The Deliciously Simple Way Gary Cooper Enjoyed His Steak - Tasting Table

"Cooper was a two-time Academy Award winner who starred in such timeless classics as "A Farewell to Arms," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," "Sergeant York," and "High Noon." The western film icon helped define the genre as a whole, but, both on-screen and off, Cooper followed a simplicity-first dogma. Humility aside, the star certainly fits the fella-next-door character archetype of grilling steaks in the backyard, so it's no wonder that he enjoyed his steaks simply as well."

"According to a 1959 Sports Illustrated article (released two years before Cooper's passing in 1961), Cooper was known to cook up a few steaks with his family in the garden of their Los Angeles home every week on Sunday. "The active-living and unpretentious Gary Cooper family are fond of simple food," wrote Mary Frost Mabon in the article. In addition to grilled steak, the Cooper household was also particularly fond of spareribs with sauerkraut and green applesauce."

Gary Cooper regularly grilled steaks at home with his family in their Los Angeles garden every Sunday. He embraced a simplicity-first approach to food and preferred straightforward preparations. The Cooper family favored spareribs served with sauerkraut and green applesauce alongside grilled steak. Their recipe for "Crusty Spareribs a la Cooper" called for trimming fat from the ten meatiest ribs on each side, hand-selection by the local butcher, and generous brushing with Trader Vic's Barbecue Glaze. Trader Vic Bergeron published a 1950s pamphlet of barbecuing and broiling tips that aligned with these techniques. Cooper's meals reflected an unpretentious, active-living family lifestyle focused on shared outdoor cooking.

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