[Sca-cooks] OOP Question: Baked Fish

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jun 29, 2009, at 7:11 PM, Celia des Archier wrote:

> Wow, Adamantius!  Lots of helpful information as always, thanks!
>
> Just a quick question... how do you use steel cut oats instead of  
> breading?
> Any special process or recommendations?

Well, you probably don't want the oats cut too coarsely, or they'll be  
distinctly... al dente when cooked with just a little fish or meat  
juice, butter water and/or fat to soften them up inside.

Scottish oatmeal tends to be a little finer than Irish or American  
steel-cut oats, all other things being equal, so I'd look for what is  
known in the US as fine-cut oats (I'd be afraid "fine oatmeal" would  
be essentially oat flour, which would sort of suck the fun out of this).

Either way, oats have a fair amount of fat in them, and they brown  
very nicely, but also can burn, so you want to use a moderately low  
flame. On the plus side, you can also use butter as your cooking fat  
with more-or-less complete impunity, since whatever concerns one might  
have about burning milk solids have already been addressed in  
considering the oats...

It's probably best for sauteeing: the Scottish classic is "stoved"  
herring, trout, or haddock, just pressed down onto a plate of oats  
until they stick and gently laid in a frying pan with some melted  
butter, just when it has stopped bubbling, or bacon fat... of course,  
oil would work, too.

You can do the same thing with chopped hazelnuts, almonds, etc., or  
sesame seeds; you don't need egg wash or anything like that.

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter