Eggs Part 3: The Omelette

Howdy folks!  Been a little while since I posted last.  I've been having some serious troubles with my crappy cell phone camera (turns out my phone likes to restart itself after I take a picture), however I was able to cram in some shots before it started acting screwy again.  I hope to remedy this one day by getting a real camera, but it may be a little while until then, so you're going to have to be patient with me.

Today we're going to be looking at the omelette in its simplest form.  From my first couple posts, you can see why I'm a proponent of gentle cooking when it comes to eggs, and today we're going to be using that same low and slow method to cook an omelette.  To me, omelettes are a great comfort food that really brings me back to my childhood.  They can be a canvas for a variety of flavors, but I think you'll find those flavors work best when you keep them simple.

The Omelette


To do this, you're going to need your nonstick pan again.  I like my omelettes to be nice and thin so they cook evenly, so I recommend a 10" pan for a 2 egg omelette, and a 12" pan for a 3 or 4 egg omelette.  It's crucial that you use nonstick for this, as a regular pan will most likely leave you with a mess at the bottom of the pan.  Bring your eggs and your butter up to room temperature by leaving them out for half an hour or so.  Start off by melting some great butter over low heat, tilting the pan so that the butter evenly coats the entire surface

Crack your eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk them with a splash of whole milk or heavy cream until the surface is dotted with bubbles.

In the fried egg post, I mentioned that cooking the eggs quickly to brown the butter gave the egg a rich nutty flavor, but cooking over high heat made it a more risky option.  Today I want the best of both worlds, so I'm going to be cooking low and slow, but making a separate brown butter to finish my omelette in.  Melt some butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

I'm then going to add some fresh chopped rosemary to the butter, and let it brown over medium heat.  As the butter cooks, the milk solids in the butter and the rosemary are basically being fried in the butter fat.  Once these reach a nice golden brown color, turn the heat down to the lowest setting to keep warm.

(Note: The rosemary is in there, although it's hard to see from the picture)

Once the butter is bubbling in your nonstick pan, add your room temperature eggs.

As you add your eggs, they will immediately start cooking.  Once the bottom has set a little bit, start tilting your pan all around so that the liquid egg cooks along the edges of the pan.

By doing this, we have a thin, almost pancake like egg that has an even thickness throughout.  Keep tilting the pan over the heat so that the majority of the liquid has a chance to cook along the edges of the pan.

Once the eggs have mostly set (there should still be a little bit of liquid egg on the top), now is the time to season (salt, white pepper) and add your fillings.  I suggest going light on the toppings, as this is a pretty delicate omelette.  Also, you will want to use toppings that are either precooked, or that will cook very quickly such as cheeses or fresh herbs.  For this, I'll be adding just a little bit of finely grated Gruyere cheese.

After you've added your toppings, take a nonstick spatula and run it around the edges of the omelette.  Shake your omelette pan a little bit so that it comes loose.

After this, we're going to fold over one side of the omelette.  My omelette is folded in 3 parts, but you can just as easily fold it in two.  To fold it in three, bring one edge of the omelette 2/3 of the way down with your nonstick spatula.

We're then going to gently slide the omelette off the pan and onto the plate starting with the unfolded edge of the omelette, then bring the pan back so that the omelette folds over itself.  Add your brown butter and just a few drops of sherry vinegar if you have it.  The acidity of the vinegar will cut through the richness of the omelette.

The Conclusion

You'll notice the inside of the omelette is still a little bit liquidy.  That's a good thing, as we don't want to overcook the eggs.  The omelette is lightly cooked and very delicate, and has a rich flavor from the browned butter and the Gruyere.  We're cutting through that richness and providing a little bit of balance to the dish by adding the chopped rosemary and a little bit of sherry vinegar for acidity.  In the end we're left with an omelette that is light, delicate, and balanced, as opposed to one that is dense and heavy.  As I've mentioned before, low and slow should be the method you're going for when dealing with eggs, but an omelette that is brown and flavorful can also be great just as long as you're not overcooking your eggs or overwhelming them with too many toppings.

An omelette can be an incredible comfort and a well balanced meal or a late night snack.  As always, a great dish lies in its techniques.  If you take the time to practice and refine your basic techniques, you're going to be left with a great result.  Next time: Poached Eggs!