One of our favorite annual Denver events is the National Western Stock Show which brings in herds of cattle, livestock, and cowboys to our city each January. With all the cowboys and steers in town, we were wondering where the term “Cowboy Breakfast” comes from and what exactly the term refers to in a historical sense.
As it turns out, the term “cowboy breakfast” originated in the old west during the time of the American frontier. The original frontiersmen and women and cowboys were hard working folks and needed a hearty, rib-sticking breakfast to get them through long days working out on the cattle drive or ranch. Frontier breakfasts were often limited by what could be easily stored and transported on the chuck –wagon. Breakfasts were created from dried beans, flour, ground corn, coffee beans, lard, hard-tack crackers and large sides of salt-cured meat. Each morning, the cowboys would cook breakfast in cast iron grills, skillets, and pots over a hot fire. Meals often consisted of hot coffee, a large pot of beans, and biscuits that were baked in a cast iron pot and slathered with lard and gravy.
Today the term “Cowboy Breakfast” has evolved to include eggs and skillet potatoes, bacon or sausage, and perhaps biscuits and gravy to round out the plate. One thing has remained constant since the American frontier days – a cowboy breakfast will stick to the ribs and keep you going all day! If you are out for breakfast in Denver, we’d love to share with you our version of a cowboy breakfast. You’ll love our Biscuits and Gravy or our Cowboy Omelet which comes filled with diced ham, bacon and Tillamook cheddar cheese smothered in our homemade sausage gravy, served with three buttermilk pancakes.
Enjoy the National Western Stock Show Denver!