MEATS AND POULTRY

BEEFSTEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

4 tbsp (60 mL) beef fat or lard

4 lbs (2 kg) blade or chuck steak, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces

½ to ¾ lbs (250 to 375 g) lamb or beef kidney

2 medium onions, minced

⅔ cup (150 mL) flour

2 tsp (10 mL) salt

½ tsp (2 mL) freshly ground pepper

4 cups (1 L) beef broth (canned or made with beef bouillon cubes)

2 tsp (10 mL) prepared mustard

1½ tbsp (20 mL) Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp (2 mL) cinnamon

1 tsp (5 mL) ginger

2 cups (500 mL) mushrooms, sliced (optional)

pie pastry for topping

Serves 8 to 10

MELT FAT IN a Dutch oven; brown beef and kidney. Add onion and sauté. Mix flour, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over meat and stir. Add beef broth, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon, and ginger. Cover and simmer over low heat until tender, about 2½ hours, or bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven until tender. Add mushrooms, if using. If the liquid is too thin, thicken with flour mixed to a paste with water. If too thick, thin with red wine or water. Grease a 9 × 13 inch (23 × 33 cm) baking dish. Add the meat and liquid. Cool.

While the meat is cooling, prepare the pie pastry (see page 78). Place pastry over meat, moistening and pinching to the edge of the dish. Make vents in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake in hot oven, 450°F (230°C), for 10 minutes. Lower temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking for 15 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown.

THAT’S WHAT YOU did at the big, round, ranch-style table designed to serve busy cowhands on the run. In the centre was a pine-covered wagon wheel, lying flat on its axis. This held the platter of sliced beef; the bowls of potatoes, gravy, and turnips; a plate of bread; two or three raisin pies; a jug of condensed milk; and an enamel pot of steaming coffee. On the top of the hub rested a coal-oil lamp. On the large circular lower level sat the plates, cups, knives, and forks. Around the table sat the cowboys, ten easily, but more could be crowded in if necessary. A flick of the finger rotated the inner wheel and brought within easy serving the salt, syrup, or whichever other item the diner fancied.

Fred Anderson of the Oxley Ranch is credited with building Canada’s first spinning table. It soon became popular in many bunkhouse kitchens. Cowhands would drift in for their meal when their work was finished, find an empty place, and turn the wheel to bring the dinner to them. That way, a cook could serve many hands quickly and smoothly.

BOILED BEEF WITH HORSERADISH SAUCE

Ranchers lived off their land, and when they butchered their own meat, they used every part of the animal. Joan Boyd of Longview, Alberta, suggested including this recipe for boiled beef, a dish that can be prepared from the shank, neck, and other tough but flavourful meat cuts. It was served on a large platter, bones included. The bone marrow was, and still is, considered a treat.

4 lbs (2 kg) boiling beef

small onions, 1 to 1½ per person

4 carrots, quartered

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

pepper to taste

PLACE THE BEEF in a pot and just cover with water. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours or until almost tender. Add onions, carrots, salt, and pepper, and simmer for 45 minutes. Save the beef broth for making vegetable soup. Serve with horseradish sauce and boiled potatoes.

HORSERADISH SAUCE

2 tbsp (30 mL) butter

2 tbsp (30 mL) flour

1 cup (250 mL) milk

½ tsp (2 mL) salt

pepper to taste

¼ cup (50 mL) grated horseradish

IN A SAUCEPAN, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Add milk and stir over medium heat until thick. Add salt, pepper, and grated horseradish. Serve cold.

CORNED BEEF

Corned beef is beef that has been pickled in a salt solution or dry salt mixture and then given a long, slow cooking. This recipe will make a delicious home-cured corned beef that keeps well in the refrigerator and can be sliced for sandwiches when needed.

5 lbs (2.5 kg) beef brisket

8 cups (2 L) water

¾ cup (175 mL) coarse or pickling salt

½ tbsp (7 mL) saltpetre (purchased at drugstore)

¼ cup (50 mL) brown sugar

1 tbsp (15 mL) mixed pickling spice

½ tsp (2 mL) onion salt

¼ tsp (1 mL) garlic powder

1 bay leaf

CORNING

P repare the brine by boiling the water, salt, saltpetre, sugar, and spices for 5 minutes. Cool. Place the brisket in a crock or bowl (not metal). Cover with the brine. The meat will float, so place a plate on top to keep it immersed. Cover and leave in a cool place for at least 14 days before cooking. Turn the meat every few days. Should the brine become thick or ropy, wash the meat in cold water, wash the crock, and replace the old brine with a fresh brine.

COOKING

Rinse the corned beef. Place in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and remove the scum that collects on top. Cover the pot and simmer for 4 to 5 hours or until tender. If you wish, add vegetables to the liquid about 30 minutes before meat is done. Serve hot or cold. When cooling, place a heavy plate on top of the meat. This will flatten it and make slicing easier.

The big handkerchief worn around the neck was pulled up to cover the nose and mouth when the dust from a thousand moving steers made breathing difficult. The handkerchief was knotted behind the neck, leaving the wide part free in front, ready when needed with no unnecessary fumbling.

Charlie Millar, a famous rider and roper who broke broncos for the Bar U Ranch at High River. He was fast with his six-shooter, played the mouth organ, and wrote poetry. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NA-466-14

If a whirling lasso were to run over a roper’s arm, it could cut to the bone. To protect himself, the cowboy wore gloves on his hands and heavy leather cuffs on his wrists.

His broad-brimmed hat kept off the scorching sun of summer and sheltered him from rain during wet weather. It was held on by a string; without it, the wind would have blown the hat off and under the feet of the cattle.

The high-heeled boots were a necessity. They kept the rider’s feet from slipping through the stirrups when a horse was bucking and often saved him from being caught in the stirrups and possibly dragged to death when thrown. The cowboy wore leather chaps over his pants to protect his legs when riding through thorns and brush. They also shielded him from wind, rain, flies, and mosquitoes.

He carried a bullwhip. In a herd of cattle, there were always a few mean ones that would, on the slightest provocation, start a stampede. One end of the bullwhip was loaded, and when the rider saw trouble brewing, he spotted the bad steer, rode up, and gave it the weight of the butt end of the whip, which usually made the steer behave. The lash was for clipping tardy ones on the nose to hurry them up and to remind any that might stray from the herd that their place was with the bunch.

Of course, the cowboy had a good saddle. As he lived in the saddle, he wanted it as comfortable as possible, made of fine leather and with a solid frame. The seat had to be strong, and the horn strong enough that the horse could put all its weight on a rope tied to the horn when holding or hauling a steer.

A fine bridle was part of the cowboy’s gear. Plaited hair for special occasions was popular, and some put as much as one hundred dollars into a bridle alone. Spurs were sometimes silver plated, but what of it? These things were part of the working equipment of the cowpuncher, and it made sense to have the very best.

CORNED BEEF HASH

Chunks of beef were corned or pickled in a salt solution to keep them fresh during warm summer months. The corned beef was boiled and served with vegetables or baked and covered with a brown-sugar glaze. Leftovers were chopped and made into hash for a delicious, simple supper.

2 cups (500 mL) cooked potatoes, finely diced

12-oz (340 g) can corned beef

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tsp (10 mL) prepared mustard freshly ground pepper to taste

MIX POTATOES, corned beef, onion, mustard, and pepper. Fry in butter until crispy on both sides.

PRAIRIE OYSTERS (CALVES’ FRIES)

Once a year, generally in early summer, the spring calves are brought in for branding. The testicles of bull calves are removed so they can grow into marketable steer beef. At many brandings, it is customary to serve the testicles for a snack or for supper. When prepared, they are known as “prairie oysters” or “calves’ fries.”

calves’ testicles

pail of salted water

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup (50 mL) milk cracker crumbs

butter or beef fat for frying

salt and pepper to taste

After the testicles ha ve been removed, soak them in a pail of salted water. For a 4-gallon (16 L) pail of water, use 1 cup (250 mL) of salt. Before cooking, remove any excess tubing and connective tissue and rinse with clean water. Combine the egg and milk. Dip the testicles in the egg-milk mixture, then roll in the cracker crumbs.

Melt butter or fat, enough to give ½ inch (1.5 cm) of hot fat, in a frying pan. Fry the testicles in hot fat. Serve from the pan with salt and pepper.

RANCH HOUSE MEAT LOAF

The aroma of meat loaf wafting from a ranch kitchen is ambrosia to a hungry cowhand.

2 lbs (1 kg) ground beef

½ cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion

1 cup (250 mL) bread or cracker crumbs

2 eggs

¾ of 10-oz (284 mL) can beef broth

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

1 tsp (5 mL) parsley

1 tsp (5 mL) sage

1 tsp (5 mL) thyme

¼ tsp (1 mL) pepper

TOPPING

3 tbsp (45 mL) brown sugar

4 tbsp (60 mL) ketchup

1 tsp (5 mL) dry mustard

Serves 6

Mix all the i ngredients together. Pack into a 5 × 9 inch (13 × 23 cm) loaf pan. Bake at 325°F (160°C) for 75 minutes. Remove from oven after 45 minutes, brush with topping (ingredients should be mixed together), and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn out of pan and place on an ovenproof serving dish.

Roundup at Cochrane Lake, Alberta, circa 1905. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NA-2365-34

A bunkhouse interior reflecting the simple needs of the western cowboy: a potbellied stove, beds, and a few pieces of furniture, circa 1894. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NA-237-15

During winter the cattle drifted in widely separated areas as they fed. Sometimes they scattered during severe storms. Spring roundups were organized to locate and gather them together. In the early years the cattle were branded right there, on the open range, and turned loose immediately. In later years they were driven to the ranches of their respective owners for branding. The roundup began about May 24. Stockmen and riders from all parts of the range joined together, selected a captain, loaded the chuckwagon and gear, gathered the horses, and pulled out. There might be five or six outfits in all, each with a cook and tents sufficient to accommodate all hands.

