Cowboy Cookin’

On 17 April 2017, Foodie spent a most delightful 2½ hours chatting with Cowboy (Harold Robinson) and Deb, his wife. When you talk about brisket, ribs or pulled pork, you’re talking Cowboy Cookin’ SomeWhere, or as he likes to say now, Cowboy Cookin’ SomeTime!  Living full-time in Mexico for almost 8 years, Cowboy and Deb have settled on a lovely beach in a very comfortable condo. The added bonus for Cowboy is the bodega where he has his smoker, second oven, and a variety of other appliances that help him cook and prepare.

Prior to Cowboy meeting Deb, he hosted a barbeque on the first Saturday in June. He tells me he fed between 300 and 500 people, all on his dime. He provided all the ribs, a keg of beer, and a half gallon of the most popular alcohols available. Once the beer and booze were gone, the guests had to provide their own drinks. This First-Saturday-Party continued after Deb and Cowboy married, then after 18 years, the June party became a Christmas party. Again, food and beer and booze, but the guests had to bring a child’s gift, which was turned over to Toys for Tots.

Cowboy didn’t start out to be a chef. His father owned a laundry and Cowboy worked for him driving the delivery truck, making stops at restaurants. Being the friendly guy he is, he became interested in the different types of cooking in the different restaurants he was visiting. He learned a lot just observing what goings on took place in a kitchen. He credits Dewy Fitzpatrick, an old pit boss ( someone who cooks barbeque) for giving him the confidence to continue on with his cooking. Over time Cowboy developed his own rubs for different types of meat, and also his own sauce. He prefers a thinner sauce unlike most barbeque sauces on the market today.

Wanting to own a cook trailer, he built one himself while he was still working full-time. It was set up with all the appliances he needed to cook ribs, burgers, brisket, or even fish and chips. When Katrina hit New Orleans, Cowboy and Deb headed over – Cowboy to cook for anyone who needed food, mostly workers, and Deb, who worked for Global Risk Solutions, to deal with the massive oil spill that occurred when the tower spilled its oil contents over houses and the surrounding area. They spent a year there, and then began their trek towards Mexico.

With the strict Board of Health rules in Texas, Cowboy decided to sell his trailer. He sold it to a guy who worked for UPS, and that cook trailer is still in use today. With a van full of select items, the couple left Texas and headed south. Deb was still dealing with the oil problems in New Orleans, so they took five days to get here with Deb needing a hotel with internet to work on her job, daily. Grass does not grow under the feet of these two, and before long, Cowboy Cookin’ SomeWhere became know by word or mouth around the Chemuyil / Akumal area. Helping his friend Eddie who has a tour company , Cowboy has cooked for these tours on Chemuyil Beach, Xcacel Beach and Soliman Bay.

Cowboy and Deb will do a complete party for you. You pick the items from their menu and they will do all the set-up, food, plates and flatware and even tables and chairs, without drinks. All for $25 US per person. You can order the fixings directly from Cowboy if you prefer to do the party yourself.

They smoke their own bacon and make breakfast sausage meat. Along with brisket, ribs, and pulled pork, which the local Mayas call Cowboy Cochinita, he will also do chicken.

Cowboy or Deb can be reached at [email protected]  Their MX phone is 984-105-0125, or call US phone 903-450-6505.