So you made it to the opening weekend of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and now you have a whole three weeks ahead to think about the food. Maybe you had a plate of brisket and sausage from Coburns BBQ or a chicken fried steak with pepper gravy from the Reata Backstage Club. Or perhaps it’s corn dogs and funnel cakes that make you follow your nose above all of the other – ahem – stock show smells. Or maybe you can’t make it this year and you long for the tastes that we’ve come to associate with rodeos, horse shows and cowboys.
If you aren’t one of the (many) Fort Worthians who make it to the Stock Show almost daily during its January-February run time, there is relief on the food front. You can make many of these amazing creations at home, and I’m here to help. If you want to recreate the animal smells you’re on your own.
Let’s start with chicken fried steak. While everyone who’s lived in Fort Worth for more than a minute knows you can rarely beat Reata’s version (though a trip to Horseshoe Hill is a pretty good tie), this is doable at home. One of the gold standards for online recipes is The Pioneer Woman, and her chicken fried steak recipe can hold its own. It’s good, it’s not too difficult, and there are no outlandish ingredients.
Next, the humble corn dog. I make my kids gluten-free corn dog bites – they take less than 20 minutes to whip up, they keep in the fridge, and you won’t miss the gluten for all the corn, sugar and butter (I promise).
Here’s the recipe.
Ingredients
▪ 1/2 cup fine ground corn meal
▪ 1/2 cup gluten-free flour blend
▪ 1 cup buttermilk
▪ 1 tsp baking soda
▪ 2 tbsp sugar
▪ 1 egg
▪ 2 tbsp melted butter for the batter
▪ 1/2 tsp salt
▪ 6 regular hot dogs
For the pan
▪ 4 tbsp butter
▪ 4-8 tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
▪ Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the egg, melted butter and buttermilk. Stir until just mixed.
Chop each hot dog into four or five bite-sized pieces.
Put the hot dog pieces into the bowl of batter, then mix it well, coating each piece.
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed or cast-iron skillet. Turn down to medium. With a tablespoon, pick up individual hot dog pieces and coat them with the batter. Place them on the hot oil and cook for just a few minutes, watching closely. Turn them with tongs until all sides are golden brown. Remove from pan immediately. Serve with ketchup or mustard.
If it’s brisket you’re longing for, I hope you have a whole day to spend on creating this masterpiece. Food and Wine Magazine has a recipe that gives explicit instructions on how to make food writer Robb Walsh’s Texas Barbecue Brisket.
And last but not least, I do not know what this heavenly looking pineapple concoction is from Fruteria Cano but I intend to have one when I make it to the rodeo. I recreated what I envisioned this to be and, no, it’s not the most practical thing to make for myself in January but it happened – and it had rum.
For my version, I sliced off the top of the pineapple and pulverized the inside with a sharp knife. I pulled out a few chunks of the pineapple to make room and added about two oz lime juice and 2 oz Captain Morgan spiced rum. Then I topped the concoction with spray whipped cream – but not any spray whipped cream. I used Madagascar Vanilla Chantilly Creme from Isigny Ste Mere (purchased at Whole Foods), which, while pretentious, made a big difference in flavor. Just add a straw and you have possibly the messiest but most fun drink of all time. If you are sidelined with Omicron or just can’t make it to the Stock Show this year, I highly recommend making this one just for fun. If you do, be sure to tag me in a photo on Instagram @ModernHippieKitchen and @FWBusinessPress. We want to see your creations!
About the cook
Sarah McClellan-Brandt first wrote for the Business Press in 2003-2006 as her first job out of TCU, and it only took her a decade and a half to figure out that food writing might be her calling. She created the recipe blog Modern Hippie Kitchen in 2020 for the same reason many new food bloggers did – to quell pandemic boredom and share the cooking lessons she’d been teaching herself and learning from poring over dozens of cookbooks. Sarah has lived in Fort Worth since becoming a Horned Frog in 1999 and lives with her husband, a martial arts school owner in Aledo, and two “cooking assistants” who go to Lily B. Clayton Elementary. When she’s not doing her full-time job as a social media specialist for a hospital system, she’s either cooking or growing things to cook, or thinking about what to cook next.
Have food tips or ideas? Write me at smcclellan@bizpress.net.