Each cowboy had a string of six or more horses. As he could ride only one at a time, the others were kept in a rope corral, tended during the day by the “day wrangler” and through the night by the “nighthawk.”

The first chore in the morning, after pulling on clothes and packing up the bedroll, was to select and rope a horse for the morning’s work. The roundup captain gave instructions and directed the cowboys in th eir search for cattle. Horses and riders fanned out across the country, making large circles with a radius of five to ten miles. The cattle were herded back to the camp and held there in a large milling herd.

After a hot meal at midday, the cowboys chose well-trained, older horses for the afternoon work of cutting herd. When the sharp-eyed riders spied an animal with their ranch brand, they signalled their horses to go after it. It was “worked” to the edge of the herd, where waiting cowboys moved it to one of several groups, according to its brand.

The same routine was carried on until the entire area had been ridden, the calves all branded, and the cattle placed on their respective ranges.

There were other roundups organized in a similar manner: fall roundups to brand animals missed in the spring, beef roundups to select animals for market, and horse roundups to gather horses that were to be broken, branded, or sold.

RANCH HOUSE STEW

I f serving this dish to guests, prepare stew ahead of time and have ingredients measured for the biscuit topping. The dish will then take only a few minutes to assemble.

BEEF-STEW BASE

4 lbs (2 kg) beef rump or stewing meat, cut into cubes

4 large onions, chopped

¾ cup (175 mL) flour

1 tsp (5 mL) paprika

1 cup (250 mL) canned tomatoes

1 glass beer (optional)

2 tsp (10 mL) Worcestershire sauce

4 cups (1 L) brown stock or water with 4 beef bouillon cubes dissolved

3 bay leaves

1 tsp (5 mL) parsley

¼ tsp (1 mL) thyme

2 cups (500 mL) mushrooms, whole or sliced

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

pepper to taste

BISCUIT CRUST

2 cups (500 mL) flour

1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder

½ tsp (2 mL) salt

4 tbsp (60 mL) butter

1 egg

¾ cup (175 mL) milk

Serves 8 to 10

BEEF-STEW BASE

Trim fat from meat. Render the fat in a heavy pan; discard the dried bits. Brown meat in rendered fat (add lard if there is not enough). Remove meat and brown onions. Return the meat to the pan. Add flour and paprika. Stir well. Continue cooking for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes, beer, Worcestershire sauce, stock, bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. Cover and bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven or simmer on top of stove for 3 hours, until meat is tender. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper.

Pour stew into a 3-quart (3 L) casserole (or two smaller casseroles). Prepare the biscuit crust (recipe below). Cut dough to fit the size of the casserole(s). Place over stew and seal edges tightly to keep flavour in. Brush the top with milk and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for approximately 20 minutes or until browned.

BISCUIT CRUST

Mix dry ingredients. Work in butter until mixture resembles crumbs. Beat egg with the milk. Make a well in centre of dry ingredients; pour in egg and milk and mix until one lump of dough is obtained. Roll out on a floured board to ½-inch (1.5 cm) thickness.

If a visitor stopped by and found the ranch house empty, he just went inside and made a meal anyway. Many times a rancher and his wife would return from an outing to find the dishes washed and the cups turned upside down on the saucers, an indication that a visitor had been there and had made himself at home.

WAGON STEW

T his full-bodied, delicious stew satisfies appetites made keen by hard work and fresh air. It is one variation of the many stews served on chuckwagons in the early West.

2 lbs (1 kg) stewing meat, lean short ribs, or chuck

2 tbsp (30 mL) beef fat or lard

4 tbsp (60 mL) flour

2 medium onions, sliced

2½ cups (625 mL) water

1 cup (250 mL) canned tomatoes

1 tbsp (15 mL) chili powder

1-2 beef bouillon cubes

1 tsp (5 mL) salt pepper to taste

vegetables if desired*

Serves 5 to 6

Cut the meat into 1-inch (2 cm) cubes. Melt the beef fat or lard in a heavy pan or Dutch oven with a tightly fitting lid. If using beef fat, discard the bits of residue. Add the meat and brown. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and toss lightly. Add the onions, water, tomatoes, chili powder, beef bouillon cubes, salt, and pepper. Cover and bake in 300°F (150°C) oven or simmer on top of the stove for approximately 3½ hours or until tender.

* Cut vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, and potatoes into chunks and add during the last hour of cooking. Add fresh or frozen green peas during the last 5 minutes. The stew is also good served with vegetables such as mashed potatoes on the side.

It was really a light mountain wagon with high wheels and strong wide-gauged axles strengthened to withstand wild rides over rough country. The bottom sideboards were of wood. Wooden bows, over which a canvas sheet was pulled for protection on rainy days, were arched over the top. A large mess box built of strong lumber was placed upright at the back of the wagon and held in place by steel rods running across the wagon and through the box. Fitted with shelves and drawers, the box made a convenient cupboard. Its hinged door was let down to rest on a wooden support and formed a work table for the cook.

