Cyder with Eloise

“The kind of fare that any hard-working, independent, courageous, modern-day wrangler, even a wrangler of office files or Junior’s soccer team, would be mighty glad to come and git.” – Colman Andrews

Cooking The Cowboy Way – Grady Spears & June Naylor.

Grady Spears grew up in Texas, dreaming of life on the trail, a path that he was lucky enough to be able to follow from high school. Now as a restauranteur and chef he has created cowboy menus for restaurants in Texas and California as well as for the Bush family at the Texas Governor’s mansion. He owns Grady’s Restaurant in his hometown of Fort Worth.

Grady has already released several cookbooks including The Texas Cowboy Kitchen co-written with June Naylor with whom he now he hits the cowboy trail. June is an award winning journalist and author who has covered food, dining and travel for more then twenty years.

The cowboy who is up before dawn and back in camp long after sundown knows the hardships of raising a head of cattle, he has a great respect for the food he has worked hard to raise, and the land that is so much a part of his life. Cowboy food is good, honest, simple, comforting and reminiscent of a way of life that has changed very little over the years.

This is a collection of recipes and stories gathered on the trail from cowboy cooks, chuck wagons and ranch kitchens. The story of cooking the cowboy way is told through local knowledge and visits to ranches and cafes all across North America; from Calgary, Alberta to the southern state of Florida. Each chapter includes an introduction to the ranches and recipes from that area. Photography by David Manning is evocative of life out on the range and modern day cowboy life. There is also a handy glossary if your unfamiliar with some of the cowboy terms.

To be honest, from the outset I had expected and looked forward to nothing but meat based recipes, large chunks of steak on the BBQ or over the fire with a few beans, but I was pleasantly surprised. The recipe selection is as diverse as the range of cooking methods; including many vegetable dishes, salads, baked breads, cakes and desserts. There are over fifteen different rubs, marinades, dressings and sauces that can be adapted to meat or fish, and after a long dry day in the saddle there are a selection of drinks to quench the thirst.

Most ingredients in this book can be purchased from your local store/butchers taking into account that some meat cuts and breeds are not available in the UK, but it is easy enough to substitute and there is a list of resources at the back of the book.

NB:The reference to kosher salt is not a term used often in the UK. This salt is large grain with no additives, use coarse or cooking salt.

The cooking directions are clear, easy to use and have been written so that anyone can cook these at home in a conventional oven, I would have liked to see more instruction on how to go about cooking outdoors for example in dutch ovens, but recipes can be easily modified and I am going to report on my progress with cooking outdoors over the next few months on my blog.

Grady uses his cooking to reach back to his cowboy experiences. The recipes in this book can transport you too, pull on your boots, grab your Stetson and light up the camp-fire, for some good honest, rustic cowboy food.

With so many recipes to choose from it’s been hard to know which to try first, I’m saving some of the one pot dishes and BBQ meats for when the weather perks up here in England so come back soon to have a look how I got on. In the meantime here is a little taster.

I loved the use of the roasted garlic here. I char-grill my vegetables under the oven grill and roast the garlic on a baking tray for approximately 15 minutes at gas mark 4. I also don’t de-seed my jalapenos, either they are not as hot as the ones in the US or I just like it spicy.

Ingredients
4 ripe tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
2 poblano chillies (large dark green chilli)
1 head of garlic, roasted
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
2 to 3 teaspoons cumin seeds, roasted
½ up fresh coriander, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Salt

Method
Over gas or charcoal grill, char the tomatoes, bell pepper and poblanos. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skins. They suggest using rubber gloves for this. Add the pulps to a food processor, squeeze the roasted garlic head, removing the soft meats from their skins. Add the roasted garlic to the food processor, along with the onion, jalapenos, cumin seeds, coriander and lime juice. Pulse until the mixture is nubby in texture. Add salt and serve warm or chilled. The salsa will keep in the fridge, covered for 3 to 4 days.

I like to use corander instead of roasemary and serve with the above salsa.

Ingredients
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
Salt
4 hamburger buns, toasted
2 cups field greens, or 1 bunch of arugula (rocket)
8 thin slices tomato
4 thin slices red onion
4 slices Swiss cheese

Herbed Mayonnaise
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tsp mince fresh rosemary
1 roasted garlic clove, minced

Method
In a large bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar and mustard. Place the mushrooms in the marinade and let sit for at least 1 hour. While the mushrooms are marinating, make the herbed mayo, combining all the ingredients in a bowl; cover and refrigerate.

Preheat the oven 400f (gas mark 6) or prepare a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat. Remove the marinated mushrooms from the liquid and season with salt. Discard the marinade. On the grill cook the mushrooms over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes in each side; in the oven, roast them, top side down, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Spread the herbed mayonnaise evenly in each half of the buns. Place each mushroom on a bottom bun and put a quarter of the greens atop each warm mushroom. Top with 2 slices of tomato and a slice each of onion and cheese. Serve warm.