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A good cook is harder to find than you think. There's a lot that goes into outdoor cooking, especially for traditional working ranches and cowboys. We're sitting down with Ira Wines, the manager of the historic Ellison Ranching Company, to talk about the wild stories of camp cooks he's experienced over the years. It's worse than just burnt biscuits!
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Kent Rollins
Cowboy Cooking, Cast Iron, Outdoor Cooking, Grilling, Dutch Oven Cooking
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Yeah, I do remember Ira telling me this
0:01
story that his dad told him to go find a
0:04
cook.
0:05
>> I went in there and asked bartender if
0:07
he knew of any cooks that were around.
0:08
He said there's one passed out in the
0:10
alley.
0:16
>> Howdy, my name is Kent Rollins. I've
0:19
been a cowboy and a chuck wagon cook for
0:21
over 30 years. Cooking for ranches all
0:24
across America. You might have seen me
0:26
on the Food Network or alongside my
0:28
beautiful wife Shannon on our YouTube
0:29
show where we share cowboy cooking from
0:32
the trail. But now we're going to take
0:33
you behind the scenes to real campfire
0:36
conversations. Join us as we share
0:38
humor, cowboy wisdom, and stories full
0:41
of history, heart, faith, and of course,
0:44
a little fire. So grab you a cup of
0:46
coffee, pull up a chair, and welcome to
0:48
the podcast.
0:55
We thank y'all so much for joining us
0:56
again this week on our podcast. We are
0:59
honored to have each and every one of
1:01
you. In today's episode, Shan, we're
1:03
going to talk about some of the worst
1:05
camp cooks in America.
1:07
>> I don't know if y'all realize this and I
1:09
definitely didn't like when I started my
1:11
chuck wagon cooking career, that it is
1:14
there are a lot of bad camp cooks out
1:18
there. In fact, it's easier to be and
1:20
find a bad camp cook than even a
1:23
somewhat decent one. And when we mean
1:25
camp cook, um we're we're talking about
1:28
cowboy cooks who are cooking on working
1:31
ranches usually in the spring and the
1:33
fall when cowboys are doing the most
1:35
work. Um they can be on huge remote
1:38
ranches where the cook and the crew are
1:40
traveling miles around the ranch. It
1:43
could be stationary. We've done that
1:45
before where we take the the chuck wagon
1:47
out, stay one spot on the wagon, and the
1:50
cowboys come to us. But it's a it's a
1:52
very tough job. It's very rewarding,
1:56
but the food can be kind of hit and
1:59
miss.
1:59
>> Yeah, and and the importance really of
2:01
having a good cook is you have a good
2:04
cook and a good crew, everything's going
2:06
to work better cuz everybody's happy.
2:07
You're burning a lot of calories out
2:09
there, they need it, you know.
2:11
Um
2:12
I think the remoteness has a lot to do
2:14
with sometimes because when I was
2:16
cooking by myself for so many years and
2:18
cowboys would ride off and I wouldn't
2:20
see nobody for 5 or 6 hours and then
2:21
they come back. That's only interaction
2:23
you had, which didn't bother me. I
2:25
talked to God and Mother most time, you
2:27
know. There were some good cooks out
2:29
there.
2:30
But I've heard so many
2:33
horror stories bad cooks.
2:35
>> And that's why we had to bring in Ira
2:38
Winds for this episode. Ira we met
2:41
through cooking for our TV show on the
2:43
Outdoor Channel, The Cast Iron Cowboy.
2:45
He is the general manager of Ellison
2:48
Ranching Company out in northern Nevada.
2:50
There's several ranches in this, um but
2:52
particularly we met him while we were on
2:55
the Spanish Ranch, which is one of the
2:57
ranches in um the Ellison Company. And a
3:00
very historic ranch, gorgeous ranch.
3:03
Um but he has had some interesting
3:08
stories with a lot of cooks and he's
3:10
been in the business for a long time.
3:12
>> Who better to give us some horror camp
3:15
stories than Ira?
3:16
>> That is right.
3:17
>> So when we met Ira out on the Spanish
3:19
Ranch, I love going to different ranches
3:21
and seeing their style of cooking and
3:23
their layout. So as most of you all
3:25
know, we have our 1876 Studebaker Chuck
3:28
Wagon and that's how what we use to cook
3:31
out of on on working ranches. However,
3:35
Ira and the Spanish Ranch, they have a
3:37
very unique setup. They have a
3:39
deuce-and-a-half army truck
3:41
>> Yep.
3:41
>> that they call the banana wagon. It's
3:43
this big yellow
3:45
truck and the reason that they use a
3:48
truck versus a wagon is because the
3:52
roughness of the terrain out there and
3:54
it's much easier for them to go to
3:56
different places around the ranch with
3:58
this truck.
4:00
Now, the truck is really neat because it
4:01
has an indoor kitchen basically. It's
4:04
got a it runs off of propane, got a
4:06
little uh refrigerator, a stove, uh
4:10
oven, running water.
4:12
>> Got a table and some benches that'll
4:14
usually, you know, eight to 10 people
4:15
can get at so they're out of the weather
4:17
if it's bad.
4:18
>> Yeah.
4:18
>> Uh it was pretty neat to see. It was
4:21
very different to drive than a wagon
4:23
with a team, you know.
4:24
>> Little rough.
4:24
>> Yeah, it was but uh
4:26
>> Didn't have brakes.
4:27
>> No, but it was it was really neat to get
4:29
to cook out of it, you know, and we were
4:31
honored when we left Ira asked us both
4:34
to sign our names in the banana wagon.
4:36
>> a huge honor.
