82 texashighways.com (^) Photo: Nathan Lindstrom (top left); Michael Amador (top right); Eric W. Pohl (bottom)
omnivores, the hogs were willing to eat
almost anything and, if free-ranging,
foraged for most of their food around
the homestead. Pigs were used for their
hams, chops, loins, ribs, bellies, and
trotters in dozens of dishes. The fat,
rendered into lard, was used for baked
goods and grease for the skillet. Corn
was served as a side dish in the forms
of corn pone, hoecakes, corn muffins,
scratch cakes, spoon bread, corn dodg-
ers, johnny cakes, hominy bread, and
hush puppies—all brothers and sisters
in the cornbread family.
“One pint of [corn]meal, mixed very
thin with water, three eggs, one table-
spoon of lard, one-half tablespoon of
butter, one teaspoon of yeast powder,
and a little salt,” reads the cornbread
recipe in Texas Cook Book, published
in 1883 by the Ladies Association of
the First Presbyterian Church in Hous-
ton. The cookbook represents an amal-
gamation of Southern recipes and re-
gional ingredients, often reflecting the
skills and inventiveness of household
cooks who, up until the end of the Civil
War, were frequently slaves.
Hundreds of miles away, Central Tex-
ans’ tastes were also expanding thanks
in part to immigrating Germans. The
Germans favored lager, a type of beer
requiring cool, slow fermentation. The
mid-1800s saw a proliferation of Ger-
man breweries across Texas, kickstart-
ing regional craft brews that, over a 150
years later, have seen a renaissance
with hundreds of new breweries and
brewpubs now flourishing throughout
the state.
The gradual settlement of West Texas
and the rise of cattle ranching created a
PLATES
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
LEFT: Cornbread at
Mikki’s Cafe; jerky from
Brockhouse Jerky; pint
and beer garden
at Faust Brewing in
New Braunfels.
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