Why Ree Drummond's 12-Hour Iced Coffee Method Is Still A Time Saver
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That mornings can be tough may be the understatement of a lifetime. There's always something in the way of you getting out the door on time. If you haven't burned your breakfast so far like the "Friends" theme song goes, consider yourself one step ahead of the game. Making coffee might seem like a small task, but if you're rushing out the door, even the five minutes it takes to make a cup of pour-over coffee is too long, and forget about the six to eight-minute wait for a perfect cup of French pressed (via Counter Culture Coffee & Serious Eats). Plus you have to tack on the time to boil the water. Oh, and by the way, you've been pouring coffee wrong your entire life anyway.
If you want to save time in the morning, cold brew is a great way to go. Whether you buy a bottle, stock up on Trader Joe's concentrate, or make your own ahead of time, all you have to do in the morning is pour and you're ready to head out the door or settle down at your workstation in mere seconds. And if you really want to save time, time in the morning and time the night before or shopping time or whenever you'd ordinarily prep or buy your cold brew, try Ree Drummond's ingenious make-ahead cold brew coffee concentrate for up to 30 servings of caffeine from one prep.
Ree Drummond's time saving trick
Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman has a trick to get you out the door for a whole month with only a few minutes of work. Admittedly, it does require 12 hours of hands-off prep (per The Kitchn). But even so, the recipe makes an astounding 24-to-30 servings of cold brew concentrate. To make this liquid gold, you'll need at least one 12-quart plastic food container, available on Amazon, a mesh strainer, and some cheesecloth.
To make this time saver, and as Drummond points out, potential money saver, as it's so good you won't be running out to buy iced coffee while it's in your fridge, start with 16 oz of ground coffee. Empty the coffee into your plastic bucket, add eight quarts of cold water, stir well and cover with a lid or saran wrap. Allow it to brew at room temperature for 12 hours. Then you'll need to get out a second container large enough to hold eight quarts of liquid (Drummond uses a second of the same buckets, but you could probably use a large mixing bowl). Place the strainer over your second container and cover the strainer with cheesecloth. Pour the liquid through the cheesecloth and strainer.
And voila, you're done. Coffee for literally days. Decant it into a large pitcher if you want to be fancy and store it in the fridge.