A ranch's cook shack was a private realm ruled over by a cantankerous master cook. He was a permanent member of the outfit and wielded even more power than the itinerant cooks who filled in on roundup and on the trail. Read more . He slept in the cook shack rather than in the bunkhouse, and he made certain the hands showed proper respect - which he sometimes enforced with the broad end of a skillet. His authority lay in the fact that he provided one of the single most important elements, along with sleep, that a cowboy both cherished and needed. And the food had better have been top notch, otherwise, top hands wouldn't work for such a place. Below are some terrific authentic cowboy recipes