Campfire Cooking in the Old West

In my current work in progress, WILD HORSES, my heroine sneaks off with a cattle drive, much to the heroes surprise. One of the most important parts of a cattle drive is the chuckwagon, the traveling kitchen that provides meals for all the cowboys on the way to the cattle markets.

As a living history reenactor, I’ve had plenty of experience cooking over an open fire, much like the cook driving the chuckwagon would. From slow cooked beans, cowboy stew to chocolate cake, all you need is a hot fire, the right ingredients, and a dutch oven. 

As we transition from summer to fall, we’ll be loading up the backyard pit for our weekend bonfires and bring out the dutch oven along with it. Here’s a few old recipes any cowboy would look forward to, whether he be in the old west, or a more modern day version.

Cowboy Stew

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion

3 potatoes

(all cans are about 15 oz.)

1 can green beans

1 can baked beans

1 can black beans

1 can tomato soup

1 can corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp Chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

Cut the potatoes into 1 inch cubes and dice your onion. Heat the dutch oven over hot coals to 375degrees and brown the ground beef and onions together. Add your potatoes, all the can goods (with juices) and the spices. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes, stirring often.

Dutch Oven Chocolate Pudding Cake

(demo in the video - full ingredients list below)

Ingredients:

Cake Dry Mix (Bag #1)

1  Cup All Purpose Flour

3/4 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Unsweetened Baking Cocoa

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt

Chocolate Pudding Dry Mix (Bag #2)

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

4 Tbsp Unsweetened Baking Cocoa

Other Ingredients   

1 1/4 Cups Hot Water

1/2 Cup Milk

1/3 Cup Melted Butter

1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

The demo video used charcoal briquettes but we always use a ‘wood’ fire when we make this. Just make sure the coal are good and hot (glowing red) and sit the pot on top of the coals. Be sure to place some coals on top of the lid so it bakes evenly.

For more campfire cooking, look for my upcoming novel, WILD HORSES, book #7 in the USA TODAY Willow Creek Series. Sign up for my Newsletter for more information about this book and special giveaways.

About Lily Graison

USA TODAY  bestselling author Lily Graison writes historical western romances and dabbles in contemporary and paranormal romance. First published in 2005, Lily has written over a dozen romance novels that range from sweet to spicy.

She lives in Hickory, North Carolina with her husband, three high-strung Yorkies and more cats than she can count. On occasion, she can be found at her sewing machine creating 1800’s period clothing or participating in area living history events.

When not portraying a southern belle, you can find her at a nearby store feeding her obsession for all things resembling office supplies.

To see the dresses Lily has created, visit her Pinterest page.

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