It was the cook’s duty to prepare the chuckwagon for spring work. He scrubbed the cupboards with boiling water and lye soap. Pots, frying pans, and eating utensils were scoured with soap and sand. The water barrel was cleaned and soaked to swell its seams so there would be no possibility of leakage. The axles were greased, the harness mended, and the horses broken.

Then the wagon was packed with enough provisions to feed sixteen to twenty men for several weeks at a time. Salt, sugar, tea, and coffee were stored in pails with tightly fitting lids. Sacks of flour and beans, cases of dried fruit, cans of milk, and a case of canned tomatoes were placed in the bed of the wagon. Tin plates and cups and cooking and eating utensils were packed in the mess-box compartments. The heavy cooking pots were stored at the bottom. Empty flour sacks, carefully washed and folded, were pushed into a corner to be used for towels and aprons. The stove was attached to one side of the wagon, a water barrel to the other. Sometimes the bedrolls, ropes, and extra gear were thrown on too; however, during a large roundup, a separate wagon carried equipment other than food.

When the wagon was ready to roll, the cook hitched up the team, climbed up to the driver’s seat and took off across the unsettled land.

RANCH-STYLE STEAK

B eefsteak on the Bar U ranch was usually round steak—tenderized, floured, spiced, and fried in beef fat. This cooking method produced a delicious steak that is still a favourite today. Shirley Merle Osborne served delicious ranch-style steak during a visit in 1981.

2 lbs (1 kg) round steak*

prepared mustard

salt and pepper

flour

Serves 4 to 5

Trim the fat off the steak and put it into a heavy kettle or Dutch oven over high heat to render the fat. If there is not a good layer of fat in the bottom of the kettle, add a piece of lard. Cut the steak into serving portions and pound each piece on both sides with the edge of a saucer, hard enough to break almost through the meat.

Smear each piece with mustard, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roll and pound in flour. Cook the pieces quickly in hot fat until they are golden brown on each side. When done, pile them on a platter and keep them warm in the oven until serving time. Gravy can be made from the bits and pieces in the kettle by adding flour and water, or flour and a can of mushroom soup and water.

* If you would prefer, buy minute steaks or cube steaks, or have the butcher pass your round steak through a tenderizer. Flatten the steak and apply flour and mustard, then cook as above.

Bar U Ranch on Pekisko Creek near Longview, Alberta, circa 1892. They are arranged on both sides of the roadway like streets of a small village. The old log buildings are fine examples of pioneer ranch construction. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NA-466-12

At the western end stood the manager’s house, with its long, straggling line of outbuildings. East were the breaking stables and corrals, the team stables, wagon sheds, and men’s quarters—all built in a straight line along the north side of the trail that passes through the ranch. Opposite this were several log shanties used as storehouses, giving the whole the appearance of a little village street. The branding corrals were on the hill north of where the trail dips into the valley, and the feeding corral stood on the bottom on the other side of the river.

This was the Bar U Ranch in the Pekisko Creek valley, second oldest of the Alberta ranches and one of the most successful. In the early 1900s, forty thousand cattle carried its brand. When horses were an important source of power, there were over four hundred purebred Percheron mares, the largest herd in the world. There were also fine saddle horses, bred from thoroughbred stallions.

The Bar U was always well managed and well run. It was called the training ground for cattlemen, as many of the noted stockmen of the West were associated with it at some time: Fred Stimson, Bill Moodie, John Ware, George Lane, Herb Millar, Joe Brown, Pat Burns, Charlie McKinnon, and many others.

SAUSAGE ROLLS

M illarville, Alberta, was named after early settlers, the Malcolm Millars, who ran the first post office in the area. In correspondence with me, Mildred McMillan recalled that Mrs. Millar frequently made sausage rolls, as did many other ranch women in the area. They were part of picnic lunches taken to the Millarville Races.

ROUGH PUFF PASTRY

2 cups (500 mL) flour

¼ tsp (1 mL) salt

¾ cup (175 mL) butter, very cold and hard (or ½ cup/125 mL butter and ¼ cup/50 mL lard)

3 to 4 tbsp (45 to 60 mL) cold water to mix

½ tsp (2 mL) lemon juice

MEAT FILLING

Combine:

1 lb (500 g) sausage meat

1 small onion, grated (about 2 tbsp or 30 mL)

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Makes approximately eighteen 2-inch (5 cm) rolls or thirty-six 1-inch (2.5 cm) rolls

Sift the flour and salt together. Cut in the fat, leaving it in small pieces. Make a well in the centre. Add the lemon juice and just enough of the water to make a stiff dough. Refrigerate about 1 hour before using.

