Camp Kitchens
Camp Kitchens. There are lots of different ways to cook outside. From the camp fire that has been around for a few thousand years to the elaborate outdoor kitchens you see, and everywhere in between. Northern Arizona has a long ranching history, and one of the original camp kitchens was the chuck wagon. Invented by Charles Goodnight to take his cattle to market from Texas to Kansas. The cowboys could carry the bare necessities to make the 3 month trip. From bed rolls to food, medicine and cleaning supplies. The camp you see above is a little more elaborate then what would have been on the trail wagon, but it is pretty close to the original. This is our original Peter Shuttler wagon circa 1897.
The chuck box is what makes the wagon unique. They took old civil war wagons and outfitted them with a box that was weather tight and could hold most of the food stores for the trip. The cook, or pot wrangler, or dough wrestler, what ever they called their guy, was in charge and no one was allowed in the box except him. O'l Cooky would have been a seasoned veteran. Inside his chuck box would have been everything he needed to feed and doctor 8 men for 3 months out on the trail. Flour, beans, salt, pepper, corn meal, plates, silverware, pots, pans, soap and the most important ingredient, Sour Dough. This would have been his prized possession and taken care of like a priceless gem. This is what made his dough rise for the biscuits he would cook for every meal. All cowboys judged a cow outfit by the chuck they provided and if the biscuits were good, they were happy.
Sourdough is made by adding water to flour with a little food, sugar or a piece of potato. After you have let it sit for a couple days you take some of the sponge out and feed it with more flour and water. After a few days you will have the ingredient that has been added to bread for thousands of years. You can find the exact method under our recipe category. We use it today in our biscuits, bread, corn bread and pancake batter. It adds an element and flavor you cannot get any other way. Some sourdoughs have been around for a hundred years or more and passed down through family's and cooks. The California gold rush made sourdough famous in the west and is a big influence in San Francisco.
Send us some photos of your camp kitchens and let us know what you like to cook outdoors. Food just tastes better when it is cooked and eaten outside. A mesquite grilled ribeye with dutch oven potato's, roasted corn on the cob and a dessert to top it all off around a camp fire, that's as fine as it gets. Get outside and get cooking!
