BREWING TIPS: Cowboy Coffee

Cowboy coffee has been made for centuries by soldiers, campers, and wranglers plus anyone who wants to "boil" coffee with its grounds over an open flame. It's as simple to carry the ingredients when backpacking as it is when herding a range of cattle.

The little campfires, rapidly increasing to hundreds in number, would shoot up along the hills and plains, and as if by magic, acres of territory would be illuminous with them. Soon they would be surrounded by the soldiers, who made it an inevitable rule to cook their coffee first.
- John D. Billings from his 1861 report on food and fixin's of the Civil War soldier

Cowboy coffee has been made for centuries by soldiers, campers, and wranglers plus anyone who wants to "boil" coffee with its grounds over an open flame. It's as simple to carry the ingredients when backpacking as it is when herding a range of cattle. Settling down for the evening after a long day around a campfire only adds to the pleasure of this brewing technique.

While not the most sophisticated way to brew coffee, it is an acceptably "lazy" way and has even given way to an old phrase, "coffee boiler" or a person who is lazy, a shirker, someone who would rather sit 'round the hot coffeepot than get up and do something, anything.

Recipes for cowboy coffee are legion and we offer here just one. Despite the outdoor location, don't hesitate to pack measuring spoons as exact measurements do make the best coffee. Practice makes perfect and it gives you something wonderful to do while you're outdoors. If you're really lucky, nobody's cell phone works, the brightness of the stars will illuminate your way, and there's nothing left but to enjoy nature, each other, and a great cup of coffee.

FEATURED RECIPE:
Cowboy Coffee

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