What Cowboys Ate | Life during the 1800s Cattle Drives 

Thanks, Kent. This is the big picture that backdrops all the other things you and Shannon do. You and your channel have grown with the times which demonstrates the essential character trait of all the cookies before you, creativity. There are many kinds of artistry, and what you do certainly is certainly one of them.

I sure don't have the trail cook pedigree you do, but, as a 4th generation Texas rancher, I have cooked in and eaten from iron pots at more than a few meals. I'm just shy of 70 now and this video has me remembering the stories from Grand Daddy and my Pop. Thank you for what you do.

How can you not love this guy. Down to earth, sincere, authentic. I could listen to you all day Mr Rollins. Thank you.

Mmmmm. When I was born on the family farm in 1961 there were 4 generations living and working on it. At age 5 I was gathering eggs with my great grandma, I thought she was watching me to ensure I was safe, but I found out later that I was watching her as she was a recovering cancer patient. She continued to gather those eggs, work in the gardens, and wash all of the butchering equipment until I was age 12 when she suddenly passed away, happy as a lark just moments before. The family farm is just a memory now, but all of those values are instilled into me and I get pretty choked up when I watch videos like yours because even being raised as a sodbuster on a small family farm life was quite the struggle at times. Many of our cousins lived in a similar setup, some of them hauled their horse trailers hundreds of miles away to hire themselves out to locate and recover lost cattle & livestock. We had huge family get-togethers at holidays and all of those farmhouses had huge kitchens to feed large families, we enjoyed many of the same dishes you mentioned plus all of the fresh vegetables picked on the 3-4 acre gardens. It is my personal observation that what killed the family farm was the processed food with preservatives and artificial ingredients that brought cancer, diabetes, and heart attacks not a problem before that. Shortcuts in the kitchen brought to us by Monsanto were not the friend we needed in cooking. I said too much. Cheers, and keep up those traditional values! -Dave

I'm a US History teacher, 11th grade. Always enjoyed teaching the western expansion unit and telling my students about the cattle drives. You sir are a fantastic story teller. I look forward to sharing this video with my class.

My grandmother crossed the Red River north of Quanah in 1890. They built a half dugout in what was then Greer County, Texas now it is 2 miles southwest of Gould, Oklahoma. The next thing they did was dig a well that was 81 feet deep with a hand auger. I would say they were pioneers.

Kent Rollins the goat of country folk

You’re a hell of a storyteller, Kent! As a history buff, its hard to find this kind of genuine color anywhere. Thanks for sharing.

I'm homeless and sometimes I don't have the best of days. But when I watch a Cowboy Kent video it always cheers me up and also makes me super hungry. Thanks Kent and Shan because you guys are amazing.

My great grandpa Avery ran away from home at 16 to help run cattle to Montana. By 18 he had his own horse heard and decided to run them from Montana to Arizona. He told us he never saw a single fence on that trip! Unbelievable to imagine that! Loved the stories!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this. It's a privilege and honor to be able to watch this. You have so much to offer and to keep the American spirit forever renewed!

As a young girl until I was a married women, my sister and I herded and moved beef cattle for our families. We trained our own horses. That was not really easy. I can't imagine what these men went through. I've cooked out on the ground many times but not under those conditions. One has to respect and admire the men who rode these trails.

Kent, I can skin a buck and run a trout line, but it's fellas like you that make me proud to be an American. If we could only teach the kids nowadays, what they are missing and from where they really come. Bless you sir.

Grew up in Oklahoma…retired from the military as a fighter pilot…My 90 year-old mother lives next to the Chisholm Trail park in Yukon Oklahoma… You sir are a national treasure!

I miss the old days when there were a few thousand subscribers on this channel and Kent used to chat in comments. But I'm also really happy to see the success the channel has had. We need traditions and the wholesome values of this channel today more than ever.

Only a real cook could understand how much work is involved in preparing 3 meals a day. I do it for my wife and I, Im 73 years old and its a chore Im tellin ya!! Thanks Kent for keepin it real.

My grandfather was a cook in lumber camps in the early 1900s in eastern Canada. They took in the potatos and onions in the fall and stored them under the cook shack where they wouldn't freeze before the men got there in early winter. Love your stories Kent, they bring back warm memories of a times past.

Good evening from England Kent. I use so many of you’re recipes but 2 weeks of my working month, I meal prep you’re cowboy chilli recipe. Can’t get enough of it. Never gets boring 😍 hope you and the family are well my friend

Dang... I wish I had you as my history teacher back in high school. I didn't become interested/curious about American history until very late in life due to the boring way it was presented in the classroom. I love these videos!!!! , please keep them coming because if you don't tell the stories, they will blow away with the winds of time.

