Having Steel-Cut Irish Oats Ready in the Morning

[mjalazard]

I have found an excellent quick cook compromise. Coaches Oats have an excellent tecture and nutty taste. They are slightly toated. I buy mine in big mylar bags at Costco. Give them a try. For a quick hearty oatmeal fix, far beyon the rolled oats, Coaches Oats cannot be beat.

Mike

[Borgstrom]

I adore steel-cut Irish oats like McCann's, and in a perfect world I'd have 'em ready to go every morning when I stumbled down the stairs. However, I don't really know how to do the overnight thing well.

Does anyone have a good method? I have a Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice cooker; would the congee setting work overnight? Ratios? Help?!?

Zojirushi actually has a recipe that shows how to prepare steel cut oatmeal.

[Fat Guy]

This is one of the best uses for the microwave. We almost always have several days' worth in the fridge, cooked according to package directions, with raisins added. Put a portion in a covered bowl with a splash of water, microwave for one minute, stir, microwave for another minute. A larger portion may need a third minute, or a fourth in a weaker microwave.

[Chris Amirault]

Much joy this morning. I used Borgstrom's approach more or less:

I add 1 cup of oats and 3 to 4 cups water, select the porridge setting (the first time I tried one of the rice settings and it boiled over, making a sticky mess), and set the timer to have everything ready at 7am.

I haven't figured out the timer part yet, so I just turned it on at 11p and they were holding steady at 7a. Excellent, though a bit less toothy than I'd like; I'll cut back on the water a bit.

So do you set the timer to start at 6a? Or what? I haven't used the timer before.....

[Borgstrom]

Much joy this morning. I used Borgstrom's approach more or less:

I add 1 cup of oats and 3 to 4 cups water, select the porridge setting (the first time I tried one of the rice settings and it boiled over, making a sticky mess), and set the timer to have everything ready at 7am.

I haven't figured out the timer part yet, so I just turned it on at 11p and they were holding steady at 7a. Excellent, though a bit less toothy than I'd like; I'll cut back on the water a bit.

So do you set the timer to start at 6a? Or what? I haven't used the timer before.....

You set the timer for when you want it finished; the cooker figures everything else out. It's nice to be awakened by the smell of cooking oatmeal at 6:30am, and then to hear the cooker's timer tune go off at 7:00am.

[Chris Amirault]

The damned thing really is smarter than me.

[llc45]

I made too much oatmeal this week as I forgot my husband would be away Mon-Weds so had a bunch to use up. I normally will throw into a baked good or a meatloaf but also had some leftover asian chicken to use up. So I made a really quick "asian" soup (almost a porridge) with chicken stock, onion, broccoli, carrot, sesame oil, the leftover chicken and the steel cut oats, with ginger, garlic, and crushed pepper. Never tried to use it like this before but it was actually very good. It really worked the same way as leftover rice.

Wondering if anyone else has ideas for savory recipes as I probably make too much at least once a month.

[lmarshal1]

I use my slow cooker on low heat, spray the inside with cooking spray, add one cup steel-cut oats to 3 1/2 cups water, add one apple cut up in small bits, and two tablespoons of brown sugar. I start it about 11 PM and it's ready by 6 AM. It's also good with raisins and cut-up dried apricots or dried cranberries or chopped nuts. lkm

[Chris Amirault]

Round two: 3:1 water:oats, some salt and sugar, and Zojirushi set to be done at 7a: perfect.

Overnight cooking was ok but not great; later that evening (about 20 hours after they were originally cooked) they had gotten slimy. Best to get them into the fridge shortly after having been cooked if you want that toothy bite.

[Kouign Aman]

?You left them in the rice cooker for 20 hours?

I assume I misunderstand?

[Chris Amirault]

Yep: left 'em on by accident. Dumb.

[Borgstrom]

?You left them in the rice cooker for 20 hours?

I assume I misunderstand?

I've actually kept them warm as long as 72 hours. It stays above 140F in Keep Warm mode, so there is no risk of bacterial growth. The oatmeal tends to dry out after that long even with the lid closed, so I increase the water ratio a bit. I suppose I could (should?) just refrigerate and re-heat, but I got lazy once and left them in and found it didn't taste too bad.

[Soup]

Can oats be prepared so there is no trace of slime (this is the one texture that brings on the gag reflex for me).

[Chris Amirault]

Prepared with the porridge setting as discussed above (3.5 cups water to 1 cup oats), they have no slime.

[nakji]

This time of year, I prepare them the night before in a pot on the stove. When they're done, I leave the lid off until they're cool, then pop it on before I go to bed. There's no heat in my kitchen, so it gets pretty cold in there, and I'm not bothered about having them in the fridge. In the morning, I add a splash of hot water from the kettle, and heat them up on the burner for about five minutes.

It's a practical solution if you don't have a rice cooker or slow cooker, like me.

[Soup]

No luck still. used both the rice cooker and slow cooker method. gluey and slimy. Had to really concentrate to get it down. Still looking for a good way to cooking.

I do love those little nibblets you get with steel cut oats. reminds me of tapeoka pearles.

[Chris Amirault]

Can you give us more details? Brand of oats? Ratio of water to oats? Salt or no?

[janeer]

I just bought tried McCann's "5 minute" steel-cut oats--literally 5 minutes in the microwave--and they are not bad. A slightly softer version of the original. I may try cooking them 4 minutes.

[mkayahara]

I was recently looking up cooking times for pressure-cooked steel-cut oats in Modernist Cuisine at Home, and noticed that they give a cooking time of 12-15 minutes for stove-top cooking (and 7 minutes for pressure cooking). Remembering this thread, I wondered why an overnight cook would be necessary if they take only 15 minutes in the morning. So what gives? Are people really that pressed for time in the morning, or are the MCaH folks low-balling the cooking time?

[Chris Amirault]

I think 12-15m is low-ball, and it requires some attention at the stove. I have the time but not the attention, most school mornings! Set it and forget it the night before, to me, is the biggest benefit for that reason.

[boudin noir]

I bring them to a boil for a minute the night before. Then let them stand uncovered overnight. Then they will cook in about 5 minutes in the am.

[Raamo]

This is covered in the latest season of America's Test Kitchen, I've not seen the episode but I have the cookbook.

They found if you boil 3 cups of water to 1 of oats first w/o the oats in the pot and then add the oats to the hot water off the heat and let sit over night you get the best combination of softness w/o the gummyness. I've done this ~4x since we got the book, the next morning you add 1 cup of liquid to the oats and cook to finish. It works very very well, you can even add other things with the liquid to get all kinds of yummy flavors.

[Baselerd]

Not quite as sophisticated as some of the other approaches here, but I've had great luck just throwing all the ingredients into a slow cooker and cooking overnight.

[Joe Blowe]

...I wondered why an overnight cook would be necessary if they take only 15 minutes in the morning.

FWIW, I use the *timer function* on my rice cooker when making steel-cut oats for the morning. It only turns on about an hour before serving time.

Why people feel the need to cook them overnight in a crock pot, I do not know...

[Katie Meadow]

Different cuts will take different amounts of time. I use Bob's steel cut oats They seem relatively coarse, and would break your teeth if they cooked for only 15 minutes. Pinhead Scottish Oats in the can take slightly less time but cost a lot more money. The Irish oats in a can may be a bit finer grind, but truthfully it has been ages since I tried those. I don't do any prep overnight, just cook in the morning. Bring 3 c water to a boil, add salt and 2/3 cup oats to serve two. Simmer uncovered 30 min, stirring often toward the end. Turn off the heat amd cover, let stand another 5 minutes. We're talkin' close to 45 minutes from the time you enter the kitchen, so not great if you are looking for a shortcut.