ASSEMBLING THE SAUSAGE ROLLS

Cut the pastry in half. Roll half of the pastry into a 9 × 13-inch (23 × 33 cm) rectangle. Form one half of the sausage meat into 3 rolls the length of the pastry and place on the pastry, spaced an equal distance apart. Cut the pastry into strips wide enough to encircle the meat. Dampen one edge of each strip, fold over, and press together firmly. Cut into rolls of desired length. Make a slash on top of each roll. Repeat with the other half of the pastry and sausage. Brush the tops with a small amount of beaten egg yolk. Place on a baking sheet with a raised edge. Bake in a hot oven (425°F/220°C) for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

A gathering at the Davies ranch, Crawling Valley, Alberta, circa 1909. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NA-2142-2

The Mitford and Cochrane Annual Race was a full-day affair with twenty-one events. The most prestigious, the Gentleman Ranchers’ Race, called for a race of one mile. The requirements were that the horse had been owned by its master for at least three months prior to the race and that it had never been ridden in the racing circuit.

Families arrived in buggies, wagons, and democrats. Old friends were reunited, and everyone talked horses. At noon, tablecloths were spread on the ground and picnic lunches brought out. One glimpsed roast chicken, basins of salad, sausage rolls, meat patties, sandwiches, fudge layer cake, jelly rolls, cookies, and doughnuts.

At the turn of the century, ranchers of British origin raised hounds and organized hunts similar to the traditional fox hunts in the old country. Both men and women participated, making quite a sight as they galloped across the prairies after the lowly coyote. As well as providing sport, the hunts helped keep the coyote population in check.

After the fall roundup, many ranchers loaded up pack strings and rode into the hills for a week or two of big-game hunting. In an interview with me in Okotoks, Alberta, in 1977, Mary Dover recalled that her grandfather, a rancher and former colonel in the North West Mounted Police, always looked forward to a fall hunt in the foothills and always took with him a meat pie made in a metal wash basin and large enough to provide a meal for several days.

SPICED BEEF

W hen the Cowans lived on the Onward Ranch in British Columbia, it was traditional to serve spiced beef at an open house during Christmas week. “It always caused a little sensation,” recalled Vivian Cowan in her letters to friend Fay Hartt. The original recipe specified a whole round of beef, with the bone removed and the cavity filled with suet, tied up and marinated in spices for three weeks.

12 to 14 lbs (6 to 7 kg) rolled round of beef

1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar

1½ cups (375 mL) coarse or pickling salt

3 tbsp (45 mL) allspice

3 tbsp (45 mL) cloves

2 tbsp (30 mL) saltpetre

½ cup (125 mL) peppercorns (cracked)

TO MARINATE THE MEAT

Tie beef with heavy cord to hold its shape. Rub brown sugar into meat on all sides, place meat in a bowl or crock, and leave in a cool place for 3 days.* Once a day, rub meat with sugar liquid and turn.

After the beef has marinated in the sugar liquid for 3 days, mix together salt, allspice, cloves, saltpetre, and peppercorns. Rub into beef and return to the bowl or crock. Store in a cool place for 2 to 3 weeks. Each day, turn meat to opposite side and rub all sides with the collected juices.

* If you do not have a suitable crock, place marinated meat in a large zip-lock plastic bag (double-bag to be sure it won’t leak). Store in the back of the refrigerator and turn every day.

TO COOK THE MEAT

Drain meat and wrap tightly in foil. Bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for approximately 2 to 3 hours. Use a meat thermometer, and cook to medium rare or your preference. Cool in its juices and store in the refrigerator.

To serve, carve across grain in very thin slices. Serve with tomato aspic, two or three varieties of sliced buttered bread, mustard, and horseradish.

A happy group enjoying a sleigh ride on Rosebud Creek, Alberta. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NC-43-67

In correspondence housed at the BC Archives, Vivian Cowan, of the Onward Ranch at 150 Mile House, British Columbia, described Christmas on the ranch:

“We always have to wait Christmas morning until the cattle are fed, hundreds of them and of course being so cold it takes longer to do as they get extra then so it’s about eleven when Hugh comes in and gives his men a hot rum. He then changes to be ready for the fray. Meanwhile the children are almost bursting with impatience. Finally we all gather.

“The presents are opened. Friends drop by. Dinner preparations are made and the smell of turkey permeates the house. The long table is covered with an Irish linen tablecloth, candles and Christmas crackers. A guest or two leavens the family, although everyone is in the best of spirits anyway.

“Now the turkey is ready to be carved, the sage stuffing spooned to a waiting bowl and the gravy poured into a jug. The potatoes are whipped, the creamed onions given a pinch of nutmeg and the frozen garden peas a sprinkling of dried mint. Meanwhile jellies and pickles are resplendent in their china dishes, and the cut glass bowl filled with coleslaw is decorated with a sprig of holly. The mince pie is in the warming oven and the Christmas plum pudding awaits the moment when it will be carried to the dining room table alight with brandy.

“Christmas Day and Christmas week provide an opportunity to slow down, to read a new book, to gather with the family over a jigsaw puzzle and to visit with neighbours.

“Weather permitting, it is a time for sleighing, tobogganing, skiing and skating parties. Sometimes there is a big bonfire in the pasture, with mulled wine and hot dogs, followed by coffee, mince tarts and Christmas cake back at the ranch house.”

