Cooking an omelette...

Hey all,

I'm looking for advice (tips) from you cullinary masters, about the art form of the humble omelette...some might say "wtf! it's an omelette!!" but I've ballsed up a few omelettes and ended up with scrambled eggs (nice too).

You know when you put the egg mixture into the pan and start cooking it?
I always end up with this layer of liquid on the top of the omelette that never seems to cook...short of breaking up the whole thing, how do I cook this part?
It was suggested to put it under a grill (?) but I've never really heard of that.

Cheers all,
Moonhawk, getting the hang of "not going to the chipper whenever i'm hungry because i'm lazy" attitude

Kinetic^

MoonHawk wrote:

Hey all,

I'm looking for advice (tips) from you cullinary masters, about the art form of the humble omelette...some might say "wtf! it's an omelette!!" but I've ballsed up a few omelettes and ended up with scrambled eggs (nice too).

You know when you put the egg mixture into the pan and start cooking it?
I always end up with this layer of liquid on the top of the omelette that never seems to cook...short of breaking up the whole thing, how do I cook this part?
It was suggested to put it under a grill (?) but I've never really heard of that.

Cheers all,
Moonhawk, getting the hang of "not going to the chipper whenever i'm hungry because i'm lazy" attitude

You turn it over and thats how it cooks.

But it breaks up then, does it not?

copacetic

you shouldn't need to turn it over, you don't really end up with an omelette than way, the inside should be softer than the outside. just keep folding the eggs around until the top is 'squidgy' rather than liquidy. give it another min or so, put in the filling and fold it in half by leaning the pan away from you and pushing the omelette to the far side. one end should ease out of the pan, allowing you to fold it back. Once it is close over the inside will keep cooking..

http://frenchfood.about.com/library/bl_htomelette.htm

Gordon

Maybe the heat is too high?

I like to put some grated cheese on top and then grill it for a wee while. This makes it a bit fluffier and makes sure to cook the top part. But the foldover way is the pro way afaik.

Keyzer

MoonHawk wrote:

Hey all,

I'm looking for advice (tips) from you cullinary masters, about the art form of the humble omelette...some might say "wtf! it's an omelette!!" but I've ballsed up a few omelettes and ended up with scrambled eggs (nice too).

You know when you put the egg mixture into the pan and start cooking it?
I always end up with this layer of liquid on the top of the omelette that never seems to cook...short of breaking up the whole thing, how do I cook this part?
It was suggested to put it under a grill (?) but I've never really heard of that.

Cheers all,
Moonhawk, getting the hang of "not going to the chipper whenever i'm hungry because i'm lazy" attitude

Right, this is how I cook an omelette and I have to say, whoever I cook them for loves them....

Bang your mix, be it tomatoes, onions, meat whatever into a non-stick frying pan and cook with olive oil.
When mix is cooked, hockey the egg mix in, 2-3 eggs for one person. leave on a medium heat for 5 minutes...
When you put the egg mix in the pan, turn on the grill on high.....
After eggs+mix has cooked for 5 miniutes in pan (on a ring), place under the grill to cook the top part.
Repeat this over and over, pan to ring, pan to grill, throw on some cheese (my favoriute is cheeses of nazareth ) if you like....

If you used olive oil, with some gentle persuasion, yuo should be able to get the omellette onto your plate in one piece...

Eh Voila.... One pukka omelette...

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to fold the omelette over.
The Spanish cook their omelettes without folding, however, instead of using the grill, like me, they place a plate over the pan, turn the pan upside down then slide the omlette back into the pan to cook the slimy uncooked side...
Do not try this - After returning from Pamplona in Northern Spain I attempted this technique and made the biggest mess ever. The whole semi-cooked sloppy omellette fell off the plate and splattered all over the glass hob, it took me a week to get all the burned eggs off.

SteM

You can put it under the grill to cook the top part but that can be messy. The way I cook them is to

- Put the pan on a medium heat with some oil.
- Beat the eggs really well, normally 2 or 3).
- Add whatever ingredients I want like (cheese, ham etc.) to the egg mixture.
- Pour in the mixture - the pan should not be too hot. You want the mixture to cook through the to the centre before the bottom starts to burn.
- As it's cooking put a plate or something else over the frying pan. This traps the heat in the pan and starts to cook the omlette on top too.
- Cook it until it's mostly solid. There'll be some mositure on the top but it will be so solid at this point that you can turn it over easily with a spatuala.
- Take the plate off the top and turn the omlette over - it shouldn't break at this point.
- Cook it for a short amount of time on the 'moist side' as it won't take much time cooking.

When you see professional cheifs make omlettes they leave them quite runny - personally this turns my stomach and I like my eggs cooked all the way through.

Tazz T

The secret to a good omelette is a good omelette pan. You can't just use any frying pan.

And use butter with eggs, not oil - much better. You'll be able to fold a omelette easier in a real omelette pan, or simply put it under the grill.

I have a pan that makes great 1-egg omelettes - you shouldn't really be having 3-egg omelettes for one person.

Keyzer

Tazz T wrote:

I have a pan that makes great 1-egg omelettes - you shouldn't really be having 3-egg omelettes for one person.

Why not?
Eggs rock.... and a big fat omellete stuffed with chorizo and cheese and potatoes rocks too.... Ever have a spanish omellette? its like a big eggy cake... mmmm....

noby

Stem's method is one way of doing it. I prefer to add the extra ingredients on top, then fold it over.

