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The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast
1KHO 799: Cook Outside and Watch Everything Change | Justin Jackson, Horse Pen Ranch
00:47:02
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- [00:01]
A
Summer gets busy fast. One minute you're easing into warmer weather, and the next, you're juggling sports schedules, swim days, camping trips, road trips, late nights around the fire, and trying to keep the house from completely falling apart in the middle of all of it. And if you're a cat family, too, there's still the everyday stuff waiting for you at home, including the litter box. That's why Whiskers Litter Robot is such a game changer. During busy seasons, it automatically cycles after every use, so you're not constantly scooping or dealing with litter cleanup every single day. It just handles the dirty work for you. And the Whisker app notifies you about your unit. Like when a clean cycle is complete, when drawer levels are getting full, or if the unit needs attention. You can always track things like your cat's weight and bathroom usage over time, which makes it easy to stay aware of changes without having to constantly check in. Honestly, during a packed summer, having one last daily chore to think about makes a huge difference. Maintain your cat's litter while focusing on your growing family. Learn more about Whisker litter robot models and starter kits today to get set up before the summer craziness arrives. Take an additional $50 off bundles with code 1000 when you shop whisker.com 1000hours. That's an additional $50 off bundles with Code 1000hours@whisker.com 1000hours. Welcome to the 1000hours Outside podcast. My name is Jenny Urt. I'm the founder of 1000 Hours Outside, and I have a really exciting guest today. This is, like. I felt this was kind of, like, pretty happenstance how this happened, but I love what you're doing. I'm so glad you said yes. Justin Jackson from Horse Pen Ranch. And you do all these really cool things at Silver Dollar City, which I've been to. It's in Branson, Missouri. Welcome, Justin.
- [01:32]
B
Thank you. Glad to be here.
- [01:35]
A
Okay, so here's how this happened. Your wife, Janissa is so. She. It's like Dr. Janissa Jackson. She came on the show and she does a lot with brain health, and she had done a webinar. We're in Michigan. You're. You're in Oklahoma. So she done this webinar here in Michigan. Like, obviously it wasn't in Michigan. It was, like, through zoom about brain health for a bunch of homeschoolers. And so then that's how we connected. And then I had this chance to talk with her about, like, all the things that she has to and through the Course of the conversation, you came up, like, how you got, you know, you do this work and you do this kind of like almost cowboy cooking at Silver Dollar City. And I was like, well, I'm actually really interested in that, too. And then you said yes, you would come on. So I. So, once again, huge thanks for saying yes. Could you give us some of your backstory? Like, I was watching one of your YouTube videos and you were talking about your Chuck. Wait, wait, what is it even called? I didn't even totally know what it was. Your Chuck Box. I'm. I hadn't heard of that.
- [02:34]
B
I heard.
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A
I've heard the Phra Chuck Wagon, but I hadn't heard Chuck Box. So where. And then you got your farm.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Where did the interest start? Has this been, like, from childhood or more.
- [02:44]
B
Oh, goodness. Yeah. That's a great question. So probably the interest started at a young age with just cooking with my grandmother. So that's kind of where it started. Both of my grandmas, in particular, Lila, my. On my dad's side, she was really a creative cook. Would try any recipe, love trying new recipes. And I was there quite a bit off and on, so. So that started with. With her and then just the idea of cooking outside, going on camping trips with my cousins not too far from the house, you know, outside and spending the night and cooking. And I was the oldest cousin, so just cooking, you know, a lot of stuff. You're opening cans up and heating it up on the fire, on pot, you know, simple stuff. And then from there, just getting older. Doing what we call deer camp, hunting, hunting camps, and. And I was always the cook. I love the volunteer to be the cook and plan the meals out. And that happened throughout. We still do some of that today, but. So just love the idea of cooking outside over the flames, over the fire, over the coals. And then from there, kind of got a Dutch oven cooking and, you know, smoking meat outside. Just anything outside you can get outside and do it. I love it. Comes to cooking.
- [04:02]
A
Yeah. I mean, I watch some of your videos and you forget, like, we have a Dutch oven. We've done some of the stuff out there. You kind of just forget. You forget, like, how fun it is and, like, you know, that it's not. I almost kind of like that. It's not an exact science. Like, you have to pay attention. You know, we'll talk about that. You talk about, like, start with biscuits, you know, then you learn to pay attention. Right. Because they're kind of finicky. And then you can kind of make Anything else. So, okay, so at some point you're talking about like, I'm a kid, I'm with my cousins, you know, my, I'm cooking with my grandparent, my grandmas, and then I get to do all this kind of camp cooking. But to actually like have a setup at Silver Dollar City where you're showing like almost like historical cooking, basically. Like, what's the bridge there?