4:37
>> Yes, it was.
4:38
>> We reached out because of course me
4:40
being from the area, I was like this is
4:42
this is kind of a dream if I could go
4:44
cook on on this ranch and so
4:47
um Kent, you had never I mean you'd been
4:49
to Elko but you hadn't been out in like
4:52
ranch country out there and it's
4:54
gorgeous.
4:55
>> it is beautiful country. I've I've met
4:57
some of the buckaroos up there and
4:58
different uh people that had worked in
5:00
some of them places and they would tell
5:03
me stories about what the country looked
5:05
like, you know, and uh I thought, you
5:07
know, I'd I'd love to see this country.
5:09
I'd love to meet the people.
5:11
But it sort of took my breath away when
5:13
we were there, you know, just just the
5:15
scenery of the backdrop of the mountains
5:17
back behind us, you know, it was it was
5:19
cold that day. Uh
5:21
but to see the snowcap up there
5:23
>> Mhm.
5:24
>> Um
5:25
you know, this is like a postcard. You
5:26
just dream of being in something like
5:28
this and I know Ira's like me, we never
5:31
take for granted in what we get to see
5:32
or what we get to do but it is some
5:34
beautiful country. And Shannon, it is
5:36
with great pleasure and honor that I get
5:38
to introduce this guest today and that
5:40
is Ira Winds.
5:42
Ira, we thank you so much, my friend,
5:44
for for time to join us today.
5:46
>> You bet. Yep, you bet. It's good to good
5:49
to see you guys.
5:50
>> Ira, I have to tell you that even before
5:52
we started this podcast and we were it
5:55
would it was just like a brainstorm, the
5:58
first thing I said to Kent is if we ever
6:00
do this podcast, Ira is going to be a
6:01
guest on it because I know
6:04
just from I haven't heard the stories
6:05
personally, but just from Kent telling
6:08
me, I was like, we have to have this guy
6:10
on.
6:11
>> I think we nearly really need to get to
6:13
the what I want to talk about, Shannon,
6:15
that is the cook.
6:16
>> I think one of the most difficult jobs
6:19
and definitely one of the most hard jobs
6:22
to fill is the cook. And what we're
6:25
calling this episode are the worst camp
6:27
cooks in America because
6:31
just from what you've been telling us
6:33
that's kind of the theme that you've
6:35
experienced on your wagon over the
6:37
years. So, first of all, tell us
6:41
how do you even go about finding a cook
6:43
for the wagon?
6:45
>> It's hard.
6:47
And it's getting harder all the time.
6:49
Used to be old winos that that cook and
6:52
and they were good cooks. They wouldn't
6:54
last very long. They would last about 2
6:56
months and then they need to go back to
6:57
town because they were
6:59
thirsty, but
7:01
and and most of them were good cooks and
7:03
and characters. They they all had a
7:05
pretty wild story behind them, but
7:08
those guys have all died off and and
7:11
there's there's not any taking their
7:12
place.
7:13
And so it is hard to find a cook. And it
7:16
is
7:17
it it it is probably the toughest job
7:20
when when we pull that wagon out
7:22
it is the cook. I mean, they
7:26
they cook breakfast at 4:00 in the
7:27
morning. The crew leaves and they might
7:29
show up 3:00 that afternoon and that the
7:32
cook is there by himself pretty much day
7:34
in and day out and
7:36
and you know, the his interaction with
7:38
with other people is just the crew, but
7:40
when they get
7:41
crew gets back to wagon, they want to
7:43
eat,
7:44
take a nap, or it might even be supper
7:47
time and go to bed. And And so, it's it
7:49
it is a tough job.
7:51
>> Yeah, I do remember Ira telling me this
7:52
story that his dad told him to go find a
7:55
cook.
7:56
>> It was different ranch. My dad was the
7:58
the ranch boss.
8:00
And uh and I was working for him, and
8:02
he sent me to town to get some part
8:05
where we were right there. I think we
8:06
were haying or something. And And he
8:07
stopped me as I was leaving the yard.
8:09
And And he said, "You be sure and bring
8:11
a cook back cuz I'm going to fire this
8:12
one we've got. Put him on the mail
8:14
truck."
8:15
Yeah.
8:16
So,
8:17
I get to town. I went to the employment
8:19
office, and and there wasn't any around
8:21
there. So, and Shannon, you're probably
8:24
aware of the Tiki Hut, a bar there
8:26
downtown in Elko.
8:27
>> Ooh, is that where you went?
8:30
>> Mhm.
8:32
And this was
8:33
Oh, this is almost
8:35
30 years ago.
8:36
>> How old were you?
8:38
>> Oh, I was probably 21 or 20
8:40
>> Okay. So, the Tiki Hut was like your
8:42
first choice?
8:46
>> Shannon always told me to stay away from
8:48
there.
8:48
>> Yeah. I went in there and asked the
8:50
bartender if he knew of any cooks that
8:52
were around. He said, "There's one
8:53
passed out in the alley."
8:57
So, I went around the alley, and this
8:58
guy passed out there. He cooked for us
9:00
before I knew who he was. So, I pulled
9:02
the pickup right there, loaded him up in
9:03
the pickup, and
9:04
headed home.
9:06
And uh he woke up about halfway home,
9:08
and he was sure upset with me. It's not
9:10
where he wanted to be.
9:13
And
9:14
like, I got to the ranch and unloaded
9:16
him at the cookhouse, and I went on
9:18
about what I had to do the rest of the
9:20
day, and
9:21
and uh
9:22
the next morning went in there to eat
9:23
breakfast, and he's there cooking
9:25
breakfast, whistling, and happy to be
9:27
there.
9:29
>> So, how long did he last?
9:31
>> Oh, he probably lasted a couple months.
9:33
>> Oh, well, that's that's pretty good.
9:34
>> That's kind of average then, it sounds
9:36
like.
9:36
>> Yeah.
9:37
>> Can I ask like what makes a good cook in
9:41
your experience? I mean, is it just like
9:44
is it really basic like hey, if we just
9:45
have warm food, we're kind of happy or
9:47
do you can you like scale it up a little
9:49
bit? I mean, what what in your opinion?
9:51
>> Being clean.
9:54
And me, I I've been around cookhouses
9:56
since I was a little kid and
9:58
can eat about anything, but but being
10:00
clean that'd be be the top of the list
10:03
and then
10:04
being able to cook after that.
10:06
>> Yeah. I I was around some old cooks who
10:10
I wondered
10:11
you know
10:12
was ptomaine
10:14
food poisoning going to take place after
10:16
this meal, you know, because I mean, you
10:19
never complained about a cook because a
10:21
cook could get even, you know, you just
10:23
go out there and rake your plate out
10:24
somewhere, but
10:25
cleanliness, as my grandmother says, was
10:28
next to godliness, but I don't know if
10:29
some of them had either one of them in
10:31
their lifestyle.
10:32
>> Well, and I have seen times when um like
10:35
you've got the Dutch ovens, which are
10:37
the big cast iron pots, and I've I've
10:40
heard of stories where cooks will, you
10:42
know,
10:43
bake something and then put it up for
10:45
like 5 months and then not clean it and
10:48
then pull it out and you just kind of
10:49
scrape it out and then just keep cooking
10:51
in it.
10:51
>> Yeah, I have to take a chisel and a
10:53
hammer to get the lid off a Dutch oven,
10:54
you know, but uh
10:56
uh I'm sure you've got some stories on
10:59
cleanliness.
11:00
>> And it was when I worked at the IL Ranch
11:02
and and we had a this cook and and he
11:05
was a really good cook. He was
11:07
but he he was a typical he would
11:09
two or three months he wanted to go back
11:10
to town for a while.
11:12
And uh and he was a good but he was a
11:14
really good baker, but
11:17
if he if he made cinnamon rolls, it
11:18
looked like a bomb went off in the
11:20
kitchen. There would be flour on the
11:21
ceiling.
11:23
Be the best cinnamon roll a person ever
11:25
ate, but
11:27
he uh
11:28
he was cooking there at the at the IL in
11:30
the cookhouse and uh
11:32
a guy on the buckaroo crew had raised a
11:35
leppy calf on the bottle.
11:38
And he was
11:39
2 years old, and he was a bull. They
11:41
hadn't he hadn't castrated him.
11:43
And uh and this bull just roamed around
11:45
the yard looking for somebody to play
11:47
with.
11:48
And I come around the into the cook
11:50
house, and the that calf is on one side
11:52
of a burning barrel, and the cook's on
11:53
the other side, and they're going around
11:54
the burning barrel, and that calf's
11:56
trying to get to him. That cook's mad
11:57
because
11:58
he thinks this calf's going to run him
12:00
over.
12:01
So, he hollered at me, and he said, "You
12:02
get this
12:04
calf's attention so I can make it back
12:05
to the cook house." And I said, "Okay."
12:07
So, I walked up there,
12:09
and and I said, "You ready? When I say
12:11
go, you go." And when I said go, I just
12:13
pushed that calf towards that
12:15
cook, and that calf chased him all the
12:16
way to the door of the cook house.
12:18
And he'd saw what I did, and and he he
12:21
was mad.
12:22
And I didn't think I didn't give it a
12:24
another thought. He made it to the cook
12:26
house, and that calf didn't run him
12:27
over, but
12:28
the next morning he cooked breakfast,
12:30
and he quit.
12:31
And by about 9:00 I was sick. And I was
12:34
the only one ate in the cook house that
12:36
was sick. Man, those those little cooks
12:38
were crafty what they did, but I knew
12:39
exactly what had happened.
12:41
>> Kent, I have to say that your face is is
12:44
glowing today, and looking very smooth.
12:47
What's the deal?
12:48
>> Well, I changed up my shaving habit. I
12:50
did. You know, I've been out there on
12:51
ranches so long, been in the middle of
12:53
nowhere. I used to shave with a straight
12:54
razor and a tie you screwed together,
12:56
had the two blades in it. Cut your
12:58
throat, nearly bleed to death every day,
13:00
you know? And then you'd buy some of
13:02
them little plastic ones, and you always
13:03
felt like somebody had been rubbing
13:05
sandpaper
13:05
>> Those those are the worst.
13:07
>> But uh when I tried out Harry's little
13:09
shaving deal, the thing that impressed
13:11
me right off the bat was little bottle
13:13
shaving cream. And just put a little
13:14
spot out there, no bigger than a
13:16
quarter. Ain't enough shaving cream in
13:17
there to shave me and you and Snouzer
13:18
and everyone, you know, just with that
13:20
one little dab. But the razor, I go by a
13:23
razor like it is with a rope in my hand
13:25
that I'm going to use, or how something
13:28
feels in my hand, a hammer. The razor
13:29
feel good.
13:30
>> The thing I was impressed with, so you
13:33
know, like most of us I think we go to
13:34
the the store, and if you're not getting
13:38
those cheapy plastic ones, it's like you
13:39
have to get the like $50, take out a
13:42
mortgage to buy your razor. And they go
13:44
so quick. And what I loved about
13:47
Harry's, it's so much cheaper.