TONGUE IN MOULD WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

A t the turn of the century, fashionable hostesses served jellied tongue at picnics, card parties, dances, and receptions. This recipe was developed by Bessie Emms, who was born near Wainwright, Alberta, but spent most of her life in Calgary. She suggested unmoulding it for the buffet table, slicing thinly, and serving on a dark bread with a dab of mustard sauce.

Soak fresh tongue in corned-beef brine for 3 weeks before cooking or, if you prefer, purchase a pickled tongue from your butcher. Large tongues are somewhat coarser in texture than small tongues.

COOKING THE TONGUE

1 pickled tongue

2 cups (500 mL) fruit juice (apple, orange, or juice from tinned fruits)

½ cup (125 mL) white wine or beer

1 tbsp (15 mL) pickling spice

MOULDING THE TONGUE

½ can consommé

2 tbsp (30 mL) sherry

½ tbsp (7 mL) gelatin, dissolved in a little water

MUSTARD SAUCE

2 cups (500 mL) brown sugar

2 tbsp (30 mL) flour

½ cup (125 mL) dry mustard

½ tsp (2 mL) salt

1 cup (250 mL) vinegar

1 cup (250 mL) water

2 beef bouillon cubes

COOKING THE TONGUE

Rinse the tongue. Place in large pot and cover with juice, wine or beer, pickling spice, and enough water to cover. Gently simmer for 7 to 10 hours. Cool. Remove tongue from liquid and devein. Place in a bowl or mould (a large empty cottage-cheese container makes a nice container).

MOULDING THE TONGUE

Heat consommé, sherry, and dissolved gelatin. Pour over tongue. Cover with a plate and place a weight on top of the plate to press the tongue firmly into the mould. Refrigerate overnight or all day. Unmould and serve with mustard sauce. Note: This mould is most attractive made with 2 tongues.

MUSTARD SAUCE

This smooth, gentle sauce is a good accompaniment for cold tongue, cold ham, spiced beef, and corned beef.

Mix all ingredients together in a heavy saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Cool. Serve with cold tongue or baked ham.

Mary Ann O’Keefe. THE HISTORIC O’KEEFE RANCH

The ranch was a centre of social activity and remained in the family for ninety-one years before becoming a historic site in the 1960s.

The family had much to be thankful for. Life had not always been easy. Mary Ann came as a bride to a log house heated only by two stoves, one in the kitchen and one in the parlour. Cooking, baking, eating, bathing, washing clothes, and dressing were all done in the kitchen. There was no indoor plumbing. Roads were primitive, and the ranch at first was isolated. Mary Ann was one of only a few European women in the whole Okanagan Valley.

Mary Ann bore nine children in ten years, so when her husband was able to build the lovely Queen Anne–style mansion, there was cause for celebration. She enjoyed her new home for only thirteen years before she died of a massive stroke. Later, Cornelius married Elizabeth Tierney, forty years younger than himself, and they had five more children.

From Ken Mather’s Home Sweet Home: A History of the Historic O’Keefe Ranch, 1867–1977 (1995)

CHICKEN ’N’ DUMPLINGS

M onica Hopkins attended the Priddis Fair in 1910 and admired the jars of preserved chicken exhibited on the long trestle tables. “They made my mouth water they looked so delicious. I longed to retire to bed and be fed an invalid fare of chicken and fruit.” These and other memories are recalled in her manuscript Log Cabin and We Two, 1909–10, at the Glenbow Archives in Calgary.

4 lbs (2 kg) stewing chicken

1 medium onion, sliced

2 stalks celery and leaves

1 bay leaf

6 tbsp (100 mL) flour

½ cup (125 mL) cream

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

1 tsp (5 mL) sage

½ tsp (2 mL) thyme

⅛ tsp (½ mL) pepper

DUMPLINGS

1 ½ cups (375 mL) flour

2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder

¾ tsp (3 mL) salt

1 egg

1 cup (250 mL) milk

Serves 6

Cut chicken into serving pieces and place in a large pot. Cover chicken with water. Add the onion, celery, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer for 3 hours or until tender.

Remove chicken. Strain and measure broth. There should be approximately 4 cups of broth. If there is more, reduce by boiling; if less, add water.

Mix flour with a little cold water to form a smooth paste. Stir into broth and heat until thickened. Add cream, salt, sage, thyme, and pepper. Remove the chicken from bones and return meat to gravy.

Prepare dumplings and drop by spoonfuls into hot gravy. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes without removing lid.

Serve chicken surrounded by dumplings on a large, deep platter.

DUMPLINGS

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix egg and milk, and stir into the dry ingredients. Drop into hot gravy and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Mrs. Harry Denning with two prairie chickens ready for plucking. Prairie chickens, partridges, ducks, geese, and large game were all part of the ranchers’ menu. Like most ranch women, Mrs. Denning was handy with a gun. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NA-2674-17

On large ranches their work was generally confined to the house and gardens. On small ranches they participated in all aspects of ranch work. A few led privileged lives, with hired help and a governess for their children. However, in a country where there were at least two men for every woman, it wasn’t long before the female help was courted and married by a lonely bachelor, and the “privileged” woman had to do her own work.

