All supplies had to be hauled from miles away. Homesteaders almost always had vegetables to trade for a piece of beef and cooks drove their wagons many miles off course to get them. Camp cooks knew that tough meat could be tenderized by taking a thick cut and pounding it

They used a dull butcher knife, a chain flail or even the side of a dish

But the favored utensil among old-time cooks was the six- shooter

The standard Peacemaker colt, single action .45 caliber with a 7-1/2" barrel had good weight and balance

The barrel fit the hand, and the butt was perfectly shaped to tenderize the meat without punching holes through it

The six shooter was also used to pulverize peppercorns and other various spices.