13:49
>> Oh, yeah. And it's it does a good job.
13:51
You know, I'm not going to get behind
13:53
something I don't think works. And
13:55
these people sold me pretty quick. It
13:57
will be at the wagon from now on. I will
13:59
never have 3-day stubble again. And
14:01
Harry's Plus has a new advanced
14:04
technology to where that razor feels so
14:07
good in your hand, so smooth when you
14:09
use it. It makes for easy shaving, and
14:11
something you'll come back for every
14:13
time. You know, and one other thing
14:14
about Harry's, they have so many great
14:16
products. Deodorant, shaving cream, and
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it'll all be shipped to you at your
14:21
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harrys.com/cowboykent.
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a travel cover. Head to
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harrys.com/cowboykent
14:42
to claim this offer. And after you
14:44
purchase, they'll ask where you heard
14:46
about us, and please tell them that we
14:48
sent you.
14:53
I had the privilege of getting to cook
14:55
for a US Naval bunch of people there,
14:58
and they sent me some submarine cooks
15:00
out there to help me one time, and
15:02
one of these guys, he said, uh,
15:05
"You ever just have somebody out there
15:06
that you don't like?" And I said,
15:08
"There's been a few." He said, "Some
15:10
that are rude that you you just wish you
15:12
could get rid of?" And I said, "Well, I
15:14
didn't really aim to do them a lot of
15:15
harm, but I said, them that don't follow
15:18
their etiquette, you know,
15:19
you you try to tell them, and if they
15:21
don't learn, you Uh an old man from many
15:24
years ago told me, he said, "Just don't
15:26
rinse the soap off the plate, you know."
15:28
>> Uh-huh.
15:28
>> That'll help them.
15:29
>> Yeah.
15:30
>> And he laughed, and he said,
15:31
"I got something better than that for
15:33
you, Kent." He said, "I do it on a
15:35
submarine on occasion." And he said,
15:36
"That's Visine eye drops." He said,
15:39
"Just take Just take a little in a glass
15:41
of tea." And he said, "You won't see
15:42
them for 4 or 5 days." And I said,
15:44
"Okay, I'll remember that." But the
15:46
cooks, they can get even real quick.
15:49
>> And they they know which one, and they
15:50
they know how to
15:51
>> Yeah.
15:52
>> Yeah, they're good at it.
15:53
>> Now, of course, Kent, we would not
15:55
suggest people do this.
15:57
>> No, ma'am.
15:57
>> And
15:58
>> Ma'am, I'm not trying to give away any
15:59
of my
16:00
secrets, you know.
16:03
>> Disclaimer, do not do this at home. I'll
16:05
say that.
16:06
>> We try to treat everybody with respect
16:07
that comes through the wagon to eat, and
16:09
I know Ira and them do the same. But
16:11
it's
16:11
>> Yeah.
16:12
>> It goes both ways. You want to respect,
16:14
too. You know, an old man told me a long
16:16
time ago on a ranch, "Ira, anybody can
16:18
fry meat and bull coffee.
16:21
>> Uh-huh.
16:21
>> you can make pies, breads, and cakes
16:23
consistently, I'll call you a cook."
16:26
>> Yep.
16:27
>> And I I had this guy help me one time
16:29
who told me he was a pretty good Dutch
16:31
oven cook, you know.
16:33
And I let him cook bread, and I said,
16:36
"Don't burn it because we we ain't got
16:38
time to fix no more."
16:40
And here in about 30 minutes, I told
16:42
him, I said, "I think the bread's
16:43
burning." He said, "I can't smell it."
16:45
And I said, "I can. It's burning, you
16:48
know." And it wasn't just the tops were
16:49
burnt, and the bottoms were burnt. They
16:51
looked like a piece of coal that you'd
16:53
throw it in there, you know.
16:54
>> Yeah.
16:54
>> And I finally told him, I said, "You
16:56
know,
16:57
I don't think your sense of smell is
16:58
very good." And he said, "Neither is my
17:00
eyesight because they looked pretty good
17:02
to me."
17:05
>> Yeah.
17:05
>> We had these folks call us from Rocker B
17:07
Ranch, which is west San Angelo,
17:09
and they had just fired a cook. Said
17:11
they needed one real bad, and it just
17:13
happened that I had the time to do 3
17:15
weeks down there.
17:17
And I went down there and then it it
17:19
good crew cook for about 17. And I
17:21
finally just asked one evening. I said,
17:23
"How come did you fire the cook?"
17:26
And they said, "Well, he started out
17:27
pretty good for 2 days and then he'd get
17:30
really drunk and he'd fix breakfast
17:33
about midnight and just leave it out
17:35
there on the table."
17:37
He said, "When you get up at 4:00 in the
17:38
morning and it's 20° and the eggs is
17:41
froze to the plate." He said, "It ain't
17:43
much breakfast and he ain't going to
17:45
last much longer." And um
17:46
>> You know, coming coming into the chuck
17:49
wagon cooking world, I didn't realize
17:52
that there is definitely a theme on bad
17:55
cooks. It is much easier to have a bad
17:57
cook than even a decent one. Um so it it
18:01
so it is a real talent and it's a it's
18:03
really hard, I guess, to find them,
18:05
which I had no idea.
18:06
>> Yeah, they
18:07
uh they always told me and I always
18:09
tried to take pride in it. Uh
18:11
If you have a good crew
18:13
and a good cook, everything will just
18:15
make for a better works because
18:17
everybody's in a better mood,
18:18
everybody's getting fed. It takes a lot
18:20
of calories uh for intake, you know,
18:23
when you're out there that long and uh
18:26
you've got to have some camaraderie.