Who else here is thinking about that infamous scene in Blazing Saddles, where they're sitting around the campfire eating beans?

Kent, you just taught more history than a kid gets in a semester of school nowadays.

Thanks Kent for keeping the history alive! Love your channel

I had the privilege of herding cattle with my Grandpa, Dad and Uncle on the Dupont ranch in the Beartooth Mts. WY in my summers during school. This video sure brings me back to those good old days , i'm 53 now. Thank you Cowboy Kent Rollins, for the history and good cooking !

Thank you for keeping our history alive.

Thanks, I learned a lot. Made me think about watching "Lonesome Dove". Some of the best scenes in that film are the cattle drive scenes.

I don’t comment often. But this was great. I’ve spent my life taking in knowledge from the cowboy days, filtering out the not so good and applying the good to my own life and preaching it to others. I’ve also spent my life learning the art of food. To bring them both together is amazing. Thank you, sir.

I love ❤️ the old Wild West ! Hard working but free , fresh air , riding to sunset 🌅. ❤❤❤❤

An uncle was on the last drive from Cheyenne to Chicago. Remember parts of his stories. We didn’t write them down or record them. We are so so sad that we really really screwed up. He lived in the Crazy Creek area of Wyoming. He was so bow legged that a hog could run between his legs. Wonderful Man. His word was as good as Gold. What a wonderful Man and a true rancher. We really screwed up. Thank You Kent. 👍😊

I think most every young teen should experience an old fashioned cattle drive. Even just to ride and take care of their horse.

I can imagine what a hard life it was to be a Cowboy, bet they thought about the meal waiting for them at the end of the day. That is real Americana, and today's restaurant menus include many items from your trail food. Kent you really tell a good story, that is part of American history I hope never gets forgotten.

Good story telling and true. I grow up around cows and horses. Cowboyed full time for 15 years. You just brought a tear to my eye. Thanks

🤠👍I would like to travel back to the year 1800, I would never come back.

What a great insight into the settlers that helped build this great country. They literally risked it all and took a chance and we all owe them for it.

Kent, this is a history that needs to kept alive. Cowboys are still here and need to be acknowledged. I'm glad you're here to keep this in the present.

There are so many cooking youtube channels these days. Very few showcase heritage, tradition and love. This is the a highly pure gem of a cooking channel that honors heritage, does not give into fads and spreads the love. It's so great to see maintenance of tradition in this world.

I grew up on rather smaller ranches in Colorado, fond memories of working cattle on the forest service permits all of the ranches would get together and meet at a designated holding area in the wee hours of the morning round up everything in that area, brand calves check health, do any doctoring needed, we were close enough to home we didn't camp but oh that lunch all the wives would show up about noon with their best potluck yummy!!!! Some years ago a big corporation came in and bought out all the ranches and permits so I guess that's a thing of the past now but I'll always remember my dad ribbing me about riding hold on the far side of the herd chatting up the girl from the ranch in the other school district 😁

You're the best Kent!!! I love learning more and more about 1800's western cuisine because of you!

Great history lesson! America's West has been built and run on all the hard dangerous work of cowboys. I imagine the cook's satisfaction after all his hard work when he saw the cowboys enjoy the meals he prepared.

Thank you for preserving the chuck wagon and the trail cook, I appreciate what you and Shan do. You’re a true blessing to the world. When I watch your videos I am always mesmerized, Ilove the history and the life style. Your love for dogs, loyalty to the flag and America. You and Shan are blessed as well as a blessing. Love you guys and what you do, keep up the good work.🙏🏻

This was excellent and very informative. I can’t put into words what the cowboys and wranglers meant to America back then and how the tradition continues on today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and knowledge with us.

That ending are words to live by! Great history lesson on how the cowboys ate on the trail during their big pushes! Love it, keep it coming and God bless!

Kent…I wish my father and mom had lived long enough to see your shows…they loved Wagon Train and other Westerns…I grew up watching them ,too.May God Bless You and keep you safe.

God bless you brother, you carried on the heritage of your cowboy predecessors, and the spirit of the cowboy lives in the hearts of many today.

Thanks for sharing actual History and explaining some of the culture that was back then. Keep the Faith and God Bless you both.

That was wonderful! Thank you for that history. You are the ‘old west’ personified. Blessings!

My Ashworth ancestors here in Texas drove their cattle herds mainly along the Chisholm Trail. They owned the second and third cattle brands registered in Angelina County, Texas. I salute them for the hardships they went through as cattle ranchers.

