4:03
Cookie, when he had time, he would make
4:05
a dessert. But there wasn't a lot of
4:07
stuff growing down the trail where he
4:09
going to pick peaches or pick apricots,
4:11
but he'd take dried fruit, sometimes as
4:13
much as 300 lbs of dried fruit, and he'd
4:16
put it in that wagon and he could store
4:17
it. All you had to do was rehydrate it
4:19
to make you a cobbler or whatever he was
4:21
making. Now, if you're interested in
4:23
chuck wagons and what old cook might
4:24
have took down the trail, this book's
4:26
got you covered.
4:31
So, when we're talking about cowboy
4:33
beans, we're not just talking about
4:35
going down the trail. We're talking
4:37
about thousands of years of history and
4:40
how they were cooked and how people
4:41
survived on them. And guess what? We're
4:43
cooking them up for cowboys again today.
4:45
So, let's get that old bean potter
4:47
rolling.
4:50
[Music]
5:10
Well, got old Bertha fired up there a
5:13
little. We do. Now, I got these beans in
5:15
this pot and they already got water on
5:18
them. You can see that now we're at 7600
5:21
ft elevation. So I soak these beans
5:24
about 4 hours. Now being where we was in
5:27
Oklahoma at 1,800T, I never soaked no
5:29
beans. Bertha should just get the job
5:31
done about an hour and 20 minutes.
5:32
Elevation will affect what you cook in
5:35
so many different ways. But it keeps
5:37
bread from rising to its maximum height
5:39
and it keeps beans from getting done
5:41
when you'd like them to. I can remember
5:43
the first pot of beans that I ever
5:44
cooked so many years ago in the Hila
5:46
wilderness. I'm thinking I ain't never
5:48
soaked a bean. Took me 8 and a half
5:50
hours to get beans where I could eat
5:52
them. So, if you're in altitude, you'll
5:54
know what I'm talking about. Now, when
5:56
you're soaking beans, I especially out
5:58
here at this altitude, I like to go
6:00
about 4 hours. Now, I'll change the
6:02
water. And this is cold water, not hot.
6:04
I'll change it after about 2 hours.
6:06
Rinse them beans really well. Put them
6:08
back in there. Fill it back up with
6:10
water again. Now, if you're having to
6:11
soak beans and you're down there where
6:13
it's really hot or you really humid, you
6:15
put some ice in that water cuz beans can
6:18
sire oh so quickly. So, make sure that
6:20
you keep an eye on that as you go. Now,
6:22
Cookie going down the trail, he probably
6:24
had him an old bean pot he did or a
6:26
Dutch oven that had a good lid on it
6:28
sitting right in that wagon with him
6:30
when he's potting down that trail and
6:31
he'd be soaking them beans just going
6:33
down through there. They'd be bouncing
6:34
along. Might had a little dust in them.
6:36
Hey, them cowboys, they was ready to
6:38
eat. They didn't care what they had in
6:39
them. They just wanted some of them. And
6:41
he would have put most likely onion,
6:44
salt, pork, some dried chilies, whether
6:47
it be a cascale chili, chili dear ball
6:50
for a little heat, an ancho chili to
6:52
give it a little smoky flavor. And he
6:55
just get me a little salt, a little
6:57
pepper, cooked them beans as he went
6:58
along. Now, I cook beans a little
7:00
different than cookie does. Today, I'm
7:03
using some smoked ham hock.
7:06
White onion is my preference in beans
7:08
and I just quartered it up.