18:28
You've got to have good food, but you
18:30
got to have some manners to go with it.
18:32
>> You have a story about a meatloaf,
18:35
don't you?
18:37
>> Yeah, I I don't know if it's It might be
18:39
PG. You want me to clean it up?
18:40
>> up, but it's got the same meatloaf but
18:43
>> names to protect the guilty.
18:47
>> A good friend of mine worked on this
18:48
ranch and this guy that was cooking
18:51
could be a great cook at times.
18:54
But then there was times he would just
18:56
get lazy and wouldn't care.
18:57
>> Well, and it was also a thing, too,
18:59
wasn't clean, like I had mentioned. That
19:01
was a big thing.
19:01
>> There was a There was a lot of
19:03
lot of stuff that never got washed, I
19:05
don't think. But uh
19:07
he told me one day, he said uh "We had
19:10
had meatloaf."
19:11
And he said all his meatloaf was
19:14
was just hamburger meat and onions
19:17
with tomato soup poured over the top
19:20
with two bottles of ketchup poured over
19:22
that and then some more ketchup poured
19:24
on top of that. And he said, "After you
19:26
have it for about 3 days, you don't want
19:28
it no more." You know.
19:30
>> Yeah.
19:31
>> And he said, "So all the cowboys was
19:32
just going out there about 50 yards from
19:34
a wagon and was just wait raking the
19:36
plates off in this old draw." And the
19:38
guy that owned the ranch was going to
19:40
come out the next day
19:42
helping them gather this pasture.
19:44
And he rode up to old Chris and he said,
19:46
uh
19:47
"Did y'all get all these cows out of
19:49
here and all the calves?" And he said,
19:51
"Yeah." He said, "Was there any open
19:54
cows?" And for people that don't know
19:55
what I mean, was there any cow that they
19:58
didn't think was bred that didn't have a
20:00
calf?
20:01
And Chris said, "No, everybody paired up
20:03
well we got them." And he said, "You
20:04
ain't doing your job well, Chris." He
20:06
said, "I Over here in this draw,"
20:08
he said, "I seen where an old cow
20:09
sluffed a calf, which means she had it
20:11
early, you know, premature."
20:13
>> the calf died. And there's a calf dead
20:15
on the ground.
20:16
>> Yeah.
20:17
>> And he said, "Oh no, that's just our
20:19
meatloaf that we've been scraping out."
20:23
>> So, you know, them them things happen.
20:26
>> Talk about a rough meal. Several meals.
20:28
>> Yeah.
20:29
And I And I know an old an old feller
20:31
that uh he was on a ranch and they hired
20:33
a cook.
20:34
Uh and he had called me and I couldn't
20:35
go.
20:37
And they they would go down to Amarillo
20:39
and just get one of these winos or bums
20:43
from some bar, you know, and uh
20:45
this guy uh
20:47
that they brought out there was some old
20:48
hippie that looked like he'd been to
20:50
Woodstock too many times and um
20:53
he was a sun worshiper is what he called
20:55
himself.
20:57
And uh
20:57
>> What does that even mean?
20:58
>> He didn't like to wear clothes.
21:01
>> He's a naked cook?
21:05
>> Chris told me he said,
21:06
"I better not look out that DP in the
21:08
morning and see a guy up there with his
21:10
butt shining and he ain't got nothing on
21:12
but apron." He said, "Cuz I'll quit this
21:14
outfit." You know, so
21:15
you never know what you're going to get.
21:17
>> Was he naked? Cook naked?
21:19
>> I didn't get the rest of that story.
21:21
>> Probably better not to know.
21:22
>> No, it's probably I think it would have
21:23
ruined your appetite. You know, with a
21:25
lot of them ranches I'd be on and they'd
21:27
tell me this is a dry camp, which mean
21:30
there was no alcohol nowhere, you know.
21:32
There's never been a dry camp anywhere
21:34
in the world because somebody's going to
21:36
sneak a bottle rolled up in a bed roll.
21:39
Somebody's going to have some somewhere.
21:41
I always keep some to cook with and for
21:43
medicinal purposes. But
21:46
I've heard so many horror stories from
21:49
uh
21:50
just old cooks that got drunk and didn't
21:52
care. I mean, everything in the world
21:54
went wrong and
21:56
uh they just didn't last long after
21:57
that.
21:58
>> We had one and I would probably rank him
22:00
as the maybe the worst cook we ever had.
22:03
>> Ooh, this is a big one then.
22:04
>> In the in the in the top two or three
22:06
anyway.
22:08
We were
22:09
it was early in the spring and and we'd
22:11
leased
22:12
the the IL desert cuz we'd had a big
22:15
fire here at Spanish Ranch. And so
22:18
we're out there trailing cows quite a
22:19
ways and then get them turned out and
22:20
scattered, so
22:22
we pulled the wagon out to to get these
22:24
cows scattered on that IL desert. It's
22:26
pretty big chunk of country.
22:28
And we're loading the wagon up and then
22:31
the cook was there and we're loading
22:33
groceries in it and
22:35
and there was a couple cases of peaches
22:37
and a and a case of yeast.
22:39
And I mean, along with everything else.
22:42
And uh
22:43
so we're we're gone
22:45
oh, 10 days and I came back
22:49
to headquarters. I had some other stuff.
22:51
I think I'd get some vaccine and and uh
22:53
he gave me a grocery list. I didn't pay
22:54
any attention to it. When I got here, I
22:56
just gave it to the bookkeeper and she
22:57
went to the commissary to get the
22:59
groceries put together.
