Cowboy Cookin': Bean Pie

At age 13, Verne Carlson ran away from his home in Connecticut to Utah where he became an assistant to a cowboy range cook.  Later, he spent eight years researching the cowboy life, gathering information and memorabilia, and then wrote a book in 1999 called The Cowboy Cookbook.  Click here to find it on archive.org.

ISBN 0-937844-00-4

It is quite a fun read.  He describes the history and development of the cattle trails, then outlines the design of a chuckwagon.  As someone who has cooked over fire and coals during historical cooking demonstrations, I appreciate the details on the equipment and how to best utilize the fire pit to "build" a meal for many hungry cowboys and have it all come out right.

The measurements chapter is hilarious because it contains the cook's lingo for a teaspoon ("gob"), a tablespoon ("lump"), and 2 rounded cupfuls ("a whole heap") versus one rounded cupful ("a heap"), among other things.  Carlson explains that he was able to get experienced camp cooks to reproduce their recipes but frustrated them by insisting that he get their measurements as they were doing it.  Their response was "Hell-far! A hand 'ud up and starve t'death waitin' for you to get it built!".  But at least we know the recipes are authentic.

The recipes are, as promised, inexpensive and easy to prepare, as was required when cooking on the cattle trail.  Vegetables are few and either boiled or put into stews as salad was considered "rabbit food".  Meat, beans, rice, corn, potatoes, and bread were the main ingredients, and a good cook knew how to do a lot with them.  Not just beefsteaks and stew meat, but all parts of a cow were utilized because the cowboys would slaughter as they needed food while they traveled.  There are recipes that use tripe, liver, and kidneys.

Often the beef fat was used, too, as well as lard and butter, in main dishes and desserts.  Sometimes beef fat was mixed with molasses to make a topping used like butter, called "Charlie Taylor."  Sourdough was a common ingredient, but the cook would use baking soda, too, for variety of bread types.  

I tried the Bean Pie recipe on page 112.

My Notes

Carlson gives many recipes for cooked beans, so I started with canned baked beans.  By the way, the cowboys called canned goods "airtights."

I poured off the liquid that was on top of the beans, but I did not attempt to drain them further.  

The beans (a little more than one can's worth; true to the range cook's credo, I didn't really measure but estimated) went into a bowl, then I used a potato masher to get them to a paste.  As you can see below, I didn't get them smooth, but they were definitely smoother.

They spread easily into the pan, then I gently poured the vinegar over the top, forming a pool.  I measured the brown sugar into a bowl then used my fingers to sprinkle it around the top of the beans.  The bacon made a pretty pattern, too.

Beans in the pan.  The amount of space above them is important.

Vinegar as a pool on top.

Brown sugar sprinkled all over.

Ready for the oven!

I baked it for 20 minutes at 450 degrees F.  I noticed there was a lot of bubbling and the volume increased enough that it almost overflowed the pan.  The amount of beans was just right to avoid the overflow.  Don't be tempted to fill the pie pan more.

Hot out of the oven.

The Verdict

I served the bean pie with buttered sourdough bread and rabbit food.  I let it cool for about five minutes in hope the beans would firm up -- they looked very liquid right out of the oven, not at all what I expected for a pie.  They stayed liquidy, so I took scissors and cut the bacon into spoonable chunks before serving.  

Yummy rabbit food, too!

The flavor was, not surprisingly, of baked beans, but the vinegar and brown sugar added a lovely sweet-and-sour support - sometimes the vinegar made my mouth water - and the bacon was meaty and chewy.  We loved it.  My guest taster had several servings, and enjoyed spreading it on his bread.  Success, despite it not being a slice of pie.

I wonder if I should have drained more of the liquid off the beans before mashing them. The recipe says the paste should be poured into the pan, so I was unclear as to how much liquid they should have.  If I did this again, I would spend more time draining the beans through a sieve.

I imagine this technique as adaptable for say, mashed pumpkin or sweet potatoes in place of the beans.  Adding vinegar, brown sugar, and bacon would be gilding the lily.  Well worth the try.