For hard work, consider Mrs. Bennett, who made and sold 108 pounds of butter each week besides attending to other chores, wrote Jock Carpenter in his book Fifty Dollar Bride. Or Marie Rose Smith, who tanned leather, made soap, dried meat, preserved berries, and gave birth to seventeen children, unattended by a doctor.

Mrs. Burke, a young bride from Ireland, lived on an isolated ranch in the foothills. Years later, her granddaughter, Meriel Hayden, remembers her saying that she “longed to hear my own name.” Once, she was alone on the ranch with three small children during a blizzard. Fearful of a chimney fire, she dared not leave them alone. “I couldn’t even milk the cow for eight days,” she told Meriel.

Ranch women loved a good time too! Bea Godden rode a horse sixty miles to Calgary to go to a dance. On a fall day Mrs. Macleay liked nothing better than to hitch her horse to a buggy and drive off to hunt prairie chickens. Mrs. Boulton at Aldersyde sat in her rocker and fished with a willow rod, using grasshoppers for bait. Mrs. Billy Cochrane rode to the hounds with as much vigour as she had back home in England, even though in Canada she had to chase a coyote instead of a fox.

Women such as these have left a legacy of pride and independence as strong as that of the men with whom they shared their lives.

ROAST WILD DUCK

H unting was and is still both a sport and a means of providing fresh meat for the table.

2 average-sized ducks, plucked, drawn, and washed

¼ cup (50 mL) oil

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

¼ tsp (1 mL) pepper

6 strips bacon

1 can consommé or 1 cup (250 mL) beef broth

¼ cup Madeira wine

Serves 4

Mix the oil, salt, and pepper and brush over skin surface. Place birds on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up. Cover with bacon strips. Roast at 425°F (220°C) for approximately 1 to 1½ hours (depending on whether you like duck rare, medium, or well done).

Remove from oven. Skim off most of fat in pan. Stir consommé and Madeira wine into the drippings to make a sauce. Heat.

Serve ducks on a platter with Madeira sauce in a gravy bowl. Drizzle the sauce over the ducks.

AS A BRIDE, Susan Louisa Allison rode sidesaddle over the rugged Hope Trail to become the first white woman to settle in the Similkameen Valley of British Columbia. Shortly thereafter she and her husband established a ranch called Sunnyside (now Westbank) on Okanagan Lake. She became a good neighbour to the surrounding First Nations and from them learned to cure fish and dry venison. The family lost two homes, one to fire and one to flood, and lived for a time in a tent. With her children’s help, Susan built an outdoor bake oven and continued to produce delicious meals.

“It was hard work cooking without a stove. I thought that with all hands helping I could build a bake oven. This I did on the banks of a river using cobblestones and clay. All hands gathered the stones, Will and Beatrice mixed mud, Lily packed it to me and I built it. Someone found a half melted door from the old stove which made a good door for the new oven.

“One day near June I had put three ducks nicely dressed, and a huge custard into the oven, and all was cooked ready to be eaten by hungry people. I had no tea or coffee so I browned some dried peas and used them for coffee, which was also ready. Two well-dressed men rode up and said they were starving so I gave them something to eat… I dished up the dinner and told them to sit down. I thought there would be enough for us but no, they ate all the ducks and pudding. They talked French thinking I couldn’t understand them. They said my bread was like cake and the ducks the best they had ever tasted. I felt proud of the oven after that.”

Susan Allison in A Pioneer Gentlewoman in British Columbia, edited by Margaret A. Ormsby.

The Big Gap Ranchers’ Roundup in the Neutral Hills near the Alberta–Saskatchewan border, circa 1919. The event, one of the largest rodeos of the decade, was in honour of the returning World War I veterans. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NC-6-3422

This impromptu fun grew into organized rodeos with bucking-horse competitions, steer-riding events, calf-roping exhibitions, and a purse for the winners. At first there were no fenced areas and no pickup men. A horse was saddled in a narrow chute or roped and snubbed to another saddle horse in an open corral while the rider mounted. There was no time limit to the ride. It lasted from the time the horse was turned loose until the cowboy rode it to a standstill or was bucked off.

Each year the number of rodeos grew, until there are now professional rodeos in towns and villages from Manitoba to British Columbia, with more and more cowboy participants and an increasing number of fans.

Some of the more spectacular events are the bareback and saddle-bronc competitions with jumping, twisting broncs and the Brahma bull rides with crazily spinning, dangerous bulls. Calf roping, steer wrestling, wild-cow milking, steer decorating, barrel racing, and cutting-horse contests demonstrate the skill and timing of the competitors and their highly trained horses. However, for sheer action nothing compares with the creaking, dust-spewing chuckwagon races.