23:01
And I went and gathered up stuff that I
23:03
needed and I
23:04
pulled up the commissary and she's
23:05
helped me load it and there's
23:07
two cases of peaches and a case of
23:08
yeast.
23:09
And I said, "Hold on, man."
23:12
I said, "We've already loaded this stuff
23:13
and we haven't eaten any peach cobbler."
23:17
There's There's more going on here.
23:19
And
23:20
I've never been around that stuff, but I
23:23
didn't think he'd be able to make what
23:25
he made that in
23:26
in a week or 10 days. But, by the time I
23:29
got back out to where we were camped, he
23:31
was drunk, passed out.
23:33
And
23:34
so, me and this kid load him in the
23:36
pickup and I said, "You take him back to
23:37
headquarters
23:38
and and find another cook. Don't come
23:40
back till you've got
23:42
another cook." I think I cooked the
23:43
whole rest next day because
23:45
that kid was still We're still looking
23:47
for a cook, but
23:49
we found in the back of the cook wagon
23:51
in back of the cupboard a bucket that
23:53
had
23:53
what he had made in it and it was the
23:56
foulest smelling stuff. But,
23:59
that guy was desperate for something to
24:00
drink because that that it was terrible.
24:03
>> So, he had brewed his own like peach
24:05
wine beer thing?
24:07
>> Mhm.
24:08
Yeah.
24:08
>> How long at that point how long had you
24:10
had him?
24:11
>> Oh, between a week and 10 days.
24:13
>> And
24:14
and he in that amount of time he'd
24:15
already brewed?
24:17
>> Yeah, it it was it was it was
24:18
disgusting. There There was a kid took a
24:20
spoon and stuck in there.
24:22
Took the He said it was pretty foul
24:24
tasting.
24:25
>> They was a young guy that uh
24:27
was a He He was a good cook. And I
24:29
cooked on this ranch down in Central
24:31
Texas and couldn't make it the next year
24:33
and he called me and he said uh
24:35
"I feel like I'm going to go down there
24:36
and cook." And I said,
24:38
"Watch them fellas, Rocky. I said they
24:41
increase the crew every day without you
24:43
knowing it. I said, They You liable to
24:45
be 12 one day and 35 the next." I said,
24:48
"So, try to get hold of them pretty
24:50
quick."
24:51
And Rocky bad scared snakes. I mean, he
24:53
just He hated a snake with a passion.
24:56
And uh
24:57
he had an old fire pit out there he'd
24:59
dug in the ground, had a 20-in skillet
25:00
in there he's frying chicken fries.
25:02
And one of them old-timers snuck up
25:04
behind him and laid a dead bull snake
25:06
around his neck.
25:08
And by instinct, Rocky grabbed hot
25:10
skillet and all and coated that fella in
25:12
hot grease, you know, so
25:15
Things come around and go around in camp
25:17
pretty quick.
25:18
>> Yeah, nobody Nobody tried that again,
25:20
did they?
25:21
>> No, I don't think so.
25:22
>> I definitely think one of the takeaways
25:24
of this episode is don't make the cook
25:26
mad.
25:26
>> Yeah, don't make him mad and don't give
25:28
him too much alcohol.
25:29
>> You know.
25:29
>> Well, my word.
25:31
I don't know if that's an option. The
25:33
year-round when you're when we're
25:34
talking about feeding the crew and you'd
25:37
mentioned in the spring you're pulling
25:39
out the wagon for roughly 6 weeks.
25:41
Everybody's working. Now, on the other
25:44
times you're around, is there still a
25:46
cook like in a cook shack that's feeding
25:49
the crew or is then everybody else on
25:50
their own until you do like the works in
25:53
the spring?
25:53
>> We had a cook house here at Spanish
25:55
Ranch. The probably one of the last cook
25:58
houses left in this part of the world.
25:59
To run a cook house, you have to be
26:01
pretty militant about
26:02
like breakfast is at 6:00.
26:04
>> Yeah.
26:05
>> Lunch is at noon and supper's at 6:00. I
26:07
mean, the crew The crew's got to honor
26:08
that and if they're not going to be
26:09
there, they need to tell the cook
26:10
they're not going to be there.
26:11
>> I wrote Would you You know, we always
26:13
hear um people who I think that don't
26:16
know and don't understand, you know, the
26:17
cowboy's a dying breed.
26:19
But do you think which we we all know is
26:22
this not the case. But do you think the
26:25
the camp cook is a dying breed?
26:27
>> Mhm.
26:29
Yeah.
26:30
Yeah.
26:30
>> At least a good one.
26:32
>> And if And
26:33
well, I told
26:35
the guys here at Spanish Ranch what I'd
26:36
do in the morning and they they said if
26:38
you guys want to come back
26:39
in a month and a half for about 6 weeks,
26:41
you're more than welcome.
26:44
But it is it is because there's
26:48
there's less
26:49
ranches using a wagon, there's less cook
26:52
houses, so there's
26:53
there there's getting to be less cook.
26:55
It It has happened last
26:57
p- oh, five or six years.
27:00
You find a cook and they show up and
27:01
they're
27:03
you know, you I mean, I'm sure Ken,
27:04
you've heard this story, they found
27:06
paradise and they're going to stay
27:07
forever and they're gone in a week.
27:10
It's not at all what they think it's
27:11
going to be when they're
27:13
having to pack water
27:15
to to do dishes with pack water in a
27:17
five-gallon bucket to do dishes with.
27:19
It's
27:19
it's not what a lot of them ex-
27:22
picture what it's going to be, but it
27:24
there's there's definitely going to be
27:26
less cooks because there's less less
27:28
demand for them.
