Cowboy Beans
Encyclopedia
Cowboy beans is a bean dish popular in the United States. The dish consists of bean
s and ground beef
in a sweet and tangy sauce. The flavor is similar to baked beans
but with a southwestern twist. Although cowboy
appears in the name, the use of canned beans, ketchup
, and barbecue sauce
means the dish is unlike anything ranch hand
s would have eaten. Cowboy beans are served stewed or baked, depending on the recipe. A typical recipe might include:
It's unclear how cowboy beans got their name or where they originated from. They are easy to prepare and variations on the recipe are available on the Internet and in cookbooks and cooking magazines. Cowboy beans use many of the same ingredients as chili beans with a very different taste.
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s and ground beef
Ground beef
Beef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...
in a sweet and tangy sauce. The flavor is similar to baked beans
Baked beans
Baked beans is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a tomato...
but with a southwestern twist. Although cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
appears in the name, the use of canned beans, ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
, and barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce is a flavoring sauce or condiment ranging from watery to very thick consistency. As the name implies, it was created as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. While it can be applied to any food, it usually tops meat after cooking or during barbecuing, grilling, or baking...
means the dish is unlike anything ranch hand
Ranch hand
A Ranch hand is a manual laborer on a ranch, such as a cowboy.Ranch hand may also refer to:*Operation Ranch Hand, a US Air Force operation during the Vietnam war*Ranch Hand Truck Accessories, an American manufacturer of heavy duty truck accessories...
s would have eaten. Cowboy beans are served stewed or baked, depending on the recipe. A typical recipe might include:
- Pork and beansPork and beansPork and beans is a culinary dish that uses pork and beans as its main ingredients. Numerous variations exist from Fabada Asturiana to Olla podrida to American canned pork and beans.-American canned pork and beans:...
- Chili con carneChili con carneChili con carne is a spicy stew. The name of the dish derives from the Spanish chile con carne, "chili pepper with meat". Traditional versions are made, minimally, from chili peppers, garlic, onions, and cumin, along with chopped or ground beef. Beans and tomatoes are frequently included...
(canned pinto beans in flavored sauce) - Ground beefGround beefBeef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...
- OnionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
- PepperBlack pepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
- KetchupKetchupKetchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
- Barbecue sauceBarbecue sauceBarbecue sauce is a flavoring sauce or condiment ranging from watery to very thick consistency. As the name implies, it was created as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. While it can be applied to any food, it usually tops meat after cooking or during barbecuing, grilling, or baking...
- Brown sugarBrown sugarBrown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
- MilkMilkMilk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
- FlourFlourFlour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
It's unclear how cowboy beans got their name or where they originated from. They are easy to prepare and variations on the recipe are available on the Internet and in cookbooks and cooking magazines. Cowboy beans use many of the same ingredients as chili beans with a very different taste.