The Beef Craze

Nothing says the American West better than the word beef. The beef craze of the 1860s-80s inspired pioneers to create new recipes. The cattle trade forged paths like the Chisholm Trail and brought about barbed wire, an increased number of railways and farmers experimenting with cattle breeds. It also brought range wars, thievery and murder. But sometimes the cow itself offered the biggest surprise. In 1871, a butcher in Corvallis, Oregon, got more than he bargained for when he butchered a cow