7:11
I have a cascave chili and a guilo
7:14
chili. So, took the seeds out of them,
7:17
crumbled them up a little. They're going
7:19
to give us some flavor there. And you're
7:22
probably thinking to yourself right now,
7:23
it' be a good time to add the salt,
7:25
pepper, and seasoning, everything. No,
7:26
it would not. We're going to let them
7:28
beans simmer there and come to a little
7:30
old boil before we ever add no seasoning
7:32
to them because I want to make sure that
7:34
everything's going well and I don't want
7:36
that seasoning to boil away. So, we'll
7:38
put them in there at the right time. It
7:40
makes a big difference when you're
7:41
cooking beans. You know, going down the
7:44
trail, there wasn't many different kinds
7:46
of cooks. There was Hispanic, there was
7:48
black, there was Irish, maybe some guys
7:50
that got out of the army that been
7:52
cooking there. But if it was of Mexican
7:54
influence, I guarantee you there's
7:56
probably going to be a lot of them dried
7:57
chilies in there, he's going to make
7:59
that stuff the way he grew up with it.
8:01
And that's the way even if you get like
8:03
army cooks got on that old chuck wagon,
8:05
they probably going to use some navy
8:07
beans or some limema beans, maybe add
8:09
some salt pork, but also little
8:11
different varieties of different
8:13
seasoning that were made from different
8:14
parts of the country. Cooks varied. So
8:16
did the taste.
8:28
[Music]
8:37
[Applause]
8:41
Now we brought these beans to a really
8:43
hard rolling bowl. Let them do that for
8:45
about 10 minutes. And then I just turn
8:47
them down to where they're just sort of
8:48
at a medium boil or a high simmer. And
8:51
folks, when you can put a spoon in there
8:53
and pull it up and the skin cracks on
8:56
that bean just a little, you know what
8:57
that bean is telling you? It's hot in
8:59
here. No, really, he's saying it is time
9:02
for you to add the rest of that
9:03
seasoning. Now, also keep you some water
9:06
on your burner or stove. Keep it hot
9:09
because when you have to add water to
9:12
these beans, you don't want it to be
9:13
cold water. You want it to be hot water.
9:16
Ain't no sense in shocking them and
9:17
think, "Hey, we're going to be boiling
9:18
along, swimming, doing the breaststroke,
9:20
and then you pour the cold water in
9:21
everything." And what happened to the
9:22
electric blanket? We be needing them
9:25
beans to stay at that bowl. But now it
9:27
is time to add these. Now, oh, Cookie
9:29
might not have had no fresh green
9:31
chilies where he's at, but if he was
9:33
coming out of New Mexico or it was an
9:34
old Mexican cook, I guarantee you he had
9:37
some. So, we're going to add a little in
9:38
here. I really like to put our mosquite
9:41
seasoning and beans cuz it's got some
9:43
ancho chili powder in it. There's not
9:45
heat. There's just smoke and flavor. And
9:47
we haven't added any kind of salt to
9:50
these as of yet. And I like to season
9:53
sort of lightly the first go around and
9:55
then right before they get done, I will
9:57
check them to see if they need some
9:59
more. Now, you seen me already add in
10:03
there the dried cilantro, the cumin, and
10:07
the smoked paprika. Now, we're going to
10:09
have a little original
10:12
and just go sort of on the light side
10:13
there. Remember, this is a pound of
10:15
beans. You don't think it's much, but
10:17
the way I used to figure a pound of
10:19
beans feed 10 cowboys. Let's give it a
10:21
stir. Get the lid back on it. But one
10:24
other thing that's happening here that I
10:25
think we need to address if we can is
10:30
them ham hocks is falling apart. Let me
10:34
move that. So we're going to trim that
10:36
meat off of them. Them bones have done
10:38
bulled that the good stuff in there and
10:41
we're going to save that.
10:44
Put that one back in there. But you can
10:46
see how that good hog meat has just fell
10:49
off there when it falls apart like
10:50
there. And let's just
10:53
pull it apart. Whatever you want to do,
10:55
careful. It is hot. And then we can put
10:57
it all back in there here in a minute
11:00
because that's going to make sure that
11:02
you think, "Whoa, I'm getting a little
11:03
bite of ham in every bite.