You're a national treasure Kent and will never be replaced. Nevertheless, I'm hoping there are some young upstarts to carry on your work whenever you decide to park the chuck wagon for good.

If I could put ten thousand thumbs up to this video I surely would . . Great lesson from a Great story teller ! !

Kent, from a 24-year Navy veteran, my thanks from the heart for all that cowboys do to keep this nation fed, and all you do to keep the cowboys fed & on the job. May God bless America, and may the Grand Old Flag continue to fly in freedom for many generations to come.

@CowboyKentRollins thank you sir, for your incredible content, not only the recipes but the American history of cowboy cooking. I'm 46 years old & am from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but when I was 20, I got to go out west to Calgary, Alberta. Here in Canada, that's where our last cowboys truly are. I got to work on a ranch for a couple years; no internet, no cell phone, just the open country. Even got to ride out on the trail to help locate a dozen or so cattle. The cook (shout out to my boy Garrett!!) was AMAZING, & every time I get a notification from your channel & watch, im taken back to that time in my life where everything was so much simpler. Thanks again, all the best from your fan & Canadian cousin here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, & God Bless all my US brothers & sisters, stay safe & healthy!

I've been watching you for years and I know my family was happy I did cause I'm the main cook. But after watching this, I realized something. I've done multiple tours for our great country and your videos take me to my happy place. I don't need VA meds if I'm able to watch your channel. Thank you to you and Shannon for all you do. Be blessed. God Bless America.

Sir, you are an excellent storyteller. Great cadence and timing. Thank you.

Might show this to my first period US history class tomorrow. We're 2 chapters past the expansion, but this was good stuff, Kent.

This is the best condensed history of cowboys and the cattle trails we've ever seen. Never knew this. Westerns never made this clear. Real world lesson here.

What America needs is more Kent Rollins!!

I love your cooking videos but I really love your western history videos. So few people know about these topics and I hope you continue to make them.

Good concise history lesson without the difficulties, trail dust, or freezing rain. Thanks Kent.

My relatives herded cattle from Texas to the rail head in Kansas and from Missouri I listen to eveything my great grandmother said going on the trails in a covered wagon they got sick and had to stay in coweata ok they snuck my grand mother and my great grandmother out the rest of them past away from tick fever never take life for granted if the didn't get out my father wouldn't be here she said it was a hard life thank you for your video its a big history lesson every one should know you would have made a great history teacher thank you for bringing back memories of my grandmother sure do miss her cooking I found your channel them chicken and dumpings look just like my grandmothers thank you again for your videos sir

I can listen to this amazing human being talk all day. This channel is a blessing. That core American spirit resides here. It's both pure and good. God bless you sir.

You're awesome, sir. Thank you for keeping traditions alive and keeping these hungry men well-fed.

Truly special. Honored you shared the history with us and how it was done and is done now. Good cook, good food, hard days work, and the fellowship of the trail makes it all that more special. Thanks to the cowboys and the cooks that make this all possible.

It's good to know those Cowboys are still doing their jobs and keeping American traditions alive as well as 'cookie'..God bless them all.

I love this channel. Kent is a living example of Americans who I always admired. Good Ol' hard working days and lots of freedom.

My father grew up on a ranch here in Texas around sisterdale, and we had stables at my earliest childhood home. Coffee, bacon, beans, sausage, and tortillas are the staple for South Texas cowboys. Brisket is for special weekends or the holidays, along with peach cobbler and pecan pie. Throw in some pork or venison occasionally that you get with your saddle rifle.

Hello Kent, from Somerset, England. I've been enjoying your content for some time now. Whilst I obviously enjoy the cookery, I especially enjoy these episodes where you look at something different; the lifestyle, the history and what it really means to you, are a special treat. This one in particular. Thank you.

Fascinating video! I really enjoyed this. I thank you for your sharing this with us. This is the kind of thing that captivated me from the beginning. The quick stories , outdoor down home recipes and cooks. And our wonderful flag. God bless all here.

I am 70 years old and recall living in eastern Oregon as a child and seeing the cattle drives. They were ranchers moving their herds from one pasture to another, but all the cars had to stop and wait until all the cattle had crossed the road. I enjoyed viewing this video.