- [04:44]
B
You know, so the bridge was. That is the chuck wagon. So the chuck wagon, which is the official vehicle of Texas, by the way, proclamation of the governor back in the 90s, 1990s. But the Chuck wagon, chuck is just slang for food, okay? Oh, cowboys slang for food or good food. So food truck. Think about the first initial meals on wheels or food truck. So they had a fashionable way to feed. It's, it's very 1866, right after the War between the States. You have this thing happen with the population growing, more people move into cities and you had to feed people the masses. And the south was in really rough shape physically financially. The north was not in great shape financially. And so you had to feed. And there happened to be literally thousands to millions of wild cattle in Texas just sitting there. That wasn't worth a lot in Texas at the time because like $2 ahead 1866. But if you got them out of Texas, you pushed them up north to the closest railhead, which is early on in Missouri and then in Kansas. And you heard all the, you know, the, the towns, Dodge City and all that, the cowboy towns, you got them up there and you got them out of Texas. They were worth anywhere from 15 to 20 to $25 a head. So it was a money making situation and we got to feed people that needed food on the east coast, up in Chicago and in the South. And so that's kind of how it started. And these 10 to 12 cowboys pushed these 3,000 or so head of cattle. Took them about three months from South Texas all the way through Indian Territory, Oklahoma to Kansas or Missouri. And it took them about three to four months and 12 guys, 3,000 cattle, right. But they had to be fed. And this rancher in 1866 named Charles Goodnight came up with this idea of basically putting a kitchen cabinet on the back of a wa that, that held your, your cooking supplies. And the, the top could fold down and it could be a cooking surface, a countertop, if you will. And that is what we call a chuck box. And so a chuck wagon is any wagon that's got a chuck box on the back of it. In fact, the first wagon was an army surplus wagon. An army wagon that he used from one of the first cattle drives from Texas up to Colorado. A little mining town called Denver. He sold some ca into the army as well. So, so that it kind of spread after that. Everybody came up with the idea, hey, it's we gotta, gotta have a cook, gotta feed these guys and. And so that's the term chuck wagon and chuck box that I use. But from there I wrote, I actually wrote a. In high school my senior year I wrote a report. You have to have your back in. I graduated in 1995 and so you had to have your senior paper. And so I kind of was a last minute student, if you know what I mean. So I was all things, you know, if I'm going to go to the library and look for something that's going to be in the western section, right. We had cattle growing up and, and did the ranch stuff and, and had, you know, my grandpa's both watch westerns my dad, so I'm watching them too. So it was like automatic. And so he was a, it was a biography of Charles Goodnight and he was at a cattle rancher and he came up with the idea. Chuckle so I learned about the chuck wagon then and you know, kind of said, kind of thought about man, I'd love to have a chuck wagon if they're still around now fast forward, you know, 25 years later is when I got it. So it's not like I got one instantly. They're not cheap. The one I have now is a early 1900 model. It's over 120 years old. My wagon is so. So anyway that's kind of how I married the two together. Later on got to my passion for cooking outside and my ranch and heritage and my, you know, old west cowboy cooking. Got to marry the two together. And so since then we've been all over the United States cooking off the wagon. From competitions to gatherings to veterans events, rodeos, you name it. We've been everywhere and got to cook off the wagon and share, share that with people.
- [09:10]
A
Wow. Wow. I love it. I mean like Janissa, like we're talking about, you know, this, this testing that you can have and then I don't even know how it got brought. She was like, yeah, I just, you know my husband, we like without this ranch and we're outside, he does these things at Silver Dollar City. And I was like oh, what an interesting whole other side of life. Okay, I have a lot of questions.
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B
Okay.
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A
Is the chuck wagon. This is. Might be the Dumbest question ever. Is that because a nickname for Charles is Chuck?
- [09:39]
B
It's not. People think that's what people think, but. No, it's not. It was actually. That was a term they used, Chuck. You know, where's the chuck? For food? Yeah, for food.
- [09:49]
A
Okay.
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B
So it's basically. This means food wagon. Basically, yes.
- [09:53]
A
Okay. Okay.
- [09:53]
B
And there was probably something similar to it in the war. The Civil War. But. But he gets credited with. With the. The plan of the chuck box that we use today. And here's the thing. The cattle drive era was about 1866 to about 1886, in its heyday for about 20 years. There was. There was drives after that in the late 80s and then in the 1890s, but they really slowed down. You know, several inventions like barbed wire fences and stuff like that. And farmers and cowboys never got along. You can understand why. You know, you're planting a crop, and I'm pushing my cows across your crop. Not a good mixture there. And so, but fences and. And stuff came about and. And. And when they pushed these cattle up north, they literally not just sold cattle to feed people, but they also move cattle all over the United States. So we have ranches everywhere. So we didn't need to push them from Texas because there was ranches in, you know, Wyoming and Montana and Colorado and Kansas and everywhere else. So. But today I say all that to say that today they're still used on ranches for roundups. Spring roundups, fall roundups. You have to round your. Your cattle and your calves up and doctor your calves and doctor your cat. Some of these are remote ranches. Some of them are smaller. Some of them are bigger. So we still feed cowboys. They own ranches off chuck wagons. Now. They may be a chuck truck. They may be a old wagon. They may be a new wagon with rubber tires, but. But they're still used today because we still got to feed cowboys today.
- [11:29]
A
Wow. I love. I love this because if people go to your YouTube, so it's called Horse Pen Ranch, and I'll make sure. I'll put the link in the show notes, but it's just YouTube.com horsepen ranch. You can see yours. And you go through this. You go through, like, that's what I have in this drawer. And then sometimes you'll be like, this one has a rubber scrap, you know, like a spatula. They wouldn't have had that back then. But, you know, I still use it, and it works really well, but you can actually see it. And I, you know, I think, like, for this day, and age where we're struggling to get kids outside. This is something that you are interested as a high school male, you know, so we gotta find all the angles we can get right. It's like if your kids want to make a fire and cook something over it and that's going to be what gets them outside, then yes, sick.
