Making coffee the cowboy way - campfire coffee

 The recent power outages reminded me of a time years ago when cowboy coffee saved the sanity of more than a few storm "victims."

  My family and I were staying with friends at Agua Caliente, a rural area about 80 miles east of Yuma, when a summer thunderstorm toppled power lines, causing a four-day power outage.

  The sweltering, sleepless nights left us all in dire need of coffee each morning. There was no electricity for the coffee maker, but my friends had a propane stove. So I took a large saucepot from the cabinet and made coffee the way my dad always did - the cowboy way.

  Cowboy coffee (also called camp coffee) is basically coffee brewed in a saucepot or metal coffee pot with no percolator, and of course, no drip filters. It’s just water, a pinch of salt and coffee grounds brought almost to a boil, then simmered gently for about five minutes on reduced heat.

  My dad, a lifelong cowboy, learned to make coffee that way while growing up on South Texas cattle ranches. As an adult, he usually brewed cowboy coffee outdoors over an open fire when he had a little extra time.

  But oftentimes, I was rudely awakened by "ching, ching, ching," the sound his spurs made as he tip-toed across the kitchen floor to make his coffee indoors before daybreak.

  I could hear water trickle into the porcelain coffee pot. Then I could hear my dad count out "one, two, three …" spoonfuls of coffee in his slow, southern drawl. Minutes later when he stirred down the coffee grounds, the "donkle, donkle" sound of the porcelain spoon against the coffee pot would just about send me through the roof.

   I couldn’t sleep through the symphony, so I’d just get up early and drink coffee with him.

  Cowboy coffee is by far the best coffee I’ve ever had. So I am taken aback when people say they’ve had it and hated it because it was strong and bitter and they had to pick grounds out of their teeth afterward.

  "It tastes like axle grease," some have said. Evidently, they’d been drinking wannabe coffee. Cowboy coffee done right is rich and flavorful.

  The mistake people often make is to boil it for a long time. But the secret to making good cowboy coffee is to immediately remove it from the heat source as it barely starts to bubble, then to simmer it gently on reduced heat for about four or five minutes.

  While it simmers, the grounds will sink to the bottom. After the coffee is done, adding a bit of cold water and letting the coffee sit for a few minutes before serving will further settle the grounds.

  Whenever you have about 12 or 15 spare minutes, try the following cowboy coffee recipe, handed down by generations of Texas cowboys. If your first pot comes out too strong, cut back on the amount of coffee you use next time. If it’s too weak, add a little more.

  But never, never boil it past the first few bubbles that appear. If it comes to a full boil, it froths up, and the grounds all stick to the pot. When that happens, it’s best to dump it out, rinse the pot and start over.

  As with any new recipe, practice makes perfect. And you just might appreciate a perfect pot of cowboy coffee the next time there’s a power outage, or whenever you’re out hunting and camping.

Cowboy coffee
Ingredients
Ground coffee (Try Folger’s medium roast or Starbuck’s Breakfast Blend)
Water
Salt (optional)
Cream and sugar (optional) 
Utensils
Porcelain or other metal-type coffee pot
Metal cooking spoon
Pot holders
Favorite coffee mug
Heat source  
Stove top, outdoor grill, or campfire

Steps

1. Pour desired amount of water in pot, add a pinch of salt and place over high heat. (Don’t fill water past bottom of spout).

2. When water is hot but not boiling, stir in desired amount of coffee grounds. (One tablespoon per cup of water is recommended; adjust to taste.)

3. Just as the coffee starts to boil, immediately remove pot from heat source (use pot holder).

4. Use large spoon to briefly stir down coffee grounds.

5. Reduce heat to between medium and low, and return pot to heat source.

6. Simmer gently for four to five minutes. (Watch to ensure it does not boil.)

7. Remove pot from heat source.

8. In a circular motion, slowly pour a thin stream of cold water over the coffee.

9. Put lid on pot and let coffee sit for a few minutes before serving.

10. Sit back, relax and enjoy a great cup of coffee (this is best done outdoors, preferably at sun up).

Tips

• Never wash the coffee pot with soap, which will remove the coffee oils that accumulate in the pot and (allegedly) ruin the flavor of any coffee you make in that pot thereafter.

• Dump out the last few drops of coffee, which may contain one or two grounds, from your cup.

• When the pot is nearly empty, pour the grounds out in your garden. They keep ants off your plants, and after the grounds decompose, the compost helps nourish the soil.