How would you define Wyoming cuisine? Does Wyoming have a signature dish?

The Cowboy State obviously aligns itself with cowboy culture and when it comes to food, stick-to-your-ribs fare with a large cut of a grilled or roasted meat is what dominates the mental landscape.

My Google-fu failed me in my search for a quintessential Wyoming food. One Food Network article I found about the most iconic dishes in Wyoming read more like a road trip where the author got lost in Teton County for an extended period than a look at what famous dishes were available in the Cowboy State. Even then, a lot of what is on that list isn’t anything unique to Wyoming and there are a few glaring omissions I could name. For example, chili meat is a Sweetwater County specialty the writer from Food Network missed out on. What we’re looking at this week has Wyoming in its name, but I’m still left wondering what, if anything, qualifies as a Wyoming-branded food.

Wyoming Potatoes

The name of this recipe had me thinking about what food Wyoming is famous for. This recipe comes from the University of Wyoming’s 2005 cookbook “Black Tie and Boots: Timeless Traditions from the New West.” The word recipe might be a bit of a stretch here, as it is a “mix everything together and bake” kind of dish. Simple to prepare food isn’t bad, as we saw last week with magic oatmeal cookies. This does fit the bill for a stick-to-your-ribs dish and it’s something that can go a long way using some inexpensive ingredients. But what makes these potatoes Wyoming potatoes? My best guess is due to how similar this is to the more famous Mormon funeral potatoes — making this a regional variation of that dish. We’re just missing the cheddar cheese.

What you’ll need:

• 1 26-ounce package of hash brown potatoes
• 3/4 of a cup of finely chopped onions
• 1 10-ounce can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 cup of crushed cornflakes
• 1/2 cup of butter, melted
• 1/4 cup of butter, melted
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and combine the potatoes, onions, soup, sour cream, and the 1/2 cup of melted butter into a large bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into a 9×13-inch or other shallow baking dish, then top with cornflakes and the 1/4 cup of melted butter. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Note: For reasons that are unknown to me, I neglected to add the salt and pepper as instructed while making this dish. Let me tell you, salt and pepper do a lot of lifting here. Without seasoning, the flavor is a suggestion of what tangy chicken would taste like. Not bad, but not great either. Thankfully, it’s easy to add some seasoning after you serve it. I’m personally fond of a hefty amount of pepper.