Dried Meat
Although cowboys herded cattle, more often than not, it wasn’t they’re cattle, so forget about thick, sizzling steaks. What cowboys ate, though, was lots of dried meat, or what we’d call jerky today. Cured, salted pork was common too. Anything that would withstand a long journey.
The west was basically built over nonperishable food like dried meat. Without refrigeration and always on the road, there weren’t many options available.
