Wednesday, March 10, 2010

OVERNIGHT STEEL-CUT OATS

overnight oats (4)
Recently, I posted about cooking methods for steel-cut oats.  As much as I love steel-cut oats, sometimes the long cooking in the morning can be off-putting.  So I took some advice from the McCann website for a shortcut.  (They actually have several good tips worth reading.)  My mornings are less hectic now.  Setting up the oats the night before and briefly boiling them makes a huge difference.  And my oatmeal is creamier from the overnight soaking. 
There are a couple of things I do differently, though.  First, I add more water than what is normally called for.  This allows the oats to cook without drying out too much.  And secondly, I let the pot sit overnight on the burner (turned off, of course), instead of putting it in the fridge as McCann suggests. 
Overnight Steel-Cut Oats for One
Adapted from McCann’s Irish Oatmeal
Rating:  10 out of 10
PRINTABLE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:  1/4 cup steel cut oats
1-1/2 cups water
Big pinch of sea salt

Bring oats, water and salt to a rolling boil in a 2-quart heavy pot over high heat.  Boil for several minutes, till oats start to thicken.  Turn heat off; cover pot; let sit overnight.  Next morning, stir pot; turn heat to high and bring oats to a boil; reduce heat to a low boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring as needed, or till oats are the consistency you like.  Double, triple or quadruple amounts for more servings.   
overnight oats (3)

13 comments:

Pam said...

I had never heard of steel-cut oats until a friend told me recently. It sounds so good and I will be looking for it! That's a great pic! It looks delicious!

La Bella Cooks said...

That is a great idea! Sometimes I am too bleary-eyed in the morning to stand there and make oatmeal even though I love it. Thanks for the tip!

Kim said...

I've actually never had steel-cut oats before, but they do look delicious.

Katrina said...

Yum! Love oats, but have never tried steel cut oats.

Julie said...

Looks delicious and filling!

Joanne said...

I've heard of tihs overnight oats business but still haven't tried it. I love steel cut oats though!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I love these oats, but I agree I don't always have time to fix them. Sure pays to read the label for a short-cut. My father-in-law used to make them the night before and store them in a thermos overnight. Worked great.
Sam

Barbara Bakes said...

I get impatient waiting to steel cut oats in the morning too. So I'll have to give this a try! Looks like you've added in some yummy fruit.

Katy ~ said...

Gosh, does this look and sound so good. Great tip about starting them the night before. Now I can enjoy these more often. Thank you so much!

Serena T. said...

I start mine when I wake up and let it cook while I shower & prepare for the day.

Serena T. said...

I start mine when I wake up and let it cook while I shower & prepare for the day. Cook time is only 25 min after water is boiling.

Maria_Maraki said...

Wolfgang Puck has always used steel cut. The problem was his thin metal pot in the multi cooker seemed to burn things so I use my newest electric pressure cooker. Just made yogurt over night in this baby and made steel cut oatmeal for breakfast pretty quickly. Weekend thing though because microwave using freshly milled oats (grind them yourself in the market) is about the same fiber and so fast and exact. Steel cut in pressure cooker is about 30 minutes total if you use your hot water dispenser to cut down the pressure rising time. Then 9 minutes at high presure and the manual cool down -not quick pressure release. It was yummy though. Cinnamon stick, fresh nutmeg and vanilla and a bit of coconut oil in the steel cut recipe. I add dried fruit and nuts also. Killer.

Judy said...

Serena, Thanks for your comments. Maria, Love your flavorings for oatmeal.