- [12:11]
B
I'm very passionate about that part of it. I, it's one of my shows that when I do, I got approached by Civil Art City. Oh, I think this will be my fifth year being there this fall. And I'm there through from mid September through the end of October, which they call their harvest festival days. Pumpkin and harvest Festival there is their fall festival and I thoroughly enjoy going and because I get to educate a lot of people and we have a lot of folks at our shows. Every time we do a show we do three a day and it's just one of my shows. I'll talk about Dutch oven cooking and I encourage people to get kids outside and doing this because I've got a 23 year old daughter that was really exposed to it. A lot of Dutch oven cooking. But more than Even that, my 19 year old son who's a freshman in college right now, that boy is a cook and he, my daughter's a cook too. But he's, he loves outdoor cooking. He can Dutch oven cook just as well as a 60 year old veteran. That does it. I mean he's really good. He's won several contests, youth contests with cooking belt buckles and Cheyenne, Wyoming Frontier Dash rodeo, you name it, he's done it all. He's very good and he, he's, it's just the memory making part of it because I mean, you know, first of all we got to get kids outside off their devices and get them outside and, and I say that, but also we got to get our adults outside off their devices and get them outside. And there's several things you learn with this. Number one, you teach kids about fire, how to build a fire, a safe fire, how to maintain a fire, how to act around a fire, you know, how to maintain or keep it going and then, and then what to do with it when you're finished. So there's that part of it and then there's the cooking side of it. And name me a child, middle school, elementary school age kid that does not like to cook. Male or female. You're, they're creating something. I mean they're in the kitchen, they're like, whoa, I just took some flour, some butter and some this and that and made a cake or made these cookies we all love to eat and they love sweets. And so whether it's something sweet or savory or whatever, you're taking something and making something out of it and then you're eating it. Now move that outside, do that whole process outside. So you're making memories that will last a lifetime. I've had several FFA groups and four H groups over at the ranch and taught Dutch oven cooking to several groups. And it's just, I love doing it. I don't, of course, don't charge. I love doing it. It's great. But getting that in their veins and in their blood to learn to do that because it's a skill. It's also a survival skill. True. But it's a memory, you know, like a vacation, a trip. They're not going to remember what you buy them. Grandma, grandparents, parents. They're going to remember some trips you take them on, but they're going to always remember going outside in that backyard, around that campfire fire pit and, and turning something, some ingredients into something better. You know, that you can eat all from scratch. And so it's a great thing for kids to do outside. I, I just, I could go on about it all day. I'm passionate about it. So it's great.
- [15:28]
A
Yeah, absolutely. This time of year in homeschooling is really special. You're wrapping up projects, looking at how far your kids have come and helping them finish strong. It's also a great moment to reinforce key skills and build confidence as you head into summer. And as routines start to shift with travel camps and more time outside, it helps to have something that keeps learning steady without overcomplicating your days. That's where IXL can be such a helpful tool. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into homeschooling. It offers interactive practice across math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. It personalizes learning for each child, keeps them engaged and gives parents clear insight into progress. What stands out is the real time feedback and progress tracking. Kids get immediate explanations as they go and you can clearly see growth over time, what's clicking and where. A little reinforcement can go a long way. It's a simple way to finish the year strong and keep skills fresh heading into the summer. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and 1000 Hours Outside listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com 1000hours Visit ixl.com 1000hours to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. I think for a long time I underestimated how much your outdoor space impacts your day to day life because ours just wasn't working. It felt unfinished. We had a couple mismatched chairs, no real place to sit comfortably, and I've always had this idea that I'd add lighting or make it feel cozy, but never actually got around to it. Then we started looking on Wayfair and it made the whole process feel doable. We found pieces that actually fit our style. Simple, functional, a little bit modern, but still warm. And suddenly the space came together. We added seating, a few subtle decor touches, and now it's a place we naturally end up at the end of the day. The best part is how easy Wayfair makes it to get there. You can narrow everything down so quickly, compare options, read thousands of reviews, and feel confident in what you're choosing. And delivery was seamless, which matters when you're trying to upgrade a space without adding more stress. If you finally feels like a space we use instead of a void, get prepped for Patio Season For Way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things Home That's W A Y-F A I R.com Wayfair Every style every home. Your outdoor space should feel like you. And for the longest time ours just didn't. We had those random plastic chairs that somehow followed us from house to house, a patio that felt more like a pass through than a place to gather, and a grill that we kept saying we'd replace someday. It just wasn't a space we were excited to use. And then I found Wayfair and everything kind of clicked. We added simple, comfortable seating, an outdoor rug that grounded the space, and a few pieces that actually matched the look I had in my head. Now it feels like an extension of our home. We eat outside more, the kids linger longer, and it's just easier to be out there. What I love is how simple Wayfair makes the process. You can filter by size, style, budget, read real reviews from real homes, and with Wayfair Verified, you know you're choosing from items that have already been vetted for quality, and having everything in one place from seating to lighting to decor made it feel manageable instead of overwhelming. Get prepped for Patio Season For Way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop All Things Home. That's W A Y-F A I R.com Wayfair Every style every home. And so people can come see you at Silver Dollar City or they can watch on the YouTube because it just, it's inspiring and it just reminds you even if, you know, like I could cook a hot dog over a fire, you know, it's like, it just reminds, you know, there's lots more you can do than that. And do it, go do it. And if you're struggling to get your 8 year old son off of a screen and outside or your 15 year old daughter, you know, like they say, oh, we're gonna go make this and you know, we can watch Justin, he's gonna show us how to make the beans. He's gonna show us, you know, how, you know, how do you make a cake or a pie or, or whatever. Okay, so let's, let's kick it off. And you give a lot of different options. So you've got a smoker but you know, obviously that's like a bigger investment. But you have the, you know, you show the Dutch oven cooking and then you also had another guess, another thing that you were using and it was like you, it was like a slot and you would put the wood down in there and, and then like I, I don't know, it was just so cool. Like there was so many different options for it. So. And also you're outside. Oh, it's called a rocket stove.
