You know those cooking shows where contestants compete to make the perfect omelette? They make it look so complicated. Here’s a secret to making a perfect omelette. You’ll kick yourself when you find out how easy this is.
I once submitted a recipe to Canadian Living Magazine. They had a contest sponsored by Egg Farmers of Canada so I sent in a recipe for Omelette Made Easy. It wasn’t chosen to be published but they did send me a cheese knife. That’s when I knew I’d made it big!
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So what is this magic solution for an easy Omelette? The broiler. Once you’ve cooked the egg on the stove top for a minute or so and the edges are starting to firm up, just pop the frying pan in the oven and finish under the broiