The History of the Cowboy Breakfast
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!
September is National Biscuit Month!
Did you know September is National Biscuit Month? We can think of no better way to celebrate 
the coming of fall than a warm plate of biscuits and gravy. They’re comforting, homey, and such a satisfying way to start the day. At The Original Pancake House Denver, one of our favorite hearty breakfast items is our Biscuit with Homemade Sausage Gravy and Eggs. We serve up a buttermilk biscuit, split and smothered in our homemade gravy, with two eggs and home fries on the side. Now there is a breakfast that will get you going in the morning!
For those of you who would like to try to make your own biscuits at home this month, here is one of our favorite recipes:
Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
Makes 10 biscuits
- 2 cups White Lily self-rising flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup chilled shortening, cut into pieces
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Melted butter
Preheat the oven to 425°F and position the oven rack slightly below the center of the oven. Lightly butter a round cake pan or cast-iron skillet.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt. Snap the pieces of shortening with your fingers until the shortening pieces are no larger than peas. Make a well in the mixture and pour in the cream and ⅔ cup of the buttermilk. Using your hands or a rubber spatula, sweep in the flour and turn the dough until the dry ingredients are moistened and the dough resembles cottage cheese, adding enough of the remaining ⅓ cup buttermilk to reach this consistency.
Sprinkle the rolling surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and sprinkle the top with flour. With floured hands, fold the dough in half and pat the dough into a ⅓- to ½-inch-thick round, using additional flour as needed. Flour again if necessary and fold the dough in half a second time. If the dough is still clumpy, repeat the folding process for a third time. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick round. Dip a 2-inch biscuit cutter into the flour and cut out biscuits, ensuring you do not twist the cutter.
Place the biscuits in the pan, sides slightly touching. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until light golden brown, rotating the pan 180°F after 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the biscuits again with melted butter.
Recipe curtesy of Tupelo Honey Cafe: New Southern Flavors from the Blue Ridge Mountains by Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2014.
Be sure to stop in and try our biscuits and homemade gravy if you are out for breakfast in Denver this month! Happy Biscuiting!