John Wayne Seasoned His Cowboy Steaks With Not One, Not 2, But 3 Types Of Pepper

The late John Wayne may not have been the top authority on steak, but he's arguably the be-all and end-all when it comes to cowboys. From "Stagecoach" to "True Grit," Wayne dominated Hollywood's Golden Age with a down-home dash of the American Wild West. Offscreen, the actor was an avid grill master with a special penchant for (fittingly) cowboy steak. For the unacquainted, cowboy steak (aka tomahawk steak) is a large, thick, bone-in cut that's part of the ribeye. Its physical grandiosity and luscious fat marbling make it a prime candidate for grilling, imparting both a mouthwateringly smoky surface sear and an all-the-way-through roast. While many grillers have their own opinions about the absolute best way to cook a cowboy steak, Wayne's preference included three different types of pepper.

In "The Official John Wayne Way To Grill" — a cookbook published after the Duke's death with the cooperation of his son, Ethan Wayne — the recipe for peppered cowboy steaks includes black pepper, red pepper, and lemon pepper. This flavorful trio comprises a simple yet impactful rub, which Wayne would coat all over the exterior of the raw meat pre-grill. The interplay of the peppers creates a bright, zesty tang, counterbalanced by major depth and sharpness on the palate. In his recipe, the pepper-rubbed steak gets left for one hour in the fridge to allow the flavors to permeate the meat. From there, 8 to 10 minutes on each side on the grill is all it takes to nail dinner, John Wayne style. 

Wayne was no stranger to innovative flavor combinations in the kitchen. The same cookbook reveals that he liked grilling chicken with tequila. For a taste of the real deal, his favorite agave-based sipper was Sauza Conmemorativo Tequila Añejo, which is still available today. Falling in the $20 range, this 100% blue agave tequila makes an affordable spirit for grilling that's smooth enough to sip, too. But, when it came to his steak, this cowboy persona with machismo to spare reached for the pepper — and lots of it. 

As celebrity foodist Alton Brown once observed, "It's safe to say John Wayne ate steak. I mean, if there's a meal more fundamentally American, we can't think of it." Arguably, no actor is more quintessentially American than John Wayne, so consider completing the meal with some of Wayne's other favorite foods and drinks that happen to function as perfect side dishes to a peppered, grilled cowboy steak. The actor was an outspoken fan of cornbread cooked in a cast-iron pan and classic baked beans, both of which would perform famously surrounding a meaty entree. Even the "John Wayne casserole" — a savory, hearty, comforting combination of Southwestern flavors — would make a complementary side dish to his go-to pepper steak. Bonus points if you chase it with a glass of Wild Turkey bourbon (one of the late cowboy's personal favorite sippers).