Give Barbara Kennedy some cooking staples, Dutch ovens, and hot coals, and she can prepare a hearty meal fit for a crew.
During cattle drives in the late 1800s, the chuckwagon cook was respected not only for his food, but also for skills as a doctor, dentist and banker. His day began before sunrise, and he was among the last to crawl into his bedroll at night.
Today, most ranch cookhouses have closed, and few ranches use a chuckwagon and cook to follow the cowboy crew for weeks or months during spring and fall cattle work. Still, food is an essential ingredient in the Western lifestyle, whether it’s feeding friends and neighbors at a spring branding or sharing a meal after a trail ride or cattle drive.
Barbara Kennedy is a modern-day “cookie,” catering Western-style events such as the cattle drives at Don Donnelly’s D Spur Ranch in Gold Canyon, Ariz. Last January, she arrived at the ranch pulling a trailer full of coolers, water jugs, Dutch ovens and bins of supplies. She sometimes has her own chuckwagon in tow, but she left it at home for this event.
Every place she caters is different and crowd sizes vary, yet she has an organizational system and routine that enables her to cook from scratch a hearty, multi-course meal for numerous people in only a few hours.
“I usually come close to having things ready on time, but you never know if the ground is going to be wet, if the wind will be blowing, or if something else [will affect the fire and coals],” she says.
High Noon
Kennedy arrives at the venue and immediately starts unloading and setting up her outdoor kitchen. Aiming for the setting to be as authentic to the chuckwagon as possible, she uses vintage kitchen items like blue Mason jars and enamelware bowls. She’s also a stickler for no plastic containers in sight, and the fire produces a woody smell that sets the stage for her cooking.
“I’m using lump mesquite charcoal today,” she says as she lights a fire. “At chuckwagon cooking competitions, we use whatever wood we’re provided—sometimes it’s mesquite, oak, or a mix of woods.”
Kennedy’s award-winning baking powder biscuits are a staple at almost every meal she caters. She’s also received recognition for her green chili beef, garlic mashed potatoes, and Dutch oven peach pie. Though Kennedy has more access to fresh ingredients and more variety in her menus than the old-time cooks, many of her cooking methods mirror the traditional ways. For this meal, she’s preparing a green salad, ribeyes, glazed salmon, mixed vegetables, baking powder biscuits, and peach cobbler.
Kennedy started her Cowgirls Forever catering business in 2003, but she has enjoyed cooking and the cowgirl spirit since she was a young girl growing up primarily in Arizona.
She’s an avid horsewoman, but when she cooks, she resembles an old-time cowgirl. She wears a custom-made chestnut-colored leather split skirt adorned with navy fringe and silver studs, a matching vest over a denim shirt, and a wide-brimmed straw hat. She accessorizes with jewelry, each piece having a story.
She was introduced to chuckwagon cooking competitions in the late 1990s.
“After the first competition, I was hooked,” she says.
For a while, she borrowed a wagon for competitions. Then she bought an 1880s Peter Schuttler wagon, refurbished it, and formed the Cowgirls Forever team. At competitions, people asked if she’d cook for their gatherings, which led to catering.
Heat of the Moment
By 2 p.m., Kennedy has biscuits and peach cobbler baking in 14-inch Dutch ovens with coals strategically placed under and on top of them to ensure even cooking. Made of cast iron, Dutch ovens were staples on the chuckwagon and are once again popular for their durability. However, they heat up quickly. Cooking in them, especially over coals, takes practice.
“When making biscuits and cobbler, you don’t want too much heat,” she explains. “If you can hold your hand a few inches above the coals for five or six seconds, the heat will probably be right. If you can’t, it’s too hot.”
Silverware is now neatly wrapped in napkins and placed on a table in a wooden caddy beside a stack of tin plates. Vegetables are chopped and ready to be sautéed.
“It’s crunch time now,” says Kennedy, whipping up a batch of salsa for guests to munch on with tortilla chips when they arrive.
Timing is key: she doesn’t want guests waiting a long time to eat or for the food to sit out and get cold. She waits until a few minutes before the guests arrive to grill the ribeyes and salmon fillets.
“I’ve burned some things,” she admits, searing the meat over the fire. “If it’s biscuits or cobbler, you can scrape off the bottom.”
