When I drove cattle with old Nyle Richards, he used to prepare what he called "cowboy mulligan." Nyle's brand was the Carlink 7. Here's the way he prepared his cowboy mulligan:
First, heat a treated cast iron Dutch oven over an open fire. Add a glob of grease (of your choosing). Slice potatoes (you don't have to peel them, but it's better if you clean them) and onions and drop them into the heated grease and cook until tender. Add a can (or cans, depending on how many potatoes and onions you've cooked) of corned beef and stir it all together until the meat is heated. Add salt and pepper to taste if you have any handy.
Doesn't sound like much, but it sure tastes good after a long day of chasing cows!
Whenever we have a get-together, rancher/cowboy Raymond Brinkerhoff of the Z- (Zee minus brand) always prepares fried mutton and spuds:
Heat your Dutch oven and add a little grease. Start laying chunks of mutton--the fatter, the better as it makes its own grease. Add a lot of salt and pepper and cook slow, take plenty of time until the mutton browns up "good" and looks like jerky.
Heat your Dutch oven good and hot, add shortening or bacon (best). Slice potatoes. Leave the skins on, but wash 'em first. Toss into hot bacon drippings along with plenty of sliced onions; add salt and pepper and put lid of Dutch oven on. Pull oven to side of coals (or turn down heat if you're using a gas cooker) and cook slowly and stir once in a while until "spuds" are tender and just a little brown.
Not what the doctor ordered, but very satisfying, sitting and eating by a campfire after a hard day's work!
Madge Shoemake out of Livingston, TX, visited the guest page and requested this recipe. It is one of the few cowboy recipes that does not require onions and/or potatoes!
Pour a little oil (about 1/8 cup) into a cup and add enough lukewarm water to make 1 cup liquid. Pour this over a dry mix consisting of 1 Tbs (tablespoon) baking powder, 4 Tbs powdered milk, 1/2 tsp salt , and 2 cups all-purpose flour. Knead into a soft dough. Pat out egg-sized chunks of dough until about 1/4 inch thick. Heat lard, shortening, or salad oil (about 1 1/2 - 2 inches deep) in Dutch oven or fry pan. Fry the bread until puffy and golden on both sides. You can serve the fry bread as a base for tacos or serve hot with butter and honey. They also make great Apple Grandes.
Apple Grandes are a simple and delicious dessert once the fry bread is made. Just put some apple pie filling on the fry bread and sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar over it; then, put some shredded cheddar cheese on top of that and slip the whole thing briefly under a broiler. Serve with sour cream or vanilla ice cream. Fattening, but worth every calorie!
Barbara Shakespeare Duke gave me this recipe that her late dad Alston Shakespeare used to make. Alston was a dear friend of ours and one of the last old-time cowboys. Barbara, thanks for sharing.
Take a 14" Dutch oven and line with tin foil. Then empty 2 one-quart jars of peaches. Sprinkle with one yellow cake mix over fruit; then sprinkle a handful of brown sugar and dot with butter. Cook over coals on top and bottom of Ductch oven for 45 minutes to one hour.