Hoka:
Actually, back in my Army days...that's the way we also made coffee (in either 10 or 15gl pots), 'in the field'.
Now, about the closest the Mrs. and I get to 'Cowboy Coffee' is using our percolator.
Anyone make cowboy style coffee?
- Thread starter Rusty Blade
- Start date
Actually, back in my Army days...that's the way we also made coffee (in either 10 or 15gl pots), 'in the field'.
Now, about the closest the Mrs. and I get to 'Cowboy Coffee' is using our percolator.
I just use a pour over Comet coffee pot when I want Deer Camp aka Cowboy coffee.
Like Hoka said but I like to add a pinch of saltThe Duke wouldn't use a French press!
Never tried salt, but egg shells occasionally went in if available.
I dunno. I think we’d all be a bit surprised by what the Duke might do.
A pinch of salt and an eggshell work just fine in a press.
A pinch of salt and an eggshell work just fine in a press.
I believe the recipe is something like this: -
Boil your water, then take it off the flame to cool down slightly for about 45 seconds to a minute. (The ideal temperature is 200°F or 94°C) If you're making just one cup, 30 seconds should be enough.
Add the grounds.
I'm not going to suggest the amount of grounds to add as that is very subjective, & depends on your bean, roast & personal preference. Also your spoon's size.
Stir 4 minutes.
Your coffee is ready...but now the grounds are floating on the top of the coffee.
You don't want them in your mug.
Now if you have a filter, you can simply filter off the grounds, but in the days when filters were not available on campsites, two methods were commonly used to settle the grounds, depending on what was available at hand.
Fair warning - I have not tried either of these methods, since I make my coffee at home & have a filter to hand.
Method 1. - Adding some cold water to the sides of the pot is said to settle most of the grounds.
Method 2. - If you add break up some eggshells & sprinkle them right on the grounds, the albumen will coagulate the grounds & they can then be removed with judicious use of a spoon.
There is a third method, which I have personally seen used, but not by cowboys.
Method 3. - Stir the coffee vigorously in the pot. The swirl will make the grounds collect towards the center. Use a dipper or cup to dip out the coffee in the area between the center & the edge of the pot. About half of the coffee can be dipped out this way. The rest of the guys are out of luck...
Boil your water, then take it off the flame to cool down slightly for about 45 seconds to a minute. (The ideal temperature is 200°F or 94°C) If you're making just one cup, 30 seconds should be enough.
Add the grounds.
I'm not going to suggest the amount of grounds to add as that is very subjective, & depends on your bean, roast & personal preference. Also your spoon's size.
Stir 4 minutes.
Your coffee is ready...but now the grounds are floating on the top of the coffee.
You don't want them in your mug.
Now if you have a filter, you can simply filter off the grounds, but in the days when filters were not available on campsites, two methods were commonly used to settle the grounds, depending on what was available at hand.
Fair warning - I have not tried either of these methods, since I make my coffee at home & have a filter to hand.
Method 1. - Adding some cold water to the sides of the pot is said to settle most of the grounds.
Method 2. - If you add break up some eggshells & sprinkle them right on the grounds, the albumen will coagulate the grounds & they can then be removed with judicious use of a spoon.
There is a third method, which I have personally seen used, but not by cowboys.
Method 3. - Stir the coffee vigorously in the pot. The swirl will make the grounds collect towards the center. Use a dipper or cup to dip out the coffee in the area between the center & the edge of the pot. About half of the coffee can be dipped out this way. The rest of the guys are out of luck...
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Wikihow has a tutorial with pics How to Make Cowboy Coffee
My thought was put bring a kettle to a boil and then add the hot water to my pot. Wait a few littles and then add the coffee I have ground. Bring it to a simmer and then turn it off.
The only advantage may be that you don't have a paper filter catching the oil in the coffee.
The only advantage may be that you don't have a paper filter catching the oil in the coffee.
My mother in law made it all the time. She used egg shells to settle the grinds, not the whole egg!
It's my preferred method of making coffee at home. A little more flavour than an Aeropress.
The extraction time depends on the coarseness of the grounds. I like a fast extraction (and fine grind) is best to avoid too much of the bitter flavours, which seem to come out later in the process.
I suspect that's the rationale behind the espresso process. With highly concentrated coffee, the bitter flavours can be overpowering (as you probably know if you've had a bad espresso). The very fine grind and high pressure in an espresso machine lets you get all the good flavours out quickly.
I mix a muddy paste with a little cold water then pour on boiling water. Give it a stir and, with a very fine grind, it's ready to pour almost immediately. Leave for longer with a coarser grind. A tea strainer will catch most of the grounds.
The cup of coffee will become slightly muddy towards the bottom but that never bothered me. Just leave the very last gulp.
The extraction time depends on the coarseness of the grounds. I like a fast extraction (and fine grind) is best to avoid too much of the bitter flavours, which seem to come out later in the process.
I suspect that's the rationale behind the espresso process. With highly concentrated coffee, the bitter flavours can be overpowering (as you probably know if you've had a bad espresso). The very fine grind and high pressure in an espresso machine lets you get all the good flavours out quickly.
I mix a muddy paste with a little cold water then pour on boiling water. Give it a stir and, with a very fine grind, it's ready to pour almost immediately. Leave for longer with a coarser grind. A tea strainer will catch most of the grounds.
The cup of coffee will become slightly muddy towards the bottom but that never bothered me. Just leave the very last gulp.
That sounds like the traditional Czech Turkish coffee. Very finely ground coffee with hot water poured over it. One stir and the grounds sink to the bottom. I had some in Prague many moons ago but it tastes the same at home. I haven't made any in a while. I'll have to try it again.
The grounds refused to sink. Maybe too coarse.
Back when Folgers came in a metal can my dad used to put the old (empty) can on the stove. Add a couple scoops of grounds from the new can and a pinch of Copenhagen. Fill with water and boil. He did this until the new can became the old can. Rinse and repeat. He called it cowboy coffee and that's all he ever drank. I have never tried it.
Here in Texas all the cowboys I know drink drip, press, or espresso.
The Duke wouldn't use a French press!
From the looks of that pot in his hand, someone else used a french press and poured it into the fancy silverplate coffee pot for him.
I'm like 99.9% sure tobacco is poison if ingested. (More poison than if smoked.) People have attempted suicide by eating cigarettes. This is probably a quite bad idea. I'm not sure what changes they have made to the snuff products that you "can swallow" (snus), but in general swallowing tobacco is a bad idea. Perhaps not an issue in such a small dose, but I wouldn't risk it to make my coffee taste worse.
I have occasionally made coffee in my Moccamaster with my cowboy boots on. Does that count?
Definately!!
So long as that was all you wear wearing while making it.
So long as that was all you wear wearing while making it.