- [19:36]
B
Oh yeah, the rocket stove. Yeah.
- [19:38]
A
Who doesn't want to use a rocket stove? Yeah, that thing was so cool.
- [19:41]
B
I got so many gadgets, I, I need to stop buying gadgets. I've also got Jenny A. I just used it at an event in Kingfisher, Oklahoma with my chuck wagon. We fed a lot of people, so that's why I got it out. And It's a homemade 3 foot wide, 200 pound skillet. So you know, you can feed a lot of people with a 200 pound three foot wide skill. It takes two grown men to move it. So I have a lot of gadgets I've got over the years and stuff. But, but yeah, all you need to get started is a simple 12 inch Dutch oven. That's all you need. You don't need much. You don't need much. And you know, I tell people you can, you can anything you cook in your oven in your home today, you can make it a Dutch oven outside, period. And there's no exceptions to that. I mean there's zero. So you don't need a Dutch oven cookbook. Now if I was selling one, damn. I may say, well yeah you do. You need my Dutch oven cookbook. But no, seriously, you don't need a Dutch oven cookbook. You just need your recipes. What'd your grandma. What'd you bake at home? What does your kids love? You know, what do you want to do? Let's do it outside. So it's great.
- [20:49]
A
And you show people how to do it. You're like, okay. And it's. I, I like, this is a word that I never used growing up, but people are using it more today is embodied. Like, connected, right? Like, I'm using my body. So one of the things that you talk about is, okay, if you put your hand, you know, five inches above this Dutch oven, and people can watch this in your videos at Horse Pen Ranch. You know, if you put your hand above it and you know you can last three seconds or so, and then it feels like it's getting hot. You're probably at 350. Yeah, it's just like, it's so much more of paying attention. Like, if I'm gonna make biscuits and you're. You just did the ones, you know, the ones that pop open and you're gonna put them in the thing. It's like if you do that at home in an oven inside, you put them on a pan that, you know on the sheet and you put it in and you, you know, beep, beep, beep to the little buttons, and then you go get them out when they're done. But this is just more paying attention. And I didn't actually understand. I thought. So I want to talk about the biscuits because you say, if you can do the biscuits, you can do anything. Biscuits are sensitive. People can go to your YouTube and actually watch this. So if you're struggling getting your kids outside, you maybe can make a $25 investment of a tube of biscuits and a Dutch oven. You could probably get it at your, like, Salvation army thrift store, because I think people get rid of that stuff. So it might even be cheaper. One can of biscuits and then the Dutch oven. And what. You have to actually pay attention. Like, you're looking. You're looking at the bottom. So can you talk about the. How the coals go at the top? The coals go at the bot.
- [22:16]
B
Yeah. So there's two ways to do this. I mean, I do it the old fashioned way because I've just. That's honestly the only. I've been doing it for 35 years outside, since I was about 15, so I'll be 50 this year. So, I mean, that's how I do it is we'll Burn down some hardwood, seasoned hardwood, oak or hickory, something like that. And then when it burns down, you're going to use the coals from that, the, the. The embers, the. The chunks of coals from that. You can also do a method where the. Use charcoal briquettes. And so you can use either one of them. I do the. I burn down wood and use the coals from that. But you're. You're simply putting heat around the bottom of the oven. And so when I say Dutch oven, it's. It's more of a camp Dutch oven, not just a Dutch oven. Because you think about Dutch oven, you can have one in that you put in your oven inside your house or.
- [23:08]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah.
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B
Stovetop. So this is one with three little legs at the bottom.
- [23:12]
A
Yeah.
- [23:12]
B
And it l. Lid. So it's got a lift lid where coals cannot slide off, not a domed lid. And so it's that kind of Dutch oven, what people call it, like I said, also a camp oven. And so you just put coals around the outside bottom and then some coals on top of the oven. I kind of COVID it up pretty good. Cover the little handle on top and. And you're baking. You're baking. And from there, you know, you got to pay attention to the wind if it's a windy day, you know, wind makes fire go hotter, makes embers glow. And so you need to adjust for the wind every few minutes. But I say if you can do. And I don't always. I never cook with canned biscuits, but I did that in this video because I'm a homemade biscuit, guys, as you can imagine. But I did it in this video to show people because you can just crack one open and try it. Okay, that burnt in. Let me try that again. Crack another one open and try it. And so it's a quick way to just teach yourself to use the Dutch oven outside with the coals and how to rotate your oven. And you know, you got to pay attention because it's a short cook time, right. And you can check the bottom of biscuits. You can take a pocket knife or a fork and flip on up with your hands, flip one up, take the lid off, flip one up. And if it's done at the bottom, then you move it off the bottom coals and continue to let it cook on the top coals so until you toast that top. So I say if you can cook biscuits, you've conquered it. You can. You can do anything. You know, you can do anything. Cakes and I mean, we do a turkey For Thanksgiving. I mean, you, you could do a roast. I mean, it's just the sky's the limit is super fun. But yeah, that's, that's the basis of it. Just get out there with a 12, I say 12 inch Dutch oven because it's a very common size. It's one of the most one you find at department stores and such and camping at camping sections. Any 13 by 9 recipe translates to a 12 inch oven. So any casserole or something like that you want to do will work in a 12 inch oven and just get out there and get after. It is so fun. It's so fun. And, and I've never been around a child that doesn't like dig it. They, they love it. They eat it up. So.