11:08
[Music]
11:16
Well, see me shred that ham up, throw
11:18
her back in there. But also, I'm going
11:20
to put some jalapenos in mine. I added
11:22
some green chili cuz I like that flavor
11:24
that comes out of the Hatch Valley
11:25
there. I do. But I want my beans to have
11:27
a little bite. Now, if you don't want to
11:29
put them in there, that's all right. But
11:30
Cookie and Old Cowboys would dre you
11:32
did. I don't seed them. I don't do
11:35
nothing. I just slice them one way,
11:37
slice them another, and then I just go
11:40
to cutting them in there. Now, this is
11:42
another one of them deals that can be
11:43
dangerous and hazardous to your health.
11:45
Don't scratch your butt or your eyes or
11:47
pick your nose after you've done this
11:48
till you washed your hands at least 12
11:50
times.
11:54
[Music]
11:55
Water level is down just a little. So,
11:57
we're going to add a little to it.
12:01
Not drowned. We're not ever going to put
12:03
it up to here. And if you ever think you
12:05
got too much water in there, when you
12:07
put that lid back on there, just crack
12:08
it. Some of that moisture will escape.
12:10
But we need to get these back to a boil.
12:12
They probably need to cook about another
12:14
45 minutes to an hour to get good and
12:15
tender and it'll be time to make some
12:17
cornbread.
12:22
[Music]
12:27
Now you see me cooking on this old box I
12:29
call Bertha. Now old Cookie probably
12:31
didn't have one of these. He didn't. He
12:33
probably just had him a little hole dug
12:34
over there. What we call a pot rack or
12:36
two rods he drove in the ground, run
12:39
another one across there. Just had
12:40
hooks. That way his fire pit was big
12:43
enough he could hang his coffee, hang
12:44
his bean pot over her. He still had
12:46
coals that he could dig out if he was
12:48
baking bread or making biscuits. Now my
12:50
stove, old Bertha. Hey, good folks at
12:53
Hasty Bake fix me up. They did. She's
12:55
347 lbs hunk of burning love. And I do
12:57
love her in the winter time, but this
12:59
time of year, she'll make you a hair
13:00
fall off your legs. But the fire is
13:03
contained all the way throughout, and
13:04
that really helps. It is a controlled
13:06
box of heat without any knobs and it's
13:08
only got one speed and that is high. You
13:11
know what went perfectly with a big old
13:12
pot of beans cookie head cooking going
13:14
down the trail? Cornbread. But not only
13:17
back in cowboy days, it's still going on
13:19
today. Ain't nothing better than some
13:21
good old cast iron cornbread. Long
13:24
before there were wagons rolling or
13:26
herds moving north, Native American
13:28
tribes across North and Central America
13:31
were growing and grinding corn. It
13:34
wasn't just food. It was sacred. They
13:36
used it for porridge, flatbreads, and
13:39
cakes. Tribes like the Cherokee,
13:41
Chickasaw, and the Creek made what they
13:44
called ash cakes or Johnny cakes. Just
13:46
ground cornmeal mixed with water and a
13:49
little salt patted flat and cooked right
13:51
there on the hot rocks or sometimes
13:54
buried in the ashes of the fire. There
13:56
was no baking powder or baking soda.
13:58
Just simple, hearty survival food. And
14:01
that style of cooking, well, the
14:03
settlers caught on quick. Out on the
14:05
frontier, wheat flour was expensive and
14:07
hard to come by. But cornmeal, you could
14:10
grow it, grind it, and store it easy. By
14:13
the 17 and 1800s, cornbread had become a
14:16
staple across the South. Versatile,
14:20
filling, and cheap to make. Folks came
14:22
up with all kinds of ways to make it.
14:24
There was spoon bread, which was sort of
14:26
soft and custard-like. ho cakes fried
14:29
right in a pan or even in a shovel over
14:31
a fire and of course that classic
14:34
skillet cornbread baked in hot cast
14:37
iron. They'd mix buttermilk, bacon
14:39
grease or lard to keep it moist. And you
14:42
always wanted that crispy edge that only
14:44
a seasoned skillet could give you. Now
14:46
back in the cattle drive days in the
14:48
1870s, 1880s, cookie always had a sack
14:51
of cornmeal. Now you've seen them old
14:53
fly sacks from long ago that held flour.
