Part of the beauty of the Calgary Stampede is that it represents different things to different people. To some, the focus is firmly on the rodeo. For others, Stampede is a non-stop, multi-genre music festival.
But for foodies, Stampede is all about the snacks. You could — and absolutely should — go down to the grounds to indulge in some midway treats and hit up some of the city’s finer free pancake breakfasts throughout the week. But for those days when you feel like getting into the Stampede spirit but aren’t up to heading downtown, these locally produced snacks should do the trick.
Nothing says “cowboy cuisine” like beef jerky, and anyone who has tried local artisanal dried meat knows there’s a world of jerky that goes above and beyond the stuff sold at a typical gas station. One of the newer providers on the market is Pioneer Butchery and Charcuterie, which started its Calgary-based production facility in 2019. The company is a collaboration between two siblings — butcher Greg Dixon and his brother Allan, who runs the business side of things — and chef Taylor Gant.
Gant and Greg Dixon met while working together at the also excellent Empire Provisions and soon started creating their own chef-driven packaged meats. The initial idea was to create products from game meat, but that evolved into sausages, burgers, and charcuterie items made from locally sourced and naturally raised beef and other proteins. Some of Pioneer’s products are good versions of the s.