27:29
>> I always told folks, you know, that they
27:31
say, "Why Why would it even be feasible
27:33
to have a chuck wagon or the truck
27:36
to to be in such remote areas at times
27:40
and try to get people fed?" If you're
27:41
either bringing food in, you're going to
27:43
spill it before you get there. If you're
27:44
going out, you're wasting a half a day
27:46
driving back and forth, you know. Uh
27:48
to me, it was the most economical and
27:51
feasible way to do it for so many years.
27:53
And in in places, it still is, you know,
27:55
and
27:57
uh I hope it never dies out. I hate to
27:59
think that hey, there ain't nobody ever
28:00
going to see a wagon and a cook out
28:02
there anymore because it is something
28:04
that's preserving history, just like the
28:06
cowboys do on the other side of the
28:08
fire.
28:08
>> Well, I think when this episode airs, we
28:10
can just have people send their resumes
28:11
to Ira. Sounds like that might be a
28:13
good idea.
28:14
>> Yeah.
28:15
>> I wouldn't give the address out, Ira.
28:18
>> I mean, there there there should always
28:19
be a wagon here at the Spade Ranch
28:21
because
28:22
the the first place we go with it is
28:24
about 50 miles from headquarters and
28:26
if you loaded horses in a horse trailer
28:29
and got out there and gathered
28:31
cows to get calves branded and then load
28:33
them in a horse trailer and came home,
28:35
it'd be two days doing that just for one
28:37
branding and
28:38
>> Yeah.
28:39
>> cuz it's not a very good road getting
28:40
there.
28:41
And um
28:42
I mean, it it it's definitely a
28:44
necessity here on this on this ranch.
28:47
>> Well, my friend,
28:48
uh it's an honor and a pleasure to see
28:51
you.
28:52
I need to come up and uh there's a lot
28:54
more stories that I know me and you
28:55
could tell each other that maybe people
28:57
didn't need to hear, you know? But, uh
29:00
we appreciate it so much, Ira, because
29:03
you're you're passing on history, too.
29:06
Uh we tell people we do it one plate at
29:08
a time. You do it every day with what
29:11
you do in life, and we appreciate what
29:13
y'all stand for, your work ethic up
29:16
there that y'all have, and keep it
29:18
cowboy, my friend, and keep it real, and
29:20
uh I'll try not to burn the biscuits.
29:23
>> There you go. No, it's good to see you
29:25
guys. It's good to visit with you.
29:28
>> Well, that was an honor to have him on.
29:31
He's a great person and a great cowboy.
29:33
And folks, I just want to tell you the
29:35
cowboy is not a dying breed.
29:38
The chuck wagon cook, he's not a dying
29:40
breed, either, I don't think, because as
29:42
long as there's cattle,
29:44
as long as there's cowboys out there in
29:46
remote conditions, there's got to be
29:48
someone that's going to feed them.
29:50
Whether they be a man or a woman,
29:51
whether they're cooking in a cook house,
29:53
whether they're cooking out of the back
29:54
of a pickup or a chuck wagon, you still
29:56
got to get the job done. And uh
29:58
I I do I tip my hat to all them them old
30:01
ones that went down the trail so many
30:03
years ago to work in worse conditions
30:05
than we've ever known.
30:06
>> I think the thing is, it's definitely
30:09
not a flourishing
30:11
job or position, but I don't see it
30:14
completely dying out and going extinct,
30:17
because like you said, um the cowboy is
30:20
still alive and well. There's still beef
30:23
on the plate, and those people out
30:25
working have to be fed in some capacity.
30:28
Now, whether it's on a a chuck wagon in
30:31
the middle of the ranch, or maybe it's a
30:33
cook shack, or
30:36
um maybe, you know, a lot of times all
30:38
the ranch wives will get together and
30:40
feed the crew. So,
30:43
it's evolved, it's changed, but it it
30:47
hasn't died out, and I don't foresee it
30:48
doing that at all.
30:49
>> No, I I just leave it with this. The The
30:54
the fire may have died out, but the
30:56
embers are still burning bright enough
30:58
that you can still find a cook. The
31:00
ashes may grow cold as you go down the
31:02
trail,
31:03
but remember there was a fire there, and
31:05
there was a cook there.
31:07
There's going to be another one show up
31:09
take his place. I do believe that.
31:11
>> You know, Kent, we get a lot of
31:12
questions too from people who are um
31:16
maybe cooks or you know
31:19
trying to craft their skill, and they
31:22
are looking at to maybe doing some
31:24
outdoor cooking or maybe even ranch
31:25
cooking.
31:26
>> Yeah.
31:26
>> Now, when I get that question,
31:30
I usually tell people, and tell me if
31:32
I'm wrong in doing this, to look at dude
31:34
ranches first. Now, when we say dude
31:36
ranches, those are um more vacation
31:40
ranches. Now, a lot of times dude
31:42
ranches are working ranches. They are
31:44
actually working cattle and for the beef
31:46
market. Sometimes they aren't. It's just
31:49
more of a vacation where they bring
31:51
people in to experience a little bit of
31:54
what the cowboy lifestyle is through
31:55
horses, riding, different activities.
31:58
And because these are guest ranches,
32:01
they need consistent cooking for people.
32:05
And I always felt like that's a good
32:07
introduction to one the lifestyle of the
32:09
cowboy, but then also the cooking to
32:11
where it may not be as extreme as Ira
32:15
and we have have experienced. So, what
32:19
are your other tips like if people
32:21
wanted maybe get into this cooking?