Serve with a Smile
Around 3 p.m., guests arrive at camp after the cattle drive. They loosen their cinches, tie their horses to the highline, and meander to the dining area. A cowboy musician strums his guitar and croons country classics on a rustic stage. When the dinner bell rings, Kennedy serves the food buffet-style, while black metal pots of cowboy coffee—one with a splash of amaretto—simmer over the fire. There’s also iced tea and lemonade.
While guests enjoy the food and entertainment, Kennedy warms water to wash dishes and starts cleaning up. As the sun sets, casting a warm, orange glow over the desert, she packs up everything and drives a few hours to her ranch. She has a bag of scraps for her menagerie of animals, plus leftovers for herself. A lot of hours and behind-the-scenes work goes into catering a chuckwagon-style dinner, but it’s all worth it to Kennedy.
“I noticed early on that food brings people together and makes them happy,” she says. “It’s rewarding that I can make people smile with my cooking.”
Cowgirls Forever Bread Pudding
◆ 18 eggs
◆ 1 ½ quarts milk
◆ 2 cups half & half
◆ 3 tablespoons vanilla
◆ ¼ cup amaretto
◆ 1 ½ cups brown sugar
◆ 1 tablespoon cinnamon
◆ Dash of nutmeg
◆ 1 chopped pear
◆ 1 chopped green apple
◆ 1 cup raisins
◆ 1 stick of butter
◆ 1 large loaf of French bread (you can also use stale doughnuts, rolls or croissants, in any combination), torn into chunks
1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs.
2. Add all other ingredients except bread and butter, and mix well.
3. Melt the stick of butter in a 14-inch Dutch oven or a 13-by-9-inch deep cake pan.
4. Layer bread chunks over the melted butter.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the bread.
6. Pat down the bread to soak and sink raisins from the top, adding additional milk if needed to cover most of the bread.
7. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
8. Cover and bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes or so until browned and firm. You can also bake the bread pudding in a Dutch oven, rotating the oven and lid every 15 minutes. Remove some heat from the bottom during cooking and then from the lid toward the end to avoid burning.
9. Let sit uncovered to cool slightly.
10. Top with sauce.
Sauce:
◆ 1 eleven-ounce bag of caramels
◆ 1 ounce amaretto
◆ 1 tablespoon half & half
Melt caramels over low heat and mix in other ingredients.
Cowgirls Forever Chili Verde
◆ ¼ cup vegetable oil
◆ 2 medium onions
◆ 2 bulbs of garlic
◆ 8-pound pork roast (The roast can be any kind you like, as long as it has marbling for flavor and to produce broth. I usually use a pork shoulder or picnic roast cut into 1-inch cubes.)
◆ 2 pounds of green chilies
◆ 3 bunches of green onion
◆ 2 bunches of cilantro
◆ 2 limes
◆ 2 tablespoons of coarse salt
◆ 4 tablespoons cumin
◆ 2 tablespoons lemon pepper
◆ ½ cup cornstarch
◆ ¼ cup milk
1. Add oil to a 14-inch deep Dutch oven and preheat with 14 coals on top and on the bottom.
2. Cut onions in half and then slice each half into thin strips.
3. Skin garlic and mince.
4. Sauté onions and garlic in the oven for about 7 minutes or until caramelized. Stir once or twice so they don’t burn. Your oven should be hot.
5. Add pork to oven to brown, stirring well. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes. Check it and stir, making sure it’s at a high simmer and producing a nice broth. You shouldn’t need to add water, but if it’s not producing broth, add a couple of cups of warm water. Have some extra coals started to maintain heat. Don’t be afraid to add coals as needed to keep the heat up.
6. Cut the chilies into 2-inch strips, chop the onions and cilantro and add to the meat, stirring well. Let simmer an hour or so, stirring occasionally.
7. Stir in spices and lime juice. Keep at low simmer 30 minutes.
8. In a bowl, whisk together milk and cornstarch until smooth. Stir the thickening mixture quickly into the middle of the pot to keep lumps from forming, and then blend completely. It will thicken as it simmers. If it’s too thick, stir in some milk. If you want a thicker consistency, add more cornstarch and milk mixture. Keep at a low simmer until meat is completely tender.
Tip: If the chili is too spicy, stir in a cup or so of sour cream. Serve with cornbread or fresh, hot flour tortillas.
For more information on Kennedy and Cowgirls Forever, visit cowgirlsforever.net.
This article about Barbara Kennedy appeared in the August 2024 issue of Western Life Today magazine. Click here to subscribe!
