Archives Test Kitchen: Summer Cookout Edition

The purpose of The Compass Rose is to raise awareness of Special Collections' resources and to foster the use of these resources. The blog series also reports significant new programs, initiatives, and acquisitions of Special Collections.      

Welcome to Archives Test Kitchen, a blog series that brings history and archives to life with sometimes delicious, sometimes hilarious results! Our team at Special Collections is dedicated to testing out historic recipes to highlight culinary treasures within our collections.  

This week, the Special Collections team helps you bring some historical flare to your next Summer cook out! 

Lead Image: Fourth of July celebrants at North Texas Agriculture College, July 4, 1946, AR406-6 Fort Worth Star Telegram Collection (Link)

Summer is here and that can only mean one thing... it's really hot outside! Okay, maybe it means two things. Even though temperatures are rising into the triple digits, people still want to cook and eat outside!  

Summer cookouts are not new – people have used shared food as a way to build community for thousands of years. In Texas, the first cookouts were probably hosted by the Caddo, “who cooked venison and other game over an open fire thousands of years ago.”¹

Our collections are filled with examples of cookouts. From city gatherings to Juneteenth celebrations, from employee get-togethers to film premieres – people love to come together to eat! 

What better way to celebrate the summer cookout than to test out some historical summer recipes from Special Collections. In this edition of the Archives Test Kitchen, we test some summer treats so you can bring some historical flare to your next picnic, potluck, or barbecue! 

Recipe 1: Prickly Pear Sorbet

Recreated by: Heather Claney, Reference Services Manager

Howdy from the archives!  I should probably start with the disclaimer that cooking is not a passion of mine.  A recipe really has to jump out and look fun and easy to entice me to pull out the mixing bowl and spices.  As a self-proclaimed weekend cowgirl, I was immediately drawn to the hot pink book binding of Cowgirl Cuisine: Rustic Recipes and Cowgirl Adventures from a Texas Ranch by Paula Disbrowe (2007).  

I flipped to the desserts and, low and behold, a recipe with prickly pear.  It doesn’t get more Texas than that!    

The prickly pear cactus was actually designated the official State Plant of Texas in 1995 and was mentioned throughout the first Spanish accounts of Texas.  Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca notes, “To them [Native Americans] the happiest part of the year is the season of eating prickly pears.”²   

Be sure to check out our amazing 1555 edition of Cabeza de Vaca’s La Relación y Comentarios in Special Collections. 

A few notes to start: 

One, the fruit of the prickly pear cactus is often called tuna, which is nice to know before you do several laps around the produce section. 

Two, in my excitement, I somehow glazed over the fact that the recipe calls for an ice cream freezer, which I do not own.  As tempting as it was to use this as an excuse to purchase an ice cream maker, I was determined to find a budget-friendly alternative. 

And three, really take note when someone warns you the grocery store fruit can still have tiny spikes.  I was picking out invisible spikes from my hands all evening! 

The ingredients are pretty simple, but the recipe does require a few kitchen utensils – a zester, a food processor (I used a small smoothie maker), and a mesh strainer.  I also used an alcohol-free triple sec for a more family-friendly dessert.  The longest part for me in the process was the lime zest.  I felt like I was zesting forever and still came up a little short on the two tablespoons. 

I surprisingly loved working with fresh prickly pear fruits.  I found a non-ice cream machine option, thanks to Tessa Arias at handletheheat.com, that did not require salt, endless shaking, or stirring every thirty minutes for several hours.  I placed the mixture in a Ziplock bag, squeezed out all the air, and then placed the bag flat in the freezer.  Once the mixture was frozen, I broke it into chunks and blended it in a smoothie maker.  The texture and flavor were significantly better straight from the blender rather than scooped out later from a storage container. 

I do feel like it took a lot of fruit for the end product, so although I wouldn’t make this regularly, I would definitely make the prickly pear sorbet again for a fun gathering with family and friends.  It is very refreshing and so pretty!     

Happy Trails, y’all, or rather, Happy Cooking! 

Recipe 2: Southern Ice Cream

Recreated by: Evan Spencer, Outreach & Instruction Archivist

For my cookout recipe, I wanted to go with something that sounded refreshing for a hot summer day – so I chose Mrs. Bruce Havens’ recipe for Southern Ice Cream from the 1940 San Angelo Order of the Eastern Star Cook Book! Who doesn’t want to cool off with some ice cream fresh out of the “Automatic refrigerator”?! 

I have made ice cream before, but this recipe is very different from the custard bases and heavy cream mixtures I’m used to. The first thing I noticed was that the marshmallows and fruit are the only sugar sources in the recipe. The second thing I noticed was that it called for me to chill and whip evaporated milk, which I had never heard of before! 