32:23
>> Well, first of all,
32:25
do you like to cook? That's the main
32:26
question, you know. And then number two,
32:29
can you cook for 12 to 15 to 20 people?
32:33
You know, because it's not like you're
32:34
sitting down at the table and I'm going
32:35
to cook supper for people, you know.
32:38
>> Well, how do you get it like how do you
32:39
start that? How do you get into it?
32:40
>> I I think you there's a there's a lot of
32:42
outdoor people out there that love to
32:44
cook in the outdoors. And you know, I
32:47
started cooking at hunting camps, you
32:49
know.
32:49
>> And here's the thing, nobody taught you.
32:52
>> No.
32:53
>> You just figured out Dutch oven cooking.
32:56
>> It's it's not rocket science work.
32:58
There's so many more gadgets that you
33:00
can cook with now than what I started
33:02
with, you know.
33:03
>> Uh I've seen people in camps and they
33:05
have a gas grill, you know. Uh but don't
33:08
be afraid if it's the passion you got in
33:10
your heart and uh I would love to see
33:13
more cooks out there cuz we get calls a
33:15
lot. Hey, can you come cook on this
33:16
ranch and we don't have the time
33:17
anymore.
33:18
>> I think if you can break into Dutch oven
33:21
cooking, that's really going to expand
33:24
your knowledge and your experience on
33:26
also where you can cook because there
33:28
are not a lot of
33:30
good Dutch oven cooks. And it just takes
33:34
more experience and practice than
33:36
anything to be a good Dutch
33:38
Dutch oven cook. Um and so that's what I
33:41
would say is just get out in the
33:42
backyard and experiment. There's a lot
33:46
of tutorials, especially on YouTube,
33:47
especially on our channel
33:49
>> Yes, ma'am.
33:49
>> of how to start off with Dutch oven
33:52
cooking and just go slow, start easy. Um
33:56
and just keep practicing because I'll
33:58
tell you, you can be the best Dutch oven
34:01
cook in your backyard, but if you take
34:03
that Dutch oven 50 miles south, you're
34:06
having different wind, different
34:07
humidity, fuel, different wood. That's
34:09
going to change everything. And so it's
34:11
your the way that you adapt and handle
34:13
stress, I think that's ultimately what
34:16
will make you a a good Dutch oven cook.
34:18
>> Yeah, and it and it raises a bar a
34:20
little there a little because like we
34:22
talked with Tyrone, you know, it's
34:24
pretty easy to make coffee, pretty easy
34:26
to fry some meat in a skillet.
34:28
But when you can
34:30
show people that you've baked bread in a
34:32
Dutch oven or you made a pie or you made
34:34
a chocolate cake. These are things that
34:36
are going to set you apart from other
34:38
cooks and different things. But uh
34:41
be clean. Be respectful.
34:44
Have manners and take care of your
34:46
equipment. That's the best thing.
34:47
>> Because
34:48
people don't realize
34:50
what the role of the cook is on the
34:53
wagon or on these ranches. It's really
34:55
not just to cook and we've we've talked
34:57
about this before. The cook really
34:59
creates the climate in camp and that
35:02
climate is so important for morale, for
35:05
better working, for just making it a
35:07
good experience because when you're out
35:10
there 5 to 6 weeks in the middle of
35:12
nowhere, it gets hard and so I've I've
35:16
always respected how you operate a
35:18
wagon,
35:20
um how you treat cowboys at the wagon,
35:23
how you create this community and this
35:25
feeling of home because when you're out
35:27
there and you're getting all punchy and
35:29
rough and you're
35:30
gathering cows and and it's all cowboy,
35:33
but then when it's quiet and there's not
35:35
a lot going on and you're in camp and
35:37
you miss home, that's when it gets hard.
35:39
>> Yeah, that's when they become family.
35:41
>> Yep.
35:42
>> They don't have to become a camp cook.
35:43
They may be cooking in the backyard for
35:46
a birthday party, feed 30 people. They
35:48
may be cooking at a church fellowship
35:50
where they're going to have to feed 60
35:51
or 70 people, you know.
35:54
Pray about it. Put your heart in it and
35:57
give it your best effort. You know,
35:59
that's what it's about. I'll tell people
36:01
this, did I ever burn a biscuit in a
36:03
Dutch oven? You bet you I did.
36:05
>> And we still do.
36:06
>> Yeah, but you don't panic.
36:08
Always learn a tip. I just cut the
36:10
bottoms of them off, put a little butter
36:11
in the skillet, brown them a little.
36:13
Biscuits got a little shorter. We didn't
36:15
lose no biscuits.
36:16
>> Thank you for joining us along the trail
36:19
or on the camp cook trail.
36:21
Uh please give us a rating. Um we are on
36:24
YouTube and also take us on your
36:26
favorite podcast platform, Spotify,
36:28
Apple, etc.
36:30
Uh but we so enjoy seeing you all every
36:32
week.
36:32
>> Yes, we do. And I've had a lot of people
36:34
say, "Hey, I'm sharing this podcast with
36:36
my folks, my friends, and my neighbors."
36:38
And please do because we're just trying
36:40
to help each other out. And that's what
36:41
it's about. But it is with pride, honor,
36:43
and privilege that I tip my hat to all
36:45
the service men and women and all the
36:47
veterans that have kept that old flag
36:48
a-flying. We commend you all and we lift
36:51
you up in prayer daily. Rest of you,
36:53
hey, we hope you enjoyed this,
36:56
learn how to cook, be a better cook,
36:57
feed those around you and love them, and
36:59
we'll see you down the podcast trail.
37:11
>> Pioneer.
#People & Society