14:55
Cornmeal came the same way. And Cookie
14:57
could just open that old cloth sack, dip
14:59
him out some of that cornmeal, put it in
15:01
there with a little lard, maybe them had
15:04
him some canned milk, add what he wanted
15:05
to to it. But he always cooked it in a
15:08
hot Dutch oven to give it that golden
15:10
brown crispy crust around the edge. And
15:12
we're doing the same thing today.
15:15
[Music]
15:37
[Applause]
15:56
Well, the beans are sitting over there
15:57
simmering. I added me a half a stick of
15:59
butter to them. Put the lid back on.
16:01
Just let them go mind their own business
16:02
there on Alberta. Now it is time to
16:04
whoop up some cornbread. The yellow gold
16:07
cowboys love so much they did. But
16:10
Cookie might have fixed it a little
16:11
different than I'm going to fix it cuz
16:13
he probably fixed a lot of hot water
16:15
cornbread. Now really all that was with
16:17
cornmeal, maybe a little large, some hot
16:19
water, mix it together. You could fry
16:22
that stuff in a cast iron skillet right
16:24
there. Hey, we even did a video on corn
16:26
dodgers to where we fried it in a
16:28
shovel. We did. But I'm going to start
16:30
with yellow cornmeal,
16:34
some flour,
16:37
and some baking powder.
16:40
Give that a good mixing. For the wet,
16:43
I'm going to use me some buttermilk.
16:44
Cookie probably made hot water
16:46
cornbread, unless he had some canned
16:48
milk, but I like buttermilk and
16:50
cornbread. I think it really goes well
16:52
together.
16:54
We're going to use about a cup and a
16:56
fourth, maybe a little more.
17:01
And to that one cackle berry.
17:06
Do they have eggs on the trail?
17:08
Only if he passed by a chicken. Or maybe
17:11
he's seen a nest of some turkey eggs. Or
17:14
maybe so did he climb up and get some
17:16
eggs out of a nest. But I don't figure
17:18
he packed many eggs on trail. Now we're
17:20
going to add a little baking soda. And
17:22
the reason we do this in a separate
17:23
bowl. Baking soda and buttermilk sort of
17:26
get a reaction going. And I like to get
17:28
them over here and let them do their own
17:29
thing before we put it in the cornmeal
17:31
and flour.
17:35
So, we're gonna stir that up. So, we're
17:38
just going to pour this in there.
17:44
And I always went more by consistency on
17:48
cornbread than I did measurements.
17:51
Remember that bacon we chopped up? In it
17:54
goes. We also have a four of a cup of
17:58
bacon grease. Recipes be saying
18:00
something like use oil. No, use bacon
18:03
grease. Since we're in New Mexico and I
18:05
love it so, and we're going to add a
18:07
little green chilies. So, I'm just going
18:09
to use a spoon this time. Get them
18:12
sprinkled around in there.
18:20
Well, them beans is minding their own
18:22
business. Now, you remember that little
18:24
old 10-in oven that we had that bacon in
18:26
that we fried up? Reserve a little dab
18:28
of that grease. And I'm just going to
18:30
show you. You just want about that much
18:31
in there. But swirl it around in that
18:34
pan. Make sure them edges is coated. And
18:36
that thing is hot cuz you want to
18:38
preheat. If you're putting it in the
18:40
oven, you got to preheat that skillet
18:42
just for a little bit to where when you
18:44
pour this in there and you go to cook
18:45
it, that crust is so good and crispy on
18:48
the bottom. So, in we go.
18:56
It's time to get that off there. I got
18:58
the coals ready. It is time to bake some
19:01
cornbread cuz I am been hungry all day.
19:04
Probably as hungry as them cowboys been
19:05
trailering them steers for a week. So,
19:07
we'll get the lid on it, get us a
19:10
trivet, and go to cooking.