- [25:23]
A
Yes, yes. And isn't that the truth? Every single kid you wrote, name me a kid that doesn't like to cook. They love to create things, move it outside, they're really going to love it then. So if you could Invest, you know, 10 to 15 minutes to watch you making those biscuits in that Dutch oven at Horse Pen ranch on the YouTube channel, I, it might, it might like be like the sky's the limit for your family, especially if you're struggling to get kids off screens and especially as we're heading into the summer. Like, this can be a really fun thing. Can you, can you cook a dinner or two outside this summer, you know, and get into the routine of that? It's a skill, like you said, and it's also a survival skill. It's both.
- [25:57]
B
And yeah, I mean, I don't, I don't want to, you know, you never know, right? The power goes out for a month. We don't know what could happen. We don't want nothing like that to ever happen. But if something goes, you know, sideways, you know, you got some skills to be able to feed your family more than just a can of something. And if you got some ingredients, you can go outside and make, make a, make something in the Dutch oven that's, that's good and wholesome and tasty. So, so yeah, I mean, it's, it's also a skill. And I like to, I, you know, we think, oh, that's for camping. Well, they don't have to be just for camping. It can be in your backyard. Most of us now have fire pits and, and such in our backyard that we sat around with lawn chairs and make memories and do s' mores and stuff, which is great. But you know, you got a fire pit, you get some wood. Now you're Dutch oven cooking out there in your backyard. So it's not just for camping. It can be, you know, a weekend thing. So.
- [26:56]
A
Absolutely, absolutely. And then you're out there. You know what you're. If you do a longer one, you're out there for a little bit together and so, and you're paying attention. So I, I didn't realize because I think people get nervous about it burning. But you say, no, you just move it off like, so there's coals above and coals below so you can, people can actually watch it. Then you move it off the coals that are below and you, you know, you put it in the grass, you put it on another spot and so it stops cooking the bottom and then the top cooks and, and you just see from start.
- [27:21]
B
Jenny, we don't use the B word at cowboy camp. We never have burnt anything. Now, we may get it toasty, we may get it extra chewy or crunchy, but we don't use the B word. We just. Can we just move on and have fun with it? And, and, but listen, everybody's burned something in their house. It's going to happen, right? Yeah, but. No, we joke about that. But, but, but yeah, we, we just. It's, it happens. I mean, I'm the first one. I'll be at Silver City and, and we do biscuits every morning and make coffee on the campfire and in the big old pot, you know, onto how I'll make coffee and, and there's sometimes I'll serve a biscuits that I say it's a little crispy on the bottom, you know, and they, and they laugh. But it's just, I, I want to serve them, you know, they're edible, they're good, you know, so it happens to the people that do it all the time, it's just going to happen. You get distracted and that happens. But, but it's fun. It's super fun.
- [28:19]
A
So you say cakes and people can watch. I mean, you got an engaging personality. Who videotapes for you?
- [28:25]
B
My daughter or my son or my wife. Yeah, we, we. It changes. Whoever's around is available.
- [28:36]
A
Yeah. So people can see the chuck wagon, all the different drawers. And then like, you're like, okay, here's how I, I'm doing a pinto bean recipe. And you're like, most people hate pinto beans, but they have mine, they love it. You know, here's this potato salad recipe that, that like, I kind of stole, but not really. Like, they wouldn't give it to me. So I just bought their potato salad and tried to recreate it.
- [28:55]
B
That's a true story. Yeah. Those years ago. Yeah. Yeah. I've got all kinds of. I don't do. I do spurts because I mean I'm. I help with the learning RX business with my wife, the brain training business. And. And I do operate a cattle ranch. So I've got good lately. I've got some material out. I'll go a month or so without having anything out and then I'll get back at it. It's just, just getting them planned to do them. So it's not. It's just something I do for fun, you know. Yeah, followers are great and all that, but I just like to get the word out and it's just fun to do. It's really interesting to me. Like, it opened my eyes. I had people ask me to do them and so I started doing them and simple things that I grew up like fried potatoes. I don't know about you, but I'm in my area. Fried potatoes, it's pretty normal, you know, just. And, and that was a very. I thought, no, who's going to watch this video? Everybody knows how to fry a potato with some salt and pepper. I mean, this is, you know, and. But no, it was, it was huge. I was like, wow, okay. Opened my eyes to people that. There's a lot of people that you know. And like you said, like you said beans. I say that. Beans. I. There's a lot of people who don't like pinto beans. And you can imagine, you know, when you. Let me ask you this question, when you, when you hear the word cattle drive and pushing cattle up the trail, what was their main diet?
- [30:17]
A
Yeah, I mean, it had to have been beans, right?
- [30:19]
B
Everybody knows that answer. I mean, I asked that question and everybody goes, beans. Yeah. So there's a lot of folks that don't like beans and we make them really good. And you. I just like to show people, yeah, you can really be creative with beans. You just don't gotta throw some beans and water in a piece of ham and in a pot and eat it. You can be creative with it. So. So yeah, the sky's limit's fun. So, yeah, I got all kinds of videos, but I do explain how to do the actual process of Dutch oven cooking. And I got a lot of recipes. All the recipes I share are usually some kind of famous recipe or something that's tried to chew to me and I like to make it from scratch. So you're never going to see a box of cake mix or this or that on my videos, we do it from scratch, but we do it also in a way that is, can be simple, can be made outside, can be made at a camp. You don't have to bring 3, 500 ingredients to do it, you know, so, yeah, yeah, don't get too complicated.
