Irish Steel Cut Oats

[kuntrychick]

My sis-in-law gave me some cans of Irish Steel Cut Oats she got at a stratch-and-dent store for a really good buy. I know this would probably be ok to give the chickens, but would I need to cook it or at least soak it in something first since they're the steel cut oats? I wasn't sure if they could just eat them dry like they are or if it's ok to put them in yogurt with BOSS or buttermilk.

 

[Imp]

Your chickens will eat them either cooked or raw.

Imp

 

[A.T. Hagan]

McCanns oats makes for some mighty expensive chicken feed!

You can feed it raw or cooked. It's going to take about twenty minutes or so to cook it right.

 

[flyingtnh]

Feedin' McCann's to yer chick'ns is right acrost th'road from sin, y'know. They need ta be cook'd up and simmered, fed t'the fam'ly, and then if there's some leftov'rs (and this wouldn't happn at our table, mind ye) ye could spoon the scraps t'the birds!

 

[kuntrychick]

I went & looked at them & they are McCann's. I'm not familiar with steel cut oats...never tried 'em. I might just have to give them a try. She got them for like $0.50 & $1.00 a can...possibly even less. I think I'll cook some up for them this morning since it's chilly right now.

 

[Hens & Hounds]

Mine love Mother's Rolled Oats (thick flakes) the best but the Irish ones are very good too!

 

[flyingtnh]

Quote:
Directions for preparation are on the can - just make sure you give them the simmering time - much more robust texture than flattened oats (I don't think they're really the same grain as what we call oats, btw).

Our favorite, however, is overnight oats (requires a slow cooker/crockpot):

In a caserole dish that fits in your crockpot, put:

1/2 c Steel Cut Oats
1/4 c Barley
1/4 c Ground flax seed
Brown sugar, molasses, or Maple Syrup to taste. You can also add fruit (raisins and/or diced apples are our favorites). Cinnamon... ground cloves... whatever.

Fill crockpot about 1/3 full with water, then put uncovered caserole dish inside

Before you go to bed, add 4 cups milk (3c milk and 1c apple cider works well also) to the dry materials, cover the crockpot, and put on low.

You can play with different grains/ratios/etc - Some recipes we've found say 3:1 liquid to solid, but we've found that 4:1 works best for us for overnight batches.

What a great aroma to wake up to on a cold morning!

 

[kareninthesun]

i get steal cut oats fron a bin at the local store for 68 cents a pound. mix it with other raw grains and coat fruits with them for for the chickens. they love it raw or cooked. you can also cheat and add them raw to hot boiling water. cover and leave it alone up to six hours. regeat if you want in the microwave. easy! or cook overnight in a crockpot.

 

[Stacykins]

Steel cut oats are amazing people food. Sure, it takes longer to cook than 'quick oats' but they taste SO much better. Mmm, now I want some for breakfast tomorrow.

 

[2DogsFarm]

Well, I feed my hens whole oats as a treat - they have no problem getting the oat from its shell.

You can cook the steel-cut for them if you want, but honestly they can have them right from the can.

Try them yourself before "wasting" them on chickens.

flyingtnh's recipe sounds yummy!

I do give my flock cooked oatmeal evey morning - cooled off when it's hot out, warm when it's cold - cooked with an egg then plain yogurt mixed in before serving.
Right now I'm using cottage cheese in place of the yogurt as the pantry I volunteer at got a huge donation and the expiration date is 10/5.