How can I make steel-cut oatmeal cooked with bacon & scallions? Terrible in the slow cooker, ok on the stove. Other ideas?

I use my rice cooker on the porridge setting for oatmeal. I also toast the oats and cook slowly on the stove. I cook oats in chicken broth sometimes and add cream and the bacon, cream etc. near the end of cooking. I sometimes finish up with butter or olive oil and I also cook shredded carrots with the oat. Stovetop cooking is about 35-45 minutes. A product I love is the toasted oats from Anson Mills. I add them to the steel cut oats and they really add nuttiness and texture. Btw green onions!#best ingredient for oats!(IMO?).

I use my rice cooker on the porridge setting for oatmeal. I also toast the oats and cook slowly on the stove. I cook oats in chicken broth sometimes and add cream and the bacon, cream etc. near the end of cooking. I sometimes finish up with butter or olive oil and I also cook shredded carrots with the oat. Stovetop cooking is about 35-45 minutes. A product I love is the toasted oats from Anson Mills. I add them to the steel cut oats and they really add nuttiness and texture. Btw green onions!#best ingredient for oats!(IMO?).

I would cook just the oatmeal first. Then add the savory ingredients at the end (I'm assuming the bacon is already cooked). You can then adjust the seasoning if it's not quite right. I think that the reason the mixture got almost sour was because the cream was heated so long that it turned, from 16 hours of cooking. The setting may be "Warm", but the internal temperature can get quite hot, especially after 8 hours. I know because I have a warm setting on my slow cooker and after a few hours, my food was really hot and overcooked.

Hey Shep, I had to answer because I used to row with a guy named Shep.
Anyway, I use my pressure cooker to do steel-cut oatmeal, and it always turns out great without having to soak the oatmeal. I've never tried it with bacon and onions, but is sounds delicious. Here's how I would re-work my method to your recipe:
- Heat the pressure cooker on browning mode or med-high on the stove
- Dice the bacon in 1/4-inch strips and add to cooker to brown and render
- Meanwhile, dice your onion and add to cooker once bacon fat is clear and some browning has started
- Brown everything together until onions are clear, slightly browned, and bacon is nicely browned and curling
- Depending on your taste for the bacon fat, drop the cooker temperature for a moment while you use a paper towel or two to mop out the extra fat, but try to leave the tasty brown bits
* I make my steel oats with 1 cup of cream or whole milk and 1 cup of warm water per 1/2 cup of oats, so use that as a reference because the pressure cooker looses a lot less liquid as it cooks
- Set the cooker to pressure setting or med-high on the stove and add the cream or milk
- Stir it into the bacon and onions and mind it until it just starts to catch and simmer
- Stir in the water and oats
- Close the top, set to 15PSI, and set your timer for 10 minutes. On my cooker, the clock doesn't count down until the unit achieves pressure; on the stove top you wait until the pressure release starts to spurt - in either case about 5-10 minutes to reach pressure
- When time is up, let it sit. In my cooker, it pulls the temp down to 155 and it will take another 20 minutes or so for the pressure to release. On the stove top, just kill the burner and let it stand for about 20 minutes
You've inspired me to try this recipe, so I am off to the grocery store to round up some bacon and cream.
I should also say, if you don't have a pressure cooker, you should consider one. I make my rice, pulled pork, beans, spaghetti sauce, and all my soups with it and I love it. I use a plug-in model that has 3 pressure settings, a steam mode, and browning. Best part is the pan is an insert into a sturdy unit with a top that locks 4-ways, so I don't worry about it turning into an IED while I am out of the house. The insert is is non-stick and can be tossed in the dishwasher. Hands-down, it has been one of my most important and least expensive additions to my kitchen tool set.
Cheers, Happy Sunday!
-Chris