- [31:11]
A
I, I love it, Justin. You know, I think about all these, these people that say, and, and sometimes when I am interviewing, I don't do this often, but like, if I'm getting interviewed, people ask almost every time, I can't get my teenager outside, can't get my teenager outside. What should I do? And a lot of times I talk about hiking, but, you know, some, some places aren't great for hiking. You might not be. You might be, you know, like, it's just not accessible. And I, I think this is a. Another incredible answer, which is like, can you do some of your cooking outside? And here for you, this has sustained you for decades. It's not like it was like, oh, I did it from 15 to 18, then I quit. You're like, no, I'm doing it. Decades later, there's, I'm not slowing down. You know, I'm still, I'm making this food outside. We got to eat anyway. So this might be the answer for someone that's listening in that's like really struggling to figure out, you know, how can I incorporate more of this time outside? And you just have so many ideas on there and obviously just very personable and it's, it's fun to watch. Lately, I've been more intentional about what I wear day to day and being drawn into pieces that feel effortless, comfortable, and still put together, it makes getting dressed so much simpler. And honestly, Quince has been my go to. The fabrics feel elevated, the fits are flattering, and everything just works without overthinking it. Quince makes it really easy to refresh your everyday this spring with pieces that feel as good as they look. They use premium materials like 100% European linen and organic cotton and ultra soft denim, so everything feels high quality right from the start. Their lightweight linen pants, dresses and tops start at just $30, and they're breathable, easy to wear, and perfect for repeating throughout the week without getting tired of them. And I have to say, the everyday fleece joggers have been such a win for me, especially on those cooler spring mornings. They're soft, they fit really well, and they still look put together enough to wear out of the house, which I love. Everything at quince is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands because they work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality and craftsmanship, not brand markup. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com outside for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com outside for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com outside so our, our chuck wagons. I'm in Michigan. So I mean I, I was like I've heard of a chuck wagon. Don't know a chuck box. I mean I've hardly really seen that. I do. You know, what I've seen is I've seen these like newer campers that kind of have some setups like that. Is it easier to find one in Oklahoma? Like, how was it easy to find yours? Is it easy to find a chuck box wagon from 1900 or hard.
- [33:45]
B
They're not easy to find. They're not easy to find. In good shape There. There's a. There's more. I would say though. I would say this. There's more. There's. There's more now there's more people in. Involved in it and there's a lot of nice wagons out there. So. I'm a member of the American Chuck Wagon Association. Justin.
- [34:06]
A
I love it. I love learning about subcultures.
- [34:10]
B
Yeah. So we, we. I'm actually just got off. I'm actually still on the board. I served my second term as president this last year, my last time on the board. So we have members all of. All over the world. You believe it or not. I mean you go to France or England or Germany. They're really into western culture. Not, not everybody. Right. But there's a lot of people that is into the old west and there's actually some chuck wagons over there in, in that area. Now they're not American old American wagons. They're from that. But they've, they've done a really good job of, of kind of recreating the old west in their camps. But there's a whole. There's a whole movement of. Of gatherings. Chuck wagon gatherings. We have a listed on our website, the American Chuck Wagon association website. There is a list of. There's competitions. I've. I've won a couple of competitions with a buddy of mine named Jack up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's frontier dead rodeo. Big granddaddy of them all. 1.
- [35:14]
A
What'd you make?
- [35:15]
B
2019 and 2021.
- [35:19]
A
It's for food.
- [35:20]
B
It's like most of your competitions are going to be. Yeah. So you do, you do chicken fried steak, beans, potatoes, a bread and a dessert. And you all outside, it's. Oh yeah, all outside on the coals, no propane, no nothing. And it's all sent off to a judge's off site. And they judge and it gets, it gets, it gets pretty competitive. Some of these competitions do they also judge your wagon? They also the authenticity of the wagon and, and this and, and the, the stuff you have on your wagon's got to be period correct. Your clothes have got to be period correct. So. Yeah, there's a lot of.
- [35:59]
A
You would learn so much. I love this. I didn't even know this was a theme.
- [36:04]
B
Oh yeah, it's a big, It's a big deal. I mean, you know, it's. It's a big deal. So it's getting bigger and, and I love what. You know when. Branson, Missouri, Silverado City. A guy named Mike who, who runs some of the entertainment there and, and invited me. I was. It was just a. Absolutely. Yeah, it was absolutely. And you know, they love the United States there, they love Jesus there. They just, they're just good people and they, they let me do what I do and, and I love doing it. So I get to share the history of the. And you know, we get more people that are retirement age, but we get a lot of families and young families there with kids and kids eat it up. And I'll just talk to them about, you know, chuck wagon life and what was like on the trail and then Dutch oven cooking and, and so I. One of my shows every day, I just push it. I push it and because you're right, you know, you mentioned to me that you have a Dutch oven. Yes, everybody does in their garage somewhere. And one of the, and one of the two things, they're afraid they're gonna break it. They're afraid they're gonna have to clean it. Like that's hard. It ain't. They're not hard to clean. I, I go over that. My videos as well. Simple to take care of, simple to clean. But there's this idea of I'll just keep in my garage or I'll keep it in my basement or a closet or the bottom of my cap, kitchen cabinets and. But almost everybody's got one. It's pretty funny when I, I'll say to my audience, I'll say, raise your hand if you have a Dutch oven at home. And I swear the hope there's 80 people out there, and everybody will raise their hand, and then I'll say, raise your hand if you use it often. And I swear, three people raised their hand because then no one uses their Dutch oven. So we've all got one. Yeah.
- [37:50]
A
Yeah. This. This could be the answer for so many people, you know, and then. And then it just sustains you. I mean, who even knew there's compet. I mean, it just goes to show you that nature is not, like, obsolete. It is bringing people together and. And there's these traditions, and you can learn about them, and then you can learn history, and you can be excited and you can feed people and you can just really enhance your life. I. I watched a documentary yesterday about AI and it's just like, you know, about becoming superhuman. And we're gonna. You know, our brain is gonna be attached to the cloud by 19 or by. By 2030. I'm like, I don't want that.
- [38:29]
B
No.
- [38:31]
A
And so the more that we can just do. Embody things and. And be outdoors. And I just love your focus on kids. You talk about that in your videos a lot, you know, to get the kids outside and they're gonna love to do this. I want to talk about something else because you brought up Jesus. You know Silver Dollar City there, about Jesus. I spoke at a conference in Branson. That's why we got to go to Silver Dollar City. And then we also went to Sight and Sound, so it's a cool area to go visit.
- [38:54]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [38:55]
A
And Silver Dollar City in particular has got this really interesting part because it has this cave that you can go in that has bats. I've never been to a theme park that has, like, this really cool nature element. So we really enjoy being at Silver Dollar City, and I'm hoping we can come back sometime in the fall when you're there with your. With your truck wagon. But one of the things that you talk about in one of your videos is pruning. So obviously there's all these spiritual lessons outside to teach kids too. So can you talk about your. You had a video where you were making a pie. So this was just kind of like a side part of it. But you're like, hey, we got these plum trees and peach trees, apple tree. They're not really producing. And then you learned this. I mean, God talks about in the Bible. Pruning.
- [39:36]
B
Yeah, yeah. Pruning is very. Yeah. When you. If you ever have fruit trees and you don't prune them like, I didn't for a couple years, got lazy, then you do prune you're like, oh, wow. That following spring, you're like, that really worked. You go from hard, any fruit to a lot of fruit. And it is very biblical. You know, you cut off the branches and, and trim them up and trim them back and prune them and. Because you get good fruit and not bad fruit. So I think it's part of our life too, just, you know, just working on ourselves in a spiritual way, you know, and continuing to make ourselves better and rely more on Jesus. And, and that's one of the things that with Branson, with Silverado City, I asked him, I said, well, I'm going to think about this. And they offered me the deal. And I said, do you mind if I speak about share the gospel is what I said. Do you have any problem with me sharing the gospel if it comes up? And there was a pause. And how did they say that? They said, absolutely not. We praise Jesus around here and we don't mind if you do too. And I'm like, okay, that really helps my decision right there. So they, they walk to walk, you know. So, yeah, I mean, it's. There's definitely. I try to share. I don't do that in every video, but I like to, you know, try to share a little bit of that. And, and, you know, it's. It's really great when you get a, A message back that somebody watched it even a year or two later. I'm. I just haven't. I just. Something told me to watch that video to the end, and you shared that and it, it helped me out. So, you know, you get one of them once a year or once a month and you're like, okay, thank you. That was good. And thank you, Lord, for that. So that was a good. That was good. But I, I just kind of when I felt led to do it, I just kind of stopped and did a little short, little scripture reading. It's not often, but. But it, but it, It's. It makes the videos even better. So in my mind. So.
- [41:29]
A
Yeah. Yeah, that was a really interesting one because I think most people don't have experience, personal experience with pruning. Yeah, it's probably a small amount of people, which.
- [41:38]
B
I remember that. Exactly what I said. That's been probably a year or two back. But yeah. Yeah.
- [41:43]
A
Well, you talked about how you, like, you were making a peach cobbler and you were like, you know, they basically dried up the trees. Basically. You were like, oh, I got a couple of things. But then you use. And I love this phrase. Justin, you said after you did the pruning. You said you were overwhelmed with all the fruit.
- [41:58]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [42:00]
A
Such a.
- [42:00]
B
We got to, you know, that's biblical. And you know, that's a Matthew. I'm not sure where it's at, Matthew, but Jesus with the parables talks about pruning, you know, and, and you, you know, you throw the other. The old branches into the fire, you know, use them for codes for Dutch. No, he don't say that. Hey, and one of my, one of my great parts of the Bible is the very last chapter of John, and I love this. And, and you know, he's been on the cross and resurrected. And John and Peter and some of the apostles are out in the boat and they're fishing. They can't catch anything. And Jesus is on the shore and he's cooking fish over a charcoal fire. And I'm thinking, that's pretty cool. Jesus made a charcoal fire and cooked for the. His disciples on the shore. And that's the one where Peter, he says, throw your, throw your nets off on the right side. And they do, and they, they haul in and it says the exact amount of fish that hauled in. And that's when Peter realizes it's. It's Jesus and takes off his outer garment and dives in the water and rushes up to see, you know, Jesus, but he's there at the shore and, and cooking fish for the disciples on a charcoal fire. So there you go. So even our savior did cooking outside over the coals.
- [43:25]
A
Yeah. Ah, it's so cool.
- [43:27]
B
Yeah.
- [43:28]
A
This. I got this friend they did, instead of Christmas presents this year, they did like a once a month month, like family outing type things. Some are bigger and some are smaller. So like, if someone were to start to plan, I mean, this is, you know, we're heading into spring, summer, but they wanted to come and plan and see you at Silver Dollar City, you know, in the September, August time frame. September, October time frames. What you were talking about, can you talk about like you give out actual free samples of some stuff?
