Pressure Cooker Breakfast: Steel-cut Oats

My electric pressure cooker. One of my favorite kitchen appliances. This one also slow cooks and sautés.

About a year ago, I posted a recipe for steel-cut oats cooked in the pressure cooker. The secret to pressure cooker oats is to use non-dairy milk. Cow's milk contains sugar - lactose, specifically -  and it can scorch to the bottom of your pot. Nut milks don't have lactose, nor much of any other sugar unless sweetened.

This new recipe still uses non-dairy milk, but the proportions are different. I made a mistake and added too much water the last time I made them. And, I liked it better! The oats are creamier and don't set up quite as stiff, which makes them better the next day.

Pressure Cooker Steel-Cut Oats, the 2015 version
(serves 4)

3 cups water
1 cup non-dairy milk, such as almond or coconut
1 cup steel-cut oats
12 dried apricots, chopped (see Note)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 big pinches salt

Garnishes
4 Tablespoons chopped nuts or nut butter
4 teaspoons brown sugar or maple syrup

Put everything but the garnishes in the pressure cooker, lock down the lid, and bring up to pressure. Cook for 3 minutes (4 minutes at 5000 ft. altitude). Turn off the heat and allow pot to cool for 10 minutes. Release the pressure. To serve, garnish with chopped nuts and sweetener. Any nut is yummy but I really like roasted pistachios with dried apricots.

Note: Dried apricots can be sticky. If you freeze them for 10 minutes then chop them, they won't stick to your knife.

Steel Cut Oats

[For an alternate version of this oatmeal, one that is creamier, see this update.]

Oatmeal is good. Oatmeal with steel cut oats is even better. The downside to the steel cut oats is they take a while to cook, at least 15 minutes and sometimes much longer. Because they cook longer, they can stick to the bottom of the pot, especially if you don't stir them.

There are two ways to make cooking steel cut oats foolproof: a pressure cooker or a slow cooker.

If you want to use a slow cooker, I recommend Alton Brown's method. You cook the oats overnight and they are perfect when you wake up in the morning. Alton uses dried cranberries and dried figs in his recipe. You can use any combination of dried fruits you want. They will all add some sweetness, enough so you won't need much sweetener besides the fruit.

My favorite method is the pressure cooker. I would recommend a pressure cooker over a slow cooker as your first time-saving cooking device (you can even get a combination pressure/slow cooker called an Instant Pot, which I recommend if you have the funds for this investment). You can cook steel cut oats in about 4 minutes. They will be slightly chewy at this point. Their texture is better if you let them sit, off the heat, for 10 minutes. It's also great reheated in the microwave. Add a bit of milk because it will get thicker after it cools.

The Instant Pot recommends that you cook oats in a non-dairy milk, such as almond milk or coconut milk. Cow's milk scorches while non-dairy milk doesn't. I've tried all three milks and I like coconut milk the best. I did find that cow's milk scorches and therefore don't recommend it for pressure cooker oats.

Pressure Cooker Steel Cut Oats
(serves 4)

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups water
1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk such as coconut or almond
¼ cup raisins or your favorite dried fruit, diced
2 pinches salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1 3" stick cinnamon (optional)

For each serving, add all or some of these:
fresh fruit or more dried fruit
2 teaspoons sweetener, like brown sugar or maple sugar
1 Tablespoon chopped nuts
a sprinkling of ground cinnamon
a splash of milk or cream

Put the oats, water, milk, raisins, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon stick in the pressure cooker. Lock on the lid and bring up to pressure. Reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook for 3 minutes (4 minutes at 5000 ft.). Turn off heat and allow pressure to drop naturally for 10 minutes or more. Open the pot (carefully - the contents are still very hot) and stir. Serve hot.

Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator. They can be reheated, covered, in the microwave for 90 seconds.

Pot Roast in a Pressure Cooker

I am a big fan of my pressure cooker. It will take a tough cut of meat and transform it into a delicious meal in no time. OK, it takes about an hour, but that's a lot better than 3-4 hours. And, it's no one-trick pony either. You can use it to speed up cooking of beans, brown rice, and take the stirring out of risotto. Not a bad deal.

For this recipe, brew some extra coffee in the morning. Or, you can use instant coffee. I wouldn't drink the stuff, but it works fine in a recipe! I added just a touch of honey to the original recipe because it balances the bitter notes in the coffee. You don't want it to be sweet - you get a little sweetness from the tomato paste too - so it needs just a smidgen. I also added the can of beans to stretch the meat.

Pot Roast Flavored with Coffee
(serves 6)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 ½ pounds chuck roast, in one piece
1 cup black coffee
1 3-ounce can of tomato paste
4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 cup of water
1 15-ounce can of white beans, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons honey
about 1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Season chuck roast well with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add chuck roast and brown on all sides. Remove from cooker and set aside. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the coffee and scrape up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the cooker. Add the tomato paste, garlic, and water. Stir to dissolve tomato paste. Add back in chuck roast. Lock top into place, bring up to pressure, reduce heat to maintain pressure, and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to drop until you can take the top off. Carefully remove the top - lots of steam! Put cooker back on medium heat, add beans, honey, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Remove meat from the cooker and slice or shred, removing any gristle-y parts. Serve over rice, noodles, or mashed potatoes, ladling on plenty of gravy.

Adapted from Miss Vickie's Big Book of Pressure Cooker Recipes by Vickie Smith, John Wiley & Sons, 2008.