Making the recipe was fairly straightforward – I melted the marshmallows in 4 tbsp of milk, cut up 1/3 cup of cherries, and added the cherries and pineapple to my milk-mallow mixture. While I was doing that, I put the can of evaporated milk in the freezer for about 15 minutes to “thoroughly chill” it, then whipped it using an electric mixer. The last step was folding the mixture together. I noticed at this point that the fruit really wanted to settle at the bottom of the bowl – more on this later! 

Mrs. Havens’ recipe called for me to “turn the cold control to highest point until mixture is frozen to proper consistency.” I wasn’t exactly sure what the coldest temperature on a 1940 refrigerator would’ve been, so I went straight to the freezer. To solve the fruit settling issue, I gave the mixture a stir after about an hour, then let it freeze overnight. 

The resulting dessert is... mildly disappointing, at least to our modern tastebuds. Instead of being creamy and soft, it is icy and lacks any real flavor conviction from either the fruit or the vanilla extract. I brought it to work for everyone to try, and the general consensus was that it was okay, but the texture was nothing like the ice cream we know and love today. I am curious if using a modern tool like a home ice cream maker would improve the texture – but that will have to wait for another edition of the Test Kitchen! 

Recipe 3: Barbecue Sauce Comparison!

Recreated by: Madeline Lowry, Cartographic Archivist

Nothing says summer like a good barbecue party! But I wanted to add a historic twist to my next event, so I decided to try three different barbecue sauce recipes from three different decades that I found in cookbooks from UTA’s Special Collections. The first recipe comes from the Dallas Woman’s Forum Cook Book (1930), the second from the North Fort Worth Woman’s Club (1950), and the third from Walter Jetton’s LBJ’s Barbecue Cookbook (1965). I attempted to make each recipe to compare the flavor palettes as a stand-alone sauce. The actual meat recipes will have to wait for another day!

All three recipes use the same base ingredients: ketchup (or as they called it in both the 1930 and 1950 recipes – catsup), Worcestershire sauce (or as the 1930s recipe called it – Lea & Perrin’s sauce), and vinegar. But the ratios varied greatly, and different spices were used in each. Each recipe called for mixing the ingredients, boiling them, and letting it simmer. I’ve listed the recipes from each cookbook below:   

Ultimately, all three recipes met the usual characteristics of a Texas barbecue sauce – bold and spicy, with a tangy after-taste. But each had their own distinctive notes. The 1930 recipe had the strongest vinegar flavor, while the 1950 recipe was the most spice forward. But in the end, I think the 1965 recipe was the winner. It had just enough smokiness to be savory but not over-power a brisket or rack of ribs. But I suppose the true test will come when the sauces are applied to barbecued meats. Perhaps the flavors will pair differently with the smokiness of a slow-roasted brisket or rack of ribs. But one thing is certain – everything is bigger in Texas – and that includes the variety of recipes for barbecue sauces to try at your next summer party!   

Recipe 4: Summer Fizz

Recreated by: Kera Newby, Director of Special Collections & Archives

Every summer cookout deserves a special drink, and I was on a mission to find a recipe that sounded fresh and light, something perfect for Texas summers. Surprisingly, there aren’t many drink sections in the older cookbooks in our collections, and most of the recipes are for warming drinks for the winter. Not exactly what I was looking for! The “Summer Fizz” from Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook, published in 1957, fit the bill, though. 

I was intrigued by the currant jelly in the recipe – I’ve never tried currants, and also, how could jelly possibly be good in a drink?! Unfortunately, the currant jelly was the one ingredient I couldn’t find. I went to three grocery stores and looked in the jam and jelly sections plus the charcuterie areas. Apparently, currants are more of a British fruit and not that accessible in North Texas. I researched the flavor profile of currants and found out they are tart with a slight sweetness. Knowing that, I decided to replace it with raspberry jelly. 

Making the Summer Fizz was a simple process. I enjoyed muddling the mint leaves and straining the raspberry jelly and mint liquid was fun, too. It came together quickly and easily, and it would definitely be a good option for when you need a fancy drink fast. 

The Summer Fizz was delicious and refreshing, with a great citrus flavor and enough mint to make it taste balanced. I will absolutely make it again, and I recommend you trying it! Next time, I might experiment with the proportions of the liquids, though. I felt like the three cups of orange juice made it a little too heavy of a drink for the summer months. I’ll probably halve the orange juice and either add a clear alcohol or more ginger ale. This would also be a perfect brunch drink if you swapped the ginger ale with champagne! 

Citations

1: Rhodes, Andy. "Bringing Texas Barbecue History to the Table." The Medallion, July/August 2005. Accessed July 1, 2025 at this link.

2: Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar and Buckingham Smith. Relation of Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. Albany, New York: J. Munsell and H.C. Murphy, 1871. UT Arlington Special Collections, Garrett Library E125 .N9 N91. Gift of Jenkins Garrett.