19:15
[Music]
19:30
[Music]
19:40
Well, got me that Dutch oven there. Set
19:42
it on about a 5-in tall trivet. Coals
19:46
around the outside edge, pretty tight
19:48
there, right in line with really the
19:50
bottom of that Dutch oven. And then
19:51
pretty heavy coals on top because we're
19:53
going to cook this pretty hot because we
19:55
want to get that good crust on the
19:56
bottom. Now I'm using hardwood lump
19:59
today. That's mosquite and oak from the
20:00
good smokes smoky wood. But cookie you
20:03
know he going down the trail he
20:05
gathering up wood if he sees some. But
20:06
if they're camping in a bare spot you
20:08
know what he might have cooked with a
20:10
lot of times buffalo chips or cow chips.
20:13
Now they will get hot but if he had wood
20:16
he would have used it.
20:34
I really need y'all's help. There's a
20:35
big debate going on. It even goes on at
20:37
our house. How do you like your
20:40
cornbread? You've seen me fix it today
20:42
with buttermilk, green chilies, bacon.
20:45
But what people want to add sugar to it,
20:49
honey to it, molasses to it. They want
20:51
to make it like a cake. It's cornbread.
20:53
It is not a cake. Shan likes it so
20:56
sweet. It feels like we're eating
20:57
dessert. So, I need y'all to comment
20:59
below. What is the proper way to cook
21:02
cornbread? Savory or sweet.
21:13
[Music]
21:24
Heat. Heat.
21:26
[Music]
21:42
Old Cookie might not have got to eat
21:44
till after every cowboy was done, but
21:46
me, I got my crew laying in here. So,
21:49
I'm going to go ahead and just have me a
21:50
bite of these beans. I've been waiting
21:51
on them for about 4 hours.
21:59
[Music]
22:02
Whoop them meals in the butt. Get her on
22:04
down the trail and fix them beans cuz oh
22:06
my gosh they are good.
22:08
Now do you think Cookie would have had a
22:09
happy dance?
22:11
I really do. Sadly been out there four
22:13
or five weeks ain't had a bath wind and
22:15
dirt been blowing every day and he'd go
22:17
over there find that old creek under a
22:19
cottonwood tree and them long handles.
22:20
He'll do a little shuffle while he's
22:21
going thinking it's Saturday night. And
22:23
folks I need y'all to do me a favor if
22:25
you would. Poor Favore please, you know,
22:28
give us a thumbs up, a like, hit that
22:30
button. helps our channel grow. But
22:31
also, if you're not subscribed, please
22:33
do and share the video with all your
22:36
friends and neighbors. But share the
22:37
food, too. But it is with great pride,
22:40
honor, and privilege that I tip my hat
22:42
to all the servicemen and women and all
22:44
the veterans that have kept that old
22:45
flag of flying over camp. I commend you
22:47
all. But get in here. Come on. Quickly,
22:50
closely. I am f to give you what?
22:54
A great big hug for them beans take
22:56
effect. God bless you each and every
22:58
one. and I'll see you down the beans and
22:59
cornbread trail.
23:04
Hey folks, quick announcement. You know,
23:06
National Day of the Cowboy is coming up.
23:08
It is. And I'd like for you to join me
23:10
in Oklahoma City National Cowboy and
23:13
Western Heritage Museum. For more
23:15
information, you can check on their
23:16
website. We'd love to see you there.
23:19
Right now, settle down here and let's
23:20
have a little story time. If y'all would
23:22
have been going down the trail with Old
23:24
Cookie, do y'all think y'all could have
23:25
caught a rabbit and brought it into
23:26
camp? Probably not, huh? There's Dooker.
23:29
Some cornbread. Miji, some cornbread.
23:32
Hey, right up here. Good boy. Woo! Woo!
23:36
There's yours.
23:38
And we'll just see how far this will go.
23:40
Here we go. Everybody had some.
23:44
Tails is wagon.
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