- [43:53]
B
Oh, yeah, we would give out coffee, cobblers, lots of cobblers, biscuits almost every day for sure. You name it. It's hard to be coffee over the coals over the fire. It's the best way to make coffee. So. So yeah, I'm there from mid September, so just look on their calendar during their harvest festival. And I'm there when the, when the gates are open, I'm there. And so message me on Instagram or something if they'd like. And I'd love to meet them and hey, I heard you on this podcast. I love to meet them and it's, it's a great, it's a great environment. I just love, I eat it up. I just love being there. And I never thought I would, you know, I never thought I would get that opportunity and just kind of fell in my lap. And so it's a fun, fun time. And yeah, I just encourage families to, at the end of the day, just parents to get out there and, and learn a little bit before you get your kids out there. But you'll need to learn it all. You don't have to be an expert. Learn, learn with your kids how to Dutch oven cook, you know.
- [44:51]
A
Yeah, totally. Start with the business, kids.
- [44:54]
B
There's also Dutch oven societies. There's every. You have one in your town. I do the chuck wagon side of it and I do the chuck wagon cooking, which is a lot of Dutch oven cooking. But there's actually just Dutch oven people and they, they, they have Dutch of American Dutch oven. This. I don't know all their names, but there's. People are really get after it. You know, the Boy Scouts do a lot of Dutch oven cooking, so they have a big, big, big wing of that as well. So.
- [45:21]
A
Yeah, yeah, sky's the limit here. There's so much that you can do. Can you give a little bit of insight about being a cattle rancher?
- [45:29]
B
Yeah, it's. Oh, it's fun. It's fun. It's. It's a challenge these days. It's a little bit more rewarding. We're actually getting good, good price for our calves. That hasn't always been the case. Meat's been expensive in the grocery store for years, but my calves hadn't went up. But. So it's been more reward eventually here lately. But it's just that, you know, I, My daughter, my son, you know, we didn't have video games in the house growing up. They didn't. And I, I didn't. And they just, we just was outside all the time on the ranch and whether you're fishing a pond or in whatever, but cattle, you know, working. My, My son was on spring break, Oklahoma spring break, mid, mid March. And I said, bob, I said, we gotta work calves when you get here. We got to cut calves and doctor cattle and doctor calves and all that stuff. And, and so we did. We spent a couple days doing that. So. But it's, It's. They'll drive you nuts sometimes. They'll drive you crazy. But they're, they're very rewarding to have and, and and so, yeah, I've done it for years. Love doing it.
- [46:39]
A
Yeah. You know, there's a statistic, it was something like, you know, I'm butchering it, I'm going to make it up. But it's like in 1910, 70% of people worked outside, you know, and now it's like 3% of people are, you know, so it is interesting to even think about that. There's still these careers and jobs and different things that you can do that, you know, even with your truck, wagon, all these different things. It's like outside you can still grow
- [46:59]
B
up and be a cowboy. People don't realize you can still grow up and work on. I mean, you know, I'm a cattleman and I have cattle, but there's still full time cowboys on some ranches in, in the United States of America and they may not get rich, but they live a fulfilled life and they have, they raise their family on the ranch, they're married, they got kids, some of them do, and they raise on the ranch. And so yeah, there's still careers out there, there's still big ranches with cattle. So it's pretty cool.
- [47:27]
A
Thank you. Justin, I'm so thankful that we had this conversation and I hope that the listeners can really get out of this. Like, there is a lot, there's a lot you can do, a lot that can sustain you through the year. You know, your tens and your, your teens and your twenties and your thirties and you want to be outside and, and there's things that you can do that are daily, you know, if not weekly, but you can make your food out there and, and you can build relationships because there's these different clubs and societies and people can check it out on here. I'll put the links to both for your Instagram and also on your YouTube channel so that, you know, the kids can come and watch and they can watch you cooking on this chuck wagon and then possibly they can come and see you in person at Silver Dollar City. So, Justin, this has been so cool. I loved it. You know, we have a Dutch oven, like I said. So I'm like, this has inspired me to get it back out, especially turn
- [48:14]
B
the dusting off, get some oil on it and start, get after, you know.
- [48:17]
A
That's right, that's right. We always end our show with the same question. The question is, what's a favorite memory from your childhood that was outside?
- [48:26]
B
Oh, just, I don't know, just my, with my grandpa's and my, and my, my dad just outside working, spending time, you know, I've lost them all. So spending time outside, whether it's building, just learning from them, building fence or repairing a fence or picking up rocks, just the memories of that just lasting, just loved it all.
- [48:48]
A
So that's like such a powerful thing to say, isn't it, Justin? Because it's like, it's not Disney. Like you literally said, picking up rocks.
- [48:57]
B
Yeah.
- [48:57]
A
Working, being together.
- [49:01]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [49:01]
A
That made me emotional.
- [49:02]
B
Powerful memories. Just. Yeah. And to this day, you know, I just, you know, your kids grow up. How old are your kids?
- [49:10]
A
Our oldest is 17.
- [49:12]
B
Yeah. So they grow up fast. You know that already. They happen. Fat happens fast. So cherish the moments, build memories and, and make memories and, and yeah, just that stuff that to me is I just cherish all them. And it's. It's crazy. It's all behind work. But it was fun.
- [49:29]
A
Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Justin, thanks so much for being here.
- [49:32]
B
You bet. Thanks for having me. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium
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A
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B
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