Battered and deep-fried bull testicles, sliced thin, served with horseradish cream and cocktail sauce; a ranch-country bar snack that survived in old-Denver steakhouses.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Rocky Mountain oysters arrived in Denver with the Front Range cattle trade in the 1860s, a ranch-economy use of branding-season byproducts. The Buckhorn Exchange, opened in 1893 by Henry H. Zietz, kept them on the menu through the 20th century alongside elk and bison. The Testicle Festival in Throckmorton, Texas popularised the dish nationally; in Denver, Buckhorn and a handful of old-school steakhouses still run them as a starter. The dish remains a tourist initiation more than a serious local staple.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Tip from the editors. Source from a real butcher or feedlot supplier in spring branding season. Quality drops fast in frozen storage; ask if your supplier flash-froze within 24 hours of slaughter.
Bull and Bush Pub in Denver is the Glendale English pub brewing house lagers since 1971, a Front Range fixture with cask-conditioned ale and a long beer list.
Signature drink: Cask-conditioned bitter and house lagers
Food: English pub menu
The Buckhorn Exchange in Denver is the city's oldest steakhouse since 1893, holding Colorado liquor license number one and a game menu that includes elk.
Signature: Elk steak, Rocky Mountain oysters, Bison burger
Order: The elk steak or the buffalo prime rib, both on the menu since opening.
Tip: The dining room is the original 1893 saloon with mounted heads on every wall; second-floor lounge is quieter. Light rail stops 50 feet from the door.
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