sorghum (whole grain)

Hey knowledgeable folks,
anybody have any favorite sorghum recipes? I am lately able to get sorghum and wonder what people do with it.
So far, aside for planting it for the rabbits to eat (the plants seem to be rabbit crack) the only thing I've found that I really love is breakfast, cooking it up and then throwing it in the slow cooker with apples overnight, maybe eating with a plop of yogurt on top. (I'm not yet able to mill the flour, although I suppose that could happen eventually)

I grow it and use it as a rice substitute. I nixtamalize with wood ash and rinse, then use as Cooked rice, or Masa substitute. Can be mixed with corn Masa as well. More antioxidants than blueberries! The nixtamalization neutralizes antinutrients and increases the nutrient profile, as well destroys fungal pathogens, aflatoxins.

Thank you so much for this thread!  I'm planning to grow Grain Sorghum next year and was wondering how people like to cook it.

Dan Allen wrote:I nixtamalize with wood ash and rinse, then use as... Masa substitute.

you have thoroughly blown my mind, sir. That would be an excellent use! Do you suppose lime (what I usually use for masa) would work as well?

Tyler Ludens wrote:Thank you so much for this thread!  I'm planning to grow Grain Sorghum next year and was wondering how people like to cook it.

I can get it now cheaper than rice, and I am reading it is "the new quinoa" even though I really don`t know what to make with it.
We have really cut down our grain consumption, so I'm not really eating it like rice or quinoa, but I am using it as a cooked grain to throw into the whole meal bread I make for my husband, for example.

Today for lunch, though I whipped together a "grain bowl" (which had maybe half a cup of sorghum) with a few scrambled eggs, a green pepper and an onion and some indian spices i like (a fennel-based salty business) and some of my sichuan chili oil. It was good.

Tereza, that dish sounds really good. I'm sure lime would work just as well, though I haven't tried it. The nixtamalize grains are kinda like couscous, you can keep them in the fridge and sprinkle them on salads or mix with granola, grind fresh like Masa or dry for meal. Also makes good popcorn. It has kind of a sweet nutty taste.

I tried the popcorn business and i think i might have the wrong kind (from what I read?). Not much popping going on, like popping brown rice.
I have cooked it up and do like the flavor, it is very earthy. I am looking forward to using it in a sweet dish that usually uses wheat, i think it will make a great replacement https://natashaskitchen.com/kutia-recipe-sweet-wheat-berry-pudding/

I flake it with a 3rd party attachment to my Kitchen Aid mixer (not made by Kitchen Aid). Then I ferment it for about a week, save some of the ferment water, and cook it up. It produces a porridge that I swear tastes a little like Roquefort cheese. Originally the inoculant was from my sauerkraut, but now it is a serial ferment, where I save some of the last batch of ferment water (in the refrigerator) and use it in the next ferment.  

Hello Dan, I'm curious about the process you call "nixtalize" or something close to that.  Would you please explain what that's all about and how to do it?  Do you get a final product that works like masa without using the masa/corn flour?

Dan Allen wrote:I grow it and use it as a rice substitute. I nixtamalize with wood ash and rinse, then use as Cooked rice, or Masa substitute. Can be mixed with corn Masa as well. More antioxidants than blueberries! The nixtamalization neutralizes antinutrients and increases the nutrient profile, as well destroys fungal pathogens, aflatoxins.

Hi Dan, Please elaborate on what is nixtamalize?  Are there step by step instructions somewhere on this process?  Thank you.

Dan Allen wrote:I grow it and use it as a rice substitute. I nixtamalize with wood ash and rinse, then use as Cooked rice, or Masa substitute. Can be mixed with corn Masa as well. More antioxidants than blueberries! The nixtamalization neutralizes antinutrients and increases the nutrient profile, as well destroys fungal pathogens, aflatoxins.

Can anyone please describe the way to use wood ash with the sorghum to "nixtamalize" properly? Any particular kind of wood ash?  Do you use water, dry ash or how is this done?  How long does the process take before the rinse?  Thank you.

You can nixtamalize sorghum just like corn with either wood ash or use pickling lime from the grocery store. I use 1 Tbsp lime for 2 cups of grain. Easier to do and you don't need the mess or worry of using wood ashes, not that you shouldn't try it that way but to get comfortable with the process the pickling lime is a gateway ingredient ;>).