Steel Cut Oatmeal

A revelation after instant oatmeal; it takes time, but it’s worth it. For 2.

1 tsp butter
1 cup steel-cut oats
3 cups boiling water
1 cup milk

Toast the oats in the butter for 2 minutes.
Add the boiling water—a cup at a time, it’ll froth up initially.
Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover for 25 minutes.
Stir in milk and simmer another 10 minutes.

Alton Brown recommends half full-fat milk, half buttermilk; we make it with fat-free milk and it’s fine. Buttermilk is a good substitution but makes a richer, slightly sourer oatmeal.

(From Alton Brown’s Good Eats Food Network show.)