Lacking a slow cooker----I bring them to a boil and simmer one minute the night before, then let them sit in a cool place overnight. In the morning, they cook up quickly, in a few minutes. I believe it says the same on the can of McCann Irish oats. Maple syrup on top obligatory.

I love steel cut oats, but I hate mushy oatmeal. So I use a 1:1 ratio of water to oats to prepare mine. If you don't have fresh fruit, some really good jam makes a great stir-in.

If you don't have a slow- cooker you can save time in the morning by soaking steel-cut oats in cold water in a saucepan overnight. Next morning turn on the heat, add salt and stir until bubbling. Cook until tender on low heat; usually for less than 10 minutes. I use a bit more than twice as much water as oats to prepare a large pot of oatmeal, rather than individual servings. On another note, we were not huge oatmeal fans until we began to explore Mark Bittman's suggestions for Porridge, Updated in Food Matters. He presents many savory flavoring options such as adding leftover chopped cooked vegetables, grated cheese, salsa, a poached egg or my personal favorite leftover dal!

You can make them very much like you do regular oats, they just take a little longer to cook. But you can also make them in a slow-cooker. Here's a good recipe: http://www.food52.com/recipes/3062_overnight_steelcut_oats_with_almond_butter_honey

1/4 cup oats to 1 cup water. bring the water to a boil, add the oats, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the oats are still slightly al dente but creamy. brown sugar. butter. a dash of salt. raisins. almonds. breakfast is served!