Sous Vide Steel Cut Oats

So I tried my hand at steel cut oats last night and here are the results. I bagged 1/2 cup of steel cut groats with 1/2 cup of freeze-dried strawberries and bannanas. I added some cinnamon and 2 1/4 cups of milk. I put it at 68 C overnight and the oats were cooked perfectly.

The flavors, however, were a little underwhelming. The blog post that I followed said that their dried fruit leeched out its sugar essentially sweetening the oatmeal. The fruit I used didn't flavor the oatmeal hardly at all and the fruit was brown and slimy.

Any suggestions on how to improve the flavor? I thought that since the fruit was freeze-dried that it didn't react quite the same. I want to try using whole frozen fruit and also putting the ingredients in some canning jars instead of a ziploc.

I won't add as much milk next time as I prefer my oatmeal thicker and this recipe results in a runny porridge kind of consistency.

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com-chefsteps

While oats are one of the few exceptions to the "season everything with salt early" rule (salt prevents pentosans from creating, with water, the very creamiest oatmeal texture), you might find your oatmeal much more oat-y if you add a pinch or two of salt to the finished oatmeal. Personally, were I doing oatmeal SV, I'd do only oats-and-water in the bath, and season/spice/garnish the oatmeal afterward.

I understand your complaint that reconstituted dried strawberries leave a lot to be desired, texture- and appearance-wise, so consider your intention with this recipe: are you hoping to infuse fruit flavor into individual oat groats? Or would it be OK to add some strawberry powder (run your dehydrated berries through a spice grinder*) to the finished product? Or would it be OK to add fresh strawberries and bananas to the finished product?

*Note: I find that strawberry powder really highlights the flavor of the seeds, so tastes dusty, and I don't find that palatable, but it's an option if you want your oatmeal to have a fundamental strawberry flavor throughout.

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ParkerCook_66639

I haven't had time to update but I've backed off of trying to infuse anything during the cooking; just liquid and oats with additions after cooking. It works great, leaving a nice oatey flavor with whatever I add in. Thanks for the advice, @Ted!

com-chefsteps

You bet!

ttpoker

Try pressure cooking instead. For a really great al-dente texture try a ratio of 100% oats to 185% liquid in the pressure cooker. I usually toast the oats first, the liquid can be any flavorful replacement for water if you want to get creative. I cook at 1 bar of pressure for 7 mins. Salt & butter for taste & mouthfeel, add a small amount of heavy cream to finish. It will be unlike the porridge your used to, but if you desire that texture increase water & cooking time.