Braxton Taylor
The second weekend in July marks the celebration of Rendezvous in my hometown. Folks are clad in buckskins, bottles of unlabeled liquids are passed around, and joy and mischief are unanimously spread. The weekend starts on Thursday, there are rodeos every night, traders set up in white canvas tents around town, and the bars never shut down.
The pinnacle, though, is the Rendezvous Pageant on Sunday. It’s a historical reenactment of the Rocky Mountain fur trade specific to the upper Green River Valley. The Sublette County community has come together to put this on since 1936. The pageant features historical figures of the time known by many, like Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Jedediah Smith, Joe Meek, and more. There’s pony dancing, a horse race, and other impressive displays of horsemanship.
In the backdrop of all this, a humble pot of stew sets in a cauldron above an open flame. And it’s not just a prop, it’s what the cast eats for lunch. My friend Elaine made this Rendezvous Stew for over 25 years and recently passed the torch to me. She gave me this recipe and also permission to share it with you all here.
It’s a simple, hearty, and delicious stew, and can feed over 20 people. If it’s good enough to sober up some modern-day mountain men, it’d probably fit in pretty well at hunting camp, too.
Read the full article here