Add your beaten, seasoned eggs to the pan.
Scrape the runny mixture into the centre of the pan, allowing more egg to run to the outside.
When it's cooked on the bottom, and still slightly runny/squidgy on top, add your filling on top.
Fold the omlette over in half.
The centre will keep cooking as you slide it onto the plate.

right, so I'm going to try two of the methods described above, how about milk?
I heard some people add milk to the egg mixture, to make a bit fluffier also.

It'll be interesting to see how it comes together

Tazz T

Keyzer wrote:

Why not?
Eggs rock.... and a big fat omellete stuffed with chorizo and cheese and potatoes rocks too.... Ever have a spanish omellette? its like a big eggy cake... mmmm....

Healthwise, more than one egg per day isn't good for you.

I'd always add a drop of milk as well.

Keyzer

Tazz T wrote:

Healthwise, more than one egg per day isn't good for you.

I'd always add a drop of milk as well.

Thats horsesh1t....

Quoted from the Food Standards Agency...

"Lots of people think that you should only eat a certain number of eggs a week. In fact, most people don’t need to limit how many eggs they have, if they are eating a balanced diet including plenty of fruit and veg, basing meals on starchy foods, having moderate amounts of dairy products and moderate amounts of foods that are good sources of protein, such as meat, fish, eggs, beans and lentils. Remember that we should try to eat a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients we need."

noby

If you're still worried, you could have a 3 egg omelette every 3 days

Keyzer

So how did you get on?

SteM

Keyzer wrote:

Why not?
Eggs rock.... and a big fat omellete stuffed with chorizo and cheese and potatoes rocks too.... Ever have a spanish omellette? its like a big eggy cake... mmmm....

I was talking to a couple of Spanish people here in work about this before and they basically said that the only thing in a Spanish omelette should be eggs (obviously), onion and potato. I used to put peppers and all sorts in mine but totally they turned their noses up at that.

copacetic

SteM wrote:

I was talking to a couple of Spanish people here in work about this before and they basically said that the only thing in a Spanish omelette should be eggs (obviously), onion and potato. I used to put peppers and all sorts in mine but totally they turned their noses up at that.

ah yeah, but judging by the above everyone in Ireland has diff opinions on how to make an omelette. would guess it is the same there?

I put onion, tomato and ham in 'spanish' omelettes and thought that was pretty std from other people I know I dublin, but I know up north everyone puts potato in..

Keyzer

SteM wrote:

I was talking to a couple of Spanish people here in work about this before and they basically said that the only thing in a Spanish omelette should be eggs (obviously), onion and potato. I used to put peppers and all sorts in mine but totally they turned their noses up at that.

Thats correct...
But thats what cooking is about, making it your way....

el Bastardo

That's why Spanish omelettes are called that; because they have onion and potato only. Irish omelettes are something else and they're usually overcooked rubber (my opinion).

Me, I usually add milk to the egg mix, with salt/pepper and through it onto an preheated, oiled pan. Then after a minute or two I usually stick some cheese'n'ham on top and roll it up. The inside's never anything more than a bit moist.

Freelancer

Heres a really simple really handy way of cooking an omelette

5eggs
filling (I'm traditionalists I use cheese and ham, any cheese and ham will do, but best results come from a leftover cooked ham, and two table spoons of parmasean, and a soft cheese, swiss, or a mature white cheddar)
salt
pepper
cream, or milk.

You'll need a good frying pan, don't bother with a omellette pan, just a good solid frying pan.

Pre heat the pan, with olive oil. It needs to be good and hot. Thats important, you want your mix to start bubbling and cooking the moment it hits the pan.

Whisk the five eggs with salt and pepper until you have a nice mix.

Pour the mix into the pan

Immediately run a fork around the inside edge of the pan, so the mixture doesn't stick to the edges.

(now here comes the science)
As the mixture cooks, slide the fork underneath the mix, and tilt the frying pan allowing the uncooked eggs to pour underneath.

This means the eggs get cooked evenly.

When you start to run out of egg liquid, pour in tablespoon of either milk or cream and then the remains in the bowl you whisked the eggs (theres always leftovers)

Repeat the first step with the cream mix.

Then when the omelette is pretty much solid, drop in your filling. This is where the cheese is extremely useful, when the cheese is all melted you know the omellette is cooked throughout.

Now, lift the panand tilt it towards you, slide a knife underneath the far side of the omelette, pushing it towards you, watch as the omelette is folded over in the pan.

With a spatuala take the omelette off the pan.

Serve to your amazed partner (it's a two man job eating one of these jobbies)

A good omelette should be slightly crisp on the outside, fluffy in the middle, and almost too hot and too creamy in the middle. This is a dead cert to be all three.

I'd say something like Bon Appettiet, but that'd be a cliche in this forum, right?

Sleepy

Personally, I'd fry up my ingredients in a pan with some hot oil first, usually peppers, mushrooms, ham and onion (maybe some potato and cherry tomatoes if I have them). While this fries I'd be beating the eggs extremely well, add a splash of water to the egg mix and whisk it til it's got a froth to rival a cappucino.

Then I'd pour this mix in over the half fried ingredients fry it for a couple of minutes, maybe adding some grated white cheddar to the top before folding it and frying for another minute or so...

PullMyFinger!

Its the "folding over" bit I always balls up, whats that all about?! Do you flip it over like a pancake?

sanncoo

My suggestion to stop the omelette turning to mush is to have the eggs at room temperature. Any time (and I could be completely wrong) my omelettes have broken (while turning) the eggs were straight from the fridge.

On the subject of filling, I would suggest experimenting. It's all up to personal taste. I like ham or bacon in mine. Sometimes I add some herbs and which herbs? Well that depends on the day.

S