Ive been hoping youd do a series on authentic historical recipes. Including the ones that may not be particularly appetizing to todays standards, but were staples of the time

You can tell a tale for sure

Ken, this is a great video. 0:15..This picture represents a lot... My father was born in 1898. His father came from Sweden in the 1880's at 15yrs old. He made his way to Kansas, married and homesteaded around what had just become McPherson. They raised 11 children and made good.. I see these prairie family photos and it is exactly what he did. It truly amazes me the character of these people. There was nothing there but flat dirt and they built something of it. You shine a good light on the history too many people never knew. 👍👍🤠🤠

Thanks Kent and Shannon, this has really brought it alive for me.

I thank you Kent for everything you do sir, watchin your videos have given me a good feelin of home while I'm overseas.

Thank you very much. Always enjoy western History.

My youngest daughter loves your show! We watch it together all the time. She says she's gonna be a good cook like you someday. Her favorite part it when you dance and feed the dogs!

Amen Brother Kent! Always such a pleasure to watch your videos....my wife just yelled in from the kitchen that it's long aboust' time that I broke out the dutch ovens and started cooking outside again.

I love yalls cooking videos but I think I even love the cowboy story time even more. Thank you both and God bless!

God bless you Kent, you are a walking museum and treasure that bridges us to the cowboy spirit of years past!

Fantastic! I've LOVED all your wonderful videos for years - but thins one really takes the top price! Love the history! Thank you! OK, I really loved when you beat Bobby! But this made my heart feel even better!

My Aunt Stella Hughes ran the chuck wagon when her and uncle Mack ran the herd for the Apache nation. She even wrote books about it and wrote some chuck wagon cookbooks. “Bacon and beans”, also “chuckwagon cookin” She made the best dutch oven meals. I love watching your videos because it reminds me of them and the wonderful memories. I also was so proud of her when She was inducted into the cowgirl hall of fame. She also wrote articles for the western horseman . She truly was a rancher, cowgirl and one amazing woman! RIP Aunt Stella!

What a fascinating history of how farmers and ranchers lived in early America. Cheers, Kent and Shannon! ✌️

Loved this…. A lot of people have no clue how life on the ranch is….

Thank You Kent for keeping these traditions alive.

Dear Kent. Thank-you for this wonderful story. I have been listening to old cowboy music for quite a while and this gives a better perspective. God bless you.

Kent, I'm from Argentina (South America) and I love that kind of American history. Thank you for sharing your recipes, experiences and a bit of history too!

Once again, you and Shannon open the portal to our country's history of the old west. I could not stop watching. With a heartfelt thank you, this means so much to those of us that love this country and the people who made and make it the greatest in the world.

This channel has motivated me to start cooking again after buying food outdoors for so long, I'm now enjoying my canned corned beef and canned vegetables with rice that sat in the shelf for so long as I enjoy classic history feeling like a cowboy in the city. Thank you Mr.Rollins

Thank you Kent! Your channel is great and I sure appreciate all the hard work you do and the stories you tell.

Thank you for doing your part to preserve the important history, share delicious food, and most importantly, thank you for doing your best to bring a warm meal to people all over. God bless. All my best sir.

I can't thank you and Shannon enough for sharing your wisdom and recipes with us today!!

Mr Kent, you always make me proud of my humble, country, family farmin upbringing! Thank you sir for bringing this to RU-vid for all the world to see

Thanks for this story Cowboy - I needed a touch of the real world today.

My good Oklahoma history…..thank you. Granddaddy was a cattleman. I was weekend and summer help. My first horse ride was on a Palomino cuttin’ pony. Best years of my life.

As I watched this I kept thinking of "The Last Cowboy Song." Thank you Kent and Shannon for all you do!

We enjoyed the history lesson. If you could interview some younger trail cooks, hearing their perspective along with their favorite techniques and recipes would be interesting.

I think this is my favorite video you have ever done. I know you tell us all the time how you feed them cowboys, but actually talking about how you do it today vs yesterday is exactly what I've been wondering about for years. I think I had decided that you had a setup for RU-vid in a field somewhere. Glad to know old boys are still out there feeding old boys the old way.

Kent you and Shannon give us a look at life of a cow trail back in the day thank you for the memories

I keep coming back to this video for inspiration. Now that im a father of two young hunters ages 9 and 11, I'll be incorporating a lot of this for Deer Camp on our 300 acre family farm that we've ran since 1888. Thanks Kent!

Thank you for this. You tell the stories so well. And honor them also. Keep doing what you do and we will all keep watching. Take care my friend.

Wow! Kent, all of your videos are great, but this one is truly spectacular. Packed with western history and little known details and told with a passion for the subject by a gifted story teller. Great job, thank you!

So really enjoyed this video. It's important to remember what those good ole Cowboys did for us and the hard work they went through. Thanks for sharing and God Bless.🙏🇺🇸❤️