I’ve started eating these quite regularly and with just a little planning, am getting flawless results. My secret: I put a cup of steel-cut oats, and 3+ cups of water, in a 2ish quart Pyrex bowl - which fits into my Crock Pot with about an inch to spare around the edges. Before I put the Pyrex bowl in, I add 2 cups of water to the crock-pot, which makes the whole thing work like a bain-marie.
Then I cook it on high for 3-4 hours, or overnight on low. Do not forget them, especially if on high, or the oats will be scorched and inedible even with all the moisture.
As I like some fruit, I also stir in a half cup of chopped dried fruit (Sun Maid Fruit Bits are the easiest).
in case this requires registration, basically you put the oats (rinsed), covered with about an inch of water, in a covered casserole at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. I haven’t tried this yet, so I’m a bit skeptical of the amount of water (an inch means a lot more if you’re in a wide shallow casserole vs a taller thinner one) - I might be more inclined to actuallly measure the water according to the package instructions.
I’d love to find a recipe that incorporates these into a more decadent “baked oatmeal” casserole (there’s one out there somewhere that involves egg/milk/sweetener, but it’s for regular rolled oats).
Oh - and the one thing that is both gross and entertaining: I put that pyrex bowl into the fridge, then just slice it into quarters for breakfast-sized portions. The slices are solid gelatinous wedges.
For whatever reason, steel cut oats seem to be showing up on forums all over the place. I just made some using the cheating method - 1 cup oats in four cups boiling water, bring back to a boil for a minute or two, and then cover the pot and stick in the fridge overnight. In the morning you can just heat what you want to eat in the microwave (using a microwave safe dish of course) and plop the rest into a tupperware container for subsequent mornings.
I throw in some fruit, slivered almonds, some brown sugar, vanilla extract and milk. I’ll probably try coconut extract later. Actually, I can see throwing all sorts of different stuff in there.
It keeps me non-hungry until lunch, and it’s good fiber.
I’ve made steel cut oats in a ricemaker on occasion. Works pretty well.
I’ve only done this to make use of the rice maker’s timer function (so there’d be hot oatmeal waiting for me when I woke up), so any difference in flavor could be attributed to the fact that the oats would have been soaking in water and milk overnight.
If steel cuts are too much work for you, Scottish oatmeal is a good middle ground between steel cut (Irish) oatmean and regular, rolled oats. The oat is milled instead of being split or smashed, so you get a better texture and more bran than with rolled oats, but it’s light enough that you can cook it much quicker. You can microwave them, even.
In fact, last Christmas for gifts I made up individual servings of Scottish oatmeal in some 3x5" plastic bags I happened to have and boxed them up with microwave directions. Some of them I put cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins, or dried apples in for pre-flavor convenience. Went over great, even with my oatmeal-stickler grandma.
Did you have any trouble with them being burned onto the ricemaker pot?
Did you have it on full-cook mode (when the timer kicked things off)?
I did the overnight ricemaker thing once, in keep-warm mode vs. cook (my ricemaker has no bells and whistles such as a timer). It worked fine, but the next time I tried it, I forgot to start the timer and gave up after that.
I dont remember if I did any type of special preparation. The rice maker has a nonstick bowl, and I think I gave it a shot of Pam before I put anything in. I believe I set it to “white rice” mode (mine only has white rice, brown rice, and steam). The internal cook time is set based on the weight of whatever is in the bowl, and since the cook time for Irish oatmeal and white rice is about identical, it seemed like a good idea.
My success may have been a product of my rice maker being slightly better than most. I know that the crazy expensive Japanese ones sometimes have an oatmeal/porridge button.
I’ve been using McCann’s quick steel cut oats. It’s more work than nuking rolled oats, but it’s not bad - about 10 minutes’ work. And I make four servings and keep leftovers to reheat, which is the easiest thing in the world.
I like mine with a touch of brown sugar, some Trader Joe’s blueberry flax meal, dried cranberries or cherries, and a Tbsp or so of almond butter. Delicious, filling, and incredibly good for you (except for the sugar and the sweetening of the dried fruit, but hey, if it keeps me from getting a Croissanwich, it’s worth a little sugar!)
Cooking term - basically a small pan inside a larger pan - there’s water in the larger pan that surrounds the smaller pan. I’ve also heard it called a water bath.