Chapter 23

What her waiting fer roll up those sleeves and lend a hand

Here's the next collection for your manuscript — covering more homestead baking, wild game, preservation, and some of the sweeter side of frontier life that hasn't been covered yet.🪵 More Pioneer & Settler Recipes of the American West🍞 Homestead BakingCornbread in a Dutch OvenThe most versatile bread of the frontier — baked in a cast iron Dutch oven buried in coals, it came out with a crackling crust and tender crumb.Ingredients:•1½ cups stone-ground cornmeal•½ cup all-purpose flour•1 tsp salt•1 tsp baking soda•1 egg•1½ cups buttermilk (or soured milk — add 1 tbsp vinegar to regular milk and let stand 5 minutes)•3 tbsp lard or bacon drippings, meltedInstructions:1.Grease a Dutch oven generously with lard. Place it over low coals to preheat for 5 minutes.2.Mix cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl.3.In a separate bowl, beat egg, buttermilk, and melted lard together.4.Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir just until combined — do not overmix.5.Pour batter into the preheated Dutch oven.6.Cover with the lid. Place Dutch oven over a bed of medium coals and heap additional coals on top of the lid.7.Bake 20–25 minutes until the top is set and a clean stick inserted in the center comes out clean.8.Let cool 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.Pioneer Notes: The ratio of coals above to coals below is the key to Dutch oven baking — roughly two-thirds of the heat should come from the top to prevent burning the bottom. Experienced camp cooks could judge this entirely by feel and instinct.Molasses BreadA dark, dense, slightly sweet bread made with molasses — one of the most affordable sweeteners on the frontier and a staple in every settler's wagon.Ingredients:•3 cups all-purpose flour•1 tsp salt•1 tsp baking soda•½ cup molasses•1 cup buttermilk•2 tbsp lard, meltedInstructions:1.Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together.2.Stir in molasses, buttermilk, and melted lard until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.3.Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a round loaf.4.Place in a greased Dutch oven or cast iron skillet.5.Score the top with a cross using a knife — this helps the bread expand evenly.6.Bake covered over medium coals, with coals on the lid, for 35–40 minutes until the crust is firm and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.7.Cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.Pioneer Notes: This bread keeps well for several days and actually improves in flavor as the molasses deepens. Settlers sliced it thin and ate it with butter, lard, or dried fruit preserves.Ash CakesOne of the oldest and most primitive breads in American history — a simple cornmeal dough cooked directly in the hot ashes of a fire. Used by Native peoples, enslaved people, and frontier settlers alike.Ingredients:•1 cup white cornmeal•½ tsp salt•½ cup boiling water•1 tbsp lard (optional)Instructions:1.Mix cornmeal and salt. Pour boiling water over and stir well. Add lard if using. Let stand until cool enough to handle.2.Shape dough into flat oval cakes about ½ inch thick and 3 inches across.3.Rake a section of your fire to expose clean, white-hot ash — not live coals, but the fine gray ash beneath them.4.Lay the cakes directly on the hot ash. Cover with more ash and a few small coals.5.Cook 10–15 minutes, turning once, until firm and cooked through.6.Brush off the ash with a cloth or green leaves before eating.Pioneer Notes: The ash imparts a faint mineral flavor and a slightly crisp exterior. When made with clean hardwood ash, the cakes are perfectly safe and deeply satisfying. This technique requires no tools whatsoever — not even a pan.🥩 More Game & Meat DishesRabbit FricasseeCottontail and jackrabbit were among the most reliably hunted animals on the frontier — fast to cook and available year-round across the plains and mountains.Ingredients:•1 whole rabbit, cut into pieces•3 tbsp lard or bacon drippings•1 medium onion, chopped•2 cloves garlic (if available)•1 tsp salt•½ tsp black pepper•1 tsp dried thyme or sage•1½ cups water or broth•2 tbsp flour•½ cup milk or cream (if available)Instructions:1.Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper. Dust lightly with flour.2.Heat lard in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown rabbit pieces on all sides. Remove and set aside.3.Add onion and garlic to the pot. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.4.Return rabbit to the pot. Add thyme and water or broth.5.Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 to 1½ hours until rabbit is completely tender and falling from the bone.6.Remove rabbit pieces. Whisk remaining flour into the broth and simmer until thickened into a gravy.7.Stir in milk or cream if available. Return rabbit to the pot.8.Serve over cornmeal mush or with cornbread.Pioneer Notes: Jackrabbit is leaner and tougher than cottontail and benefits from longer, slower cooking. Adding a strip of salt pork to the pot enriches the broth considerably.Bear Roast with Root VegetablesBear meat was hunted throughout the Rocky Mountain West and Pacific Northwest. It is rich, dark, and deeply flavored — closer to pork than venison — and was considered a prized meal on the frontier.Ingredients:•3–4 lbs bear roast (or substitute pork shoulder for a modern version)•2 tbsp lard•1 tsp salt•½ tsp black pepper•1 tsp dried juniper berries, crushed•1 tsp dried sage•4 medium potatoes, quartered•3 carrots, cut into chunks•2 parsnips, cut into chunks•1 large onion, quartered•2 cups waterInstructions:1.Rub the roast all over with salt, pepper, crushed juniper, and sage.2.Heat lard in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the roast on all sides until deeply browned.3.Add onion, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips around the roast. Pour in water.4.Cover tightly. Cook over low coals with coals on the lid for 3–4 hours, replenishing coals as needed, until the meat is completely tender and pulls apart easily.5.Rest 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with the roasted vegetables and pan juices.Pioneer Notes: Bear fat was rendered and used as a cooking fat throughout the frontier — it has a mild, clean flavor and a high smoke point. Settlers who hunted bear in autumn, when the animals were fattest before hibernation, rendered the fat into lard that kept through the winter.Squirrel and DumplingsSquirrel was one of the most commonly eaten wild meats in frontier America — abundant, easy to trap, and surprisingly flavorful when slow-cooked.Ingredients — Stew:•2 squirrels, cleaned and cut into pieces (or substitute chicken)•3 tbsp lard•1 large onion, chopped•1 tsp salt•½ tsp black pepper•1 tsp dried thyme•5 cups waterIngredients — Dumplings:•1½ cups flour•1 tsp baking soda•½ tsp salt•2 tbsp lard•½ cup buttermilkInstructions — Stew:1.Brown squirrel pieces in lard in a large Dutch oven. Remove and set aside.2.Cook onion in the drippings until softened.3.Return squirrel to the pot. Add salt, pepper, thyme, and water.4.Bring to a boil, then simmer 1½ to 2 hours until meat is very tender and falling from the bone.5.Remove squirrel pieces. Pull meat from the bones and return it to the broth. Discard bones.Instructions — Dumplings:1.Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in lard until crumbly.2.Stir in buttermilk until a soft, shaggy dough forms.3.Bring the stew broth to a gentle boil.4.Drop heaping spoonfuls of dumpling dough onto the surface of the simmering stew.5.Cover tightly and cook without lifting the lid for 15 minutes until dumplings are puffed and cooked through.6.Serve immediately.🫙 Preservation & PantryChokecherry JamChokecherries grew wild along creek banks and river bottoms throughout the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain West. Their tart, astringent flavor mellows beautifully into a rich, dark jam.Ingredients:•4 cups chokecherries, washed and stemmed•1½ cups water•2 cups sugar•1 tbsp apple cider vinegarInstructions:1.Combine chokecherries and water in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil.2.Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes until berries are completely soft and skins have burst.3.Mash berries thoroughly with a wooden spoon or potato masher.4.Strain through a fine cloth or sieve, pressing firmly to extract all juice and pulp. Discard skins and pits.5.Return strained juice and pulp to the pot. Add sugar and vinegar.6.Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.7.Boil hard, stirring frequently, for 15–20 minutes until the jam thickens and sheets