Do you 'cook' porridge

[Alan 13~7]

I make porridge….and it's stirred with a spurtle

Two ways, either from pinhead meal or from rolled oats.

Pinhead meal is soaked overnight in cold water, then it's slowly brought to the boil the next morning and then kept hot and just off the volcanic mud stage for ten minutes or so. I don't add milk, I do add a little salt.
That kind gets served just as is, but with cream or milk to hand to add to it.
Any extra is poured into an ashet and let grow cold, then it's fried up like an oat polenta It's very good indeed.

My sons though, lazy blighters that they are, like rolled oats and they like them cooked with some milk added into the water and salt…..and they've discovered that they can do the whole lot in one bowl in the microwave. So we go through more rolled oats than pinhead meal these days.

Me ? I'd rather eat oatcakes

M

Toddy not being familiar with Pinhead meal? & As I like large oats... is Pinhead meal hard? Prior to soaking Can this be crushed with a rolling pin then lightly cooked (without soaking) for a chunkier porridge?

 

[dewi]

Dammit... I refered to Wiki in the hope that it would point to the true use of a spurtle...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spurtle

I accept you can stir porridge with it... I've been spurtled!

 

[Alan 13~7]

(stirring constantly with a wooden spoon not a spurtle) There you go...

proper prepared porridge! :You_Rock_

cheers dewi... Personaly I think a spurtle is about as much use as
the handle off a broken wooden spoon?

 

[dewi]

And I'd agree, but apparently the people at Wiki disagree... what the devil that thing they call a spurtle is... well, it's a glorified stick is what it is!

To me a spurtle is a spatula... but I must've been taught wrong.

 

[Toddy]

Mince. My Dad made my spurtle, and that was over forty years ago, and I still use it. It's a beech stick carved into an angled tip, with a thistle at the top of the handle

Spatulas are used to work frying pans and stirring sauces in a pot.
Wooden spoons are for beating up batter and making cakes.
I use a bannock spade for the girdle though.

An ashet is really just a deep plate. It's very good is cold cooked and set porridge. It really is just like polenta then. Very good with ground pepper.
Pinhead meal really ought to be soaked. It doesn't matter though whether it's in water, milk or fat of some kind. Caboc cheese is covered in it for instance.
Fried up with onions fluffed up a bit, it's called skirlie, which is the food of the gods

The meal toasts pretty well too though the rolled oats are better toasted up for cranachan.

Half past eleven at night, and you lot have made me hungry

M

 

[Goatboy]

Goatboy, i'm with your dad. I lkke to keep adding a bit of cold milk to the bowl, but i will have two bowls with something like hot apple pie and cream

Toddy, i assume we have rolled oats......i just look for the biggest cheapest bag that says 'porridge' on it
Is there anything special about an ashet. Or it just a shallow dish to form the shape?......never even thought of frying it up before, fried porridge does sound like a wind up though eh



Alan, yep i have it raw now and again. Let it soak for 5-10 minutes and add some mixed nuts and raisins

Sundog if you want to fry up some oatmeal go the whole hog and make Skirlie.
50g butter or dripping
1 finely chopped onion
175g pinhead oatmeal
Salt & pepper.

Melt the butter/dripping in a pan & add the finely chopped onion, fry gently to soften.
Stir in the oatmeal, season and cook gently for ten minutes. (Or fry gently then add to a wee roasting dish and bake for half an hour with whatever meats in the oven.)
Serve with roast chicken or stovies. Also nice mixed through chappit tatties to make a posh mash.
Can cause heartburn but well worth it. My local butcher does steak pies topped with skirlie - heaven.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[sunndog]

Mince. My Dad made my spurtle, and that was over forty years ago, and I still use it. It's a beech stick carved into an angled tip, with a thistle at the top of the handle

Spatulas are used to work frying pans and stirring sauces in a pot.
Wooden spoons are for beating up batter and making cakes.
I use a bannock spade for the girdle though.

An ashet is really just a deep plate. It's very good is cold cooked and set porridge. It really is just like polenta then. Very good with ground pepper.
Pinhead meal really ought to be soaked. It doesn't matter though whether it's in water, milk or fat of some kind. Caboc cheese is covered in it for instance.
Fried up with onions fluffed up a bit, it's called skirlie, which is the food of the gods

The meal toasts pretty well too though the rolled oats are better toasted up for cranachan.

Half past eleven at night, and you lot have made me hungry

M

I must have led a sheltered life......out of all that food i'v heard of porridge, cheese, and pepper the rest are google fodder

 

[Toddy]

My husband had pease brose for his tea tonight

We could do with a thread on traditional British foods, 'cos beans and peas and oats and barley were staples for thousands of years, and they're good tasty food too.

M

 

[sunndog]

My local butcher does steak pies topped with skirlie - heaven.

Oh hang on, i might have had that. I'v certainly had a pie with some strange oaty stuff on top before.

I was thinking more about frying the leftovers for outdoors. I always end up cooking more than i actually need so if that could be added to lunch rather than being forced down me neck it could be a winner (if i like it) i'm off to find out what polenta is now

 

[Toddy]

Polenta…..and cook pinhead meal the same way as he does the polenta

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/05/how-to-make-the-best-polenta.html

 

[Goatboy]

Left over porridge can be poured into a shallow tray and left to set, sort of like a flapjack/musilli bar.
Much hilarity used to ensue in The Broons and Oor Wullie when they followed the old tradition of pouring it into a drawer to set. Invaviably they'd not check the drawer first and something important would go missing in the mix or something hard like a key would break someones teeth when they bit in.
Like Toddys idea of a trad cooking thread. I like to cook and trad stuff especially. Been perfecting my mac&cheese. Reckon it's the best around

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Goatboy]

Oh you've got my mind going on things to do with oatmeal. One of my faves is herring or mackrel rolled in oats then fried in butter....

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[rik_uk3]

Serving pease brose would result in me spending about thirty quid on redecorating the wall it was thrown at as would happen with the gruel mentioned by the OP.

 

[Stevie777]

The Camp cook badge i got when in the cubs was awarded because of porridge....Yeah, the spoon could stand straight up in the pot, but everyone still ate it.

I cant say they have passed it yet. Probably just laying in the lower colon like a heavy metal. I doubt even the ovens at Daldowie crem will destroy it.

 

[rorymax]

I cant say they have passed it yet. Probably just laying in the lower colon like a heavy metal. I doubt even the ovens at Daldowie crem will destroy it.

.................................

 

[Goatboy]

Serving pease brose would result in me spending about thirty quid on redecorating the wall it was thrown at as would happen with the gruel mentioned by the OP.

Tidy! Well have a bowl of laver bread fresh out of th poppity-ping for you then pretty lad.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Dave]

You have to have salt in it!
The salt is there to counteract the way oats are good for your heart ... real men do not eat healthy breakfasts!
Boil the oats in water with salt, serve with full fat milk and sugar OR whipped cream, whisky and black treacle for a real treat!

......

 

[Mick721]

Best way I've done porridge is to put 45 grams of oats into a soup flask then add 275 grams of boiled milk to it and 2 tea spoons of sugar. Seal it up and give a good shake then head off to work and eat approximately 90 minutes after sealing.

Lovely creamy taste to it

I did this exact thing yesterday. Perfect porridge every time.

 

[Mesquite]

Exactly, allowing those oats to soak up the cowy goodness! But two teaspoons of sugar? Decedent much!?!

What can I say apart from the fact that I'm just not that sweet

 

[StJon]

You folks have made me hungry, can't find oats here and miss a bowl of porridge. I'm with Mary on this one, pinhead soaked over night, wee bit of milk 'n' salt, brought to the boil, then simmered. Got put off "Scots Porridge Oats" when an ex girlfriends dad made me a bowl, I thought it tasted a bit mealy, after finishing the bowl, on checking the box found it infested with maggots. End of a beautiful relationship, know I could survive on bush tucker...