A Taste of Ranching: Cooks & Cowboys

by Tom Bryant, Joel Bernstein

Welcome to the world of Texas ranching, where “come ’n’ get it” is the national anthem, the kitchen is the most important room in the house, meals become staff meetings, and the cook is a treasured member of the outfit. After all, hungry cowboys need hearty, hot meals that'll stretch the buttons on their Levi’s to keep them going.A Taste of Texas Ranching takes readers to more than thirty ranches in the Lone Star State and introduces them to the cook at each one. Not only do these talented souls share their best recipes (including buttermilk pie and West Texas chili), they offer colorful viewpoints of life on the range and spin a yarn or two. A cookbook, history book, geography book, story book, and a book about western America, A Taste of Texas Ranching serves up a slice of life along with a piece of the pie.

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet very good history and recipes from Texas ranches. A lot of good information about truck wagons as well.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what made me choose this book other than I enjoy cookbooks that have a story. It's an older book, written back in the 1990s but I enjoyed the stories. The cowboy/ranching way of life is disappearing in America and this book gave voice to some of those who won't be with us much longer.

It focuses on Canada and Montana. I'd have liked to have seen more stories about Texas and New Mexico ranching but that could be the result of the loss of "real" ranching in these states. Ranching is being run more as a business rather than a way of life and "Taste of Ranching" focuses on the way of life.

Each contributor has a brief biography along with some of the history of the ranch. Each contributor also supplied a recipe. I haven't tried any of the recipes but they looked good and hearty.

The book left me wanting to go to some of those far-off ranches where the cattle outnumber the people (although I'm not interested in learning about rattlesnakes as up-close-and-personal as some of the contributors.

[Jim Gatteys · Rating 4 out of 5]

From church cookbooks to recipes off bags and boxes I am fascinated by what people eat and how they prepare it. The recipes and stories in this book were good and I have even prepared a couple of them. It was a mouthwatering read!