HOUSTON – Welcome to Made in Texas, where we write about products made in the Lone Star State.
Today we’re featuring the 19th-century Texas invention that played an essential role in a cowboy’s life — the chuck wagon.
Recommended Videos
What is a chuck wagon?
A chuck wagon was a mobile food cart that served as a kitchen, pantry and storage space for the cook, also known as Cookie, who had to feed cowboys as they moved cattle through open prairies.
The 19th-century invention was developed by Texas rancher Charles Goodnight at the end of the Civil War in 1866, according to Texas Monthly.
The story behind the chuck wagon
The rolling kitchen could feed an entire crew of cowheads, most of whom were teenagers, during their long cattle drives outside of the Lone Star State.
Meals consisted mainly of beans and biscuits with the ocasional dessert, according to the National Cowboy Museum.
To the young cowboys, the chuck wagon was much more than just a mobile kitchen, though. It was essentially their home and a place where they all gathered while out on trail rides, according to the American Chuck Wagon Association.
Prior to the war, the working men would carry a few days worth of provisions in their saddlebags, or would load groceries and cooking equipment on a cart drawn by mules or horses, according to Texas Monthly.
Today, the modern version of chuck wagons are the food trucks we all know. The mobile food joints are commonly located outside construction sites, factories and near busy business areas where workers can gather around during lunch time to enjoy their freshly-prepared meals while on break.
You might also see a version of a chuck wagon at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo during the popular horse-led chuck wagon races every night before the evening’s performer.