The Chuck Wagon

It would be difficult to cover Old West Cooking with out giving an introduction to the chuck wagon.  Probably more than anything else the chuck wagon symbolizes what culinary trends were like in the old west.  Below is a brief history I borrowed from my website.

In the early days of the great trail drives the cowhand had to make do with what he could carry with him.  This caused some rather hungry, uncomfortable times on the trail.  Texas rancher Charles Goodnight saw an opportunity to fill this basic need and in 1866 created the prototype for the chuck wagon. 

Goodnight rebuilt an army surplus Studebaker wagon for his creation. The Studebaker was a sturdy wagon with steel axles that could withstand trail drives that could last up to 5 months. Goodnight designed and added a chuck box and boot to the rear of his wagon and this became the prototype for all the chuck wagons that followed. The chuck box was comprised of a number of shelves and drawers to hold what the cook would need over the course of the day. Once the hinged lid was dropped down to serve as a work surface the cook had everything he needed within easy reach. The boot carried the Dutch ovens and other cooking utensils the cook would need to provide hot meals for ten or more cowboys on long trail drives. A water barrel large enough to hold two days' water supply was attached to the side of the wagon along with an assortment of tool and catch-all boxes, hooks, brackets and the vital coffee grinder. Naturally, wood for cook fires is scarce on the prairie. By suspending a canvas beneath the wagon in hammock fashion the cook had a convenient container for any fuel he collected during each day's move. The wagon box was used to carry the cowboys' bedrolls and personal effects as well as bulk food supplies, feed for the horses and what ever else the crew felt was needed. In some cases a second "hoodlum" wagon was used to carry the gear and supplies of large crews. It was not uncommon to hear a cowboy say that he worked for a "wagon" as opposed to a particular ranch.

A well supplied chuck wagon contained an amazing assortment of goods and possibles needed for a long trail drive.  Not only did the wagon have to carry food supplies and cooking utensils, it had to carry the cowboy bed rolls and personal effects as well.  Considering the average wagon box was around 10 feet long and only 38-40 inches wide packing and unpacking must have been a science in itself.  It's no wonder cousies had a reputation for being a little on edge most of the time.