Norman’s French Canadian Egg Coffee

Norman’s French Canadian Egg Coffee

My camp on Lake Ste. Kathryn

My first trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula is finished and I had a great time. I didn't do a lot, mostly relaxed and fished. My son had the three day weekend (Memorial day) off, so he joined me on those days. It was good spending time with him again.

One of my favorite parts of camping is my morning ritual of making coffee. I always take the dogs for a walk first thing and then stop at the well for coffee water on the way back. My old battered coffee pot has been with me for decades and I use it every day I'm camping. 

Camper is guarding my old coffee pot.

Do you ever wonder how people made coffee before they had Mr. Coffee machines, or electric percolators or coffee presses? How about with just a pot? Here’s how.

When I think back on the many camping trips I took with my dad, I always recall him making egg coffee. In the later years he  had a blue enamel coffee pot which was bigger than my old aluminum one. Before that he used the same pot I use today. I kind of absconded with it. 

My old coffee pot and my Dad in 1986.

I remember my dad's first chore each morning was the ritual of making egg coffee. I’m proud to say that I continue his tradition. 

Years ago I would use Stewarts coffee for my egg coffee because it had more flavor than the other canned coffee. That changed when I first tried Starbucks French Roast. This coffee has the robust flavor for the North woods.

For a couple of years, a retired truck driver who tends to many of the campgrounds in the Ottawa National Forest would stop by for a cup of coffee whenever he saw my kitchen tent. I haven't seen him recently, so I hope he is well. After about his tenth visit over the course of two years, he drained his coffee cup and said, “You know, your coffee is always so much more flavorful than mine. How do you do that?” Now he knows, and you will too, after you try this recipe.

1 cup freshly ground Starbucks 

French Roast coffee

1 large egg in shell

Dash of salt

10 cups of well water

Preparation

Get an old fashioned campfire coffee pot out. No! Not one with a percolator basket, If it has a percolator basket, throw that away and use the empty pot. Fill it with about ten cups of water and bring it to a hard boil.

While the water is on the stove, add the ground Starbucks to a bowl or large cup. Place the egg in the coffee. Yes, I know it is in the shell. You want that. Add a dash of salt. Now, with your fork, break up the egg. Mix the egg, shell and all, with the coffee grounds until all the grounds are wet with the egg mixture. Set aside until the water is boiling.

When the water is in a rapid boil, remove the pot from the heat and add the coffee-egg mixture. Stir. Return the pot to the stove but lower the heat. Bring it back to a boil, but watch it carefully, because it will boil over if you are not careful. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to just keep it at a gentle boil. Let it simmer like that for five minutes. Stir it once. Turn off the heat and add a quarter cup of cold water over the coffee grounds that are still floating. Cover and let it sit for five minutes. 

Serving

Now, I hope you aren’t going to ruin this coffee with all kinds of cream and sugar! I drink my coffee black and, therefore, I believe you should too. The first pour, you may get a couple grounds that got caught in the spout. After that the coffee will pour clear. 

I recommend three or four cups before you make breakfast.  Keep the pot on the campfire, just off the flame to keep warm. Then serve the coffee with potatoes fried in olive oil, grilled smoked sausage, eggs over easy, toasted and buttered English muffins and a large tumbler of orange juice. After breakfast, have at least one more cup of coffee. I always do.