It is said that the chuckwagon races started during the 1892 roundup on the Walrond Range, now part of southern Alberta. Four large ranches had each sent a chuckwagon and cook along to feed its own crew of cowboys. The wagons were camped side by side, and the men, caught up in the excitement of the roundup, engaged in good-natured joshing. When the roundup boss ordered the wagons to a new location, the chuckwagon cooks threw in their equipment and raced off, each anxious to obtain the best campsite.

What a race it was! In Leaves from the Medicine Tree (High River Pioneers’ and Old Timers’ Association), describes how one of the wagons lost its stove. The door on the mess cupboard of another was jolted open, and the pots and pans and plates were scattered across the countryside.

Today, the chuckwagon races have become one of the most exciting events on the rodeo circuit.

BEEF IN A PIT

R oasting beef slowly in a pit has provided a wonderful atmosphere and flavour at many special celebrations. It takes up to 14 hours to prepare the fire and then cook the beef, so this is a job to be taken seriously. The following directions were provided by Harry Smith of Nanton, Alberta. A similar method is printed in the British Columbia Women’s Institute Centennial Cook Book (Mitchell Press Ltd., 1958).

Select boned and rolled 20-lb (10 kg) roasts, allowing 1 lb for every 2 to 3 persons. Prepare a pit in the ground that is 4 feet (1.3 m) deep, 3 feet (1 m) wide, and 8 feet (2.6 m) long. For smaller amounts of meat, the pit can be shorter in width and length, but it should be 3 feet (1 m) deep.

Make a fire in the pit using hardwood or applewood (do not use wood that contains pitch). The fire should burn for 2 to 3 hours, with fuel added as needed, until there is a 2-foot (60 cm) bed of coals. Level coals with a rake and remove any unburned pieces of wood. Place metal bars across the pit ends. Place a sheet of galvanized metal (such as for roofing) over the bars, enough to cover ¹⁄₃ of the pit on each end. Cover the metal with earth.

While the coals are being prepared, the meat should be salted and peppered and wrapped in foil or heavy brown waxed paper (available from a butcher shop). The wrapped meat is then covered with burlap and tied with heavy cord. (Do not use binder twine.) Wet the burlap-wrapped meat by dipping parcels in a pail of water. Lower the meat through the open part of the pit , laying the parcels so that there is space between them. The parcels can be moved by means of a long stick with a hook on the end.

Cover the centre with metal and more earth, about 4 inches (10 cm), to prevent steam from escaping. Avoid air holes. The burlap will not burn as long as there are no air holes. Cooking time is about 10 hours.

Lift parcels out and cut off the burlap. Carve the meat and serve on plates or open-faced buns and enjoy.

Tony Nelson, at the Mount Sentinel Ranch near Nanton, having his hair trimmed in preparation for a dance. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NA-2467-31

Prairie grass and bedrolls make a dinner seat for the cowboys on a roundup. Note the chuckwagon backed up so that the meal can be prepared and served from a shelter. GLENBOW ARCHIVES, NC-39-246A

At the chuckwagon, they held back until the cook yelled, “Come ’n’ get it” or gave some other signal. Then they helped themselves and sat down cross-legged to eat. They did not wait for others to be served, nor did they make polite dinner conversation. “Eat now and talk later.” That was the rule. Hungry men could go back for seconds, but they never took the last portion of food unless everyone else had been served first.

There were rules regarding the wearing of cowboy hats. Generally, hats remained on the head. Only when eating at a proper table in the presence of a lady was the hat removed, but even then, leaving it on was not regarded as offensive. When eating outside during a rainstorm, the hat was pushed to the back of the head so any water collected in the wide brim would run down the back instead of onto the dinner plate.

Personal privacy was respected. If a stranger rode into cow camp, he was invited to pull off his saddle and “come ’n’ eat.” Neither the stranger’s name nor place of origin was asked. Such information was considered private. Only if the stranger was given a job did the foreman inquire, “What are we to call you?”

To address a fellow cowboy by his last name would be an extreme insult. The last name was seldom used, sometimes not even known. A man could go for a long time being known simply as Hank or Pete. He was judged on his loyalty to the ranch and his ability as a rider.

Cowboys held women in great esteem. Perhaps they felt that all women who dared to brave the hardships of the West were worthy of admiration. Whatever the reason, women could travel anywhere in complete safety, with respectful assistance given at every turn.

Rancher Bert Sheppard, in his book Spitzee Days (John D. McAra, 1971), recalled the gallantry exhibited by a western cowboy in the town of High River, Alberta. In those days the train used to make a forty-five-minute shunting stop. During this time the passengers disembarked for a cup of coffee and snack at Mrs. Robertson’s station restaurant. One d ay a dignified lady traveller was so slow to enter and be served that she had just received her cup of steaming coffee when the train whistle sounded, warning of the departure in five minutes. The cowboy sitting at the counter sized up her predicament, reached over, and offered her his cup, saying, “Here, lady, take mine; it’s been saucered and blowed.”