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I just bought some SCO. What's the easiest, fastest way to cook them?

I've been doing it on the stove (with milk, not water, for more nutrition) and it ends up forming a skin. And I have to tend to it so much for 20-25 min. And not to mention the pan to clean.

Can it be done in the microwave???

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nance425,

I think it's the milk that's making the skin. Milk can't be simmered or boiled for that long without the proteins becoming tough. Cook the oats mainly in water or no more than 1 part milk to 3 parts water to avoid that problem and add your milk before serving.

I have a very small crockpot, and I have done Alton Brown's recipe (below) in a smaller quantity. It produced a very soft texture, which many people might enjoy; but I prefer the cereal somewhat chewier.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/rec...al-recipe/index.html

Now, I cook the oats on the stove, but I do it in a larger quantity, eat some immediately and refrigerate the rest for other days. Reheated in the microwave, they taste just as good as freshly cooked, and it saves lots of time not having to cook them each time I want some. I haven't tried freezing them, but I'm almost certain that would work great, too.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: nettiejay,

The easiest way is to cook in the crock pot a week's worth and then reheat every morning in the microwave or on top of the stove.

CROCK POT OATMEAL

1 cup steel cut oats
4 cups water

Spray your crock pot with Pam. Place water and oats in crock pot. Cook on low 7 to 8 hours (or overnight). This usually makes enough for me for a week. You can add dried fruit as well -- raisins cranberries or whatever when you put in the oats. I eat the first morning from the crockpot and then refrigerate the rest and eat some every morning. I'm not a big microwave person so I warm them on top of the stove.

Martha

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Linderhof,

I bring 4 cups of water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a boil, pour in 1 cup of steel cut oats and simmer 10 minutes. Turn fire off. Cover with lid. Let sit until cool enough to pour in a bowl and put in the refrigerator.

I dip out enough for a serving in the morning and reheat in the microwave...serve with butter, sugar, and milk.

Edited: Lasts me a week too.
I had a canister of oats in the freezer and just took them out so that I can cook some later. THANKS for the reminder!

I think a pinch or two of salt is vital to the flavor of cooked cereals. Without it, it's just flat and *blah*.

AMEN!

Ok, ok. I'll try it with water.
And making large quantities to last a week is very cool. I would never have thought you could reheat that stuff. Doesn't it turn pretty hard? My other oatmeal usually does if you let it sit too long.

Yes, it does get stiff, but softens after rewarming, especially if you plan to add milk afterward anyway.

Oatmeal is a "winter thing" for me. The weather finally has turned cool here, so I got out the steel cut oats this morning. I had forgotten my main gripe about them... No matter how large the pan, how small an amount I cook, or how low I keep the flame, the darn pan always boils over! grrrr But they were so good, it was easy to overlook the inconveniences.
(I like mine with golden raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a few drops of vanilla... and a drizzle of heavy cream, if I have it on hand. What do you ladies like to add?)

As for the pan cleanup... I just fill it with cold water right away, let it soak an hour or two, then use a rubber scraper to swipe away the buildup before washing the pan. A cold water soak always helps with any starchy residues in pots and dishes.

Next time, I plan to try the microwave. The directions say to use an 8-cup bowl to cook 2 cups water w oats. Wonder if it will boil over as bad?

It does get stiff, but does not gel like other oats.

I don't have a boil-over problem...with the 4 cups water and 1 cup steel cut oats. As soon as the water turns to a boil, I dump in the oats and immediately turn it down...have a spoon in my hand to stir the bubbles down. And I cooked uncovered. I don't put a lid on until I've turned the fire off.

In about 30 or so minutes - it's not cold cool but not as hot - most of the moisture is absorbed and I pour it into a refrigerator bowl.

I run water in the pan and let sit for 10 minutes or so. Then I give it a good brush, rinse, and pop it into the dishwasher.

DM tried the microwave once. She had a mess!

I bought a box of quick cook steel cut oats at Trader Joe's -- will have them tomorrow morning for breakfast and I'll let you know how they compare. Price was reasonable.

Martha

I saute my dry steel cut oats first in a bit of butter until golden and then continue with the water to cook.
I add dried fruit, cream and sugar or brown sugar and sometimes cinnamon. Fresh fruit bits would be fine if you prefer at serving.

I cook it in crockpot with 4 cups of water and 1 cup of steel cut oats, pinch of a salt to test.

I love oatmeal and have it almost daily all year round. I'm not crazy about steel cut though.

Because I didn't like the length of cooking time required, I did a google search and learned about the method of partially cooking it the night before, covering the pot, and letting it sit on the store overnight. In the morning, all I had to do was turn it on and cook it a few minutes more.

I believe I still have some left in my pantry. Maybe I should try it again with a pinch of salt as suggested by nettiejay.

CA Lori - That's what I do...cook it about 10 minutes. Cover. After it's cooled some thought, I put it in the refrigerator. My DGM would roll over in her grave if I left cooked food out overnight.

Ok, I've made it twice now in the crockpot. And it lasted 5 days for my daughter and 1 for me. That beats makin' OF oats everyday. I forgot to put sugar in the bowl, but found the apples, cinnamon and dried cranberries I put in the crockpot kinda made it sweet. But the next bowl I put in 1 t brown sugar and a lil milk. Not bad!

Cook it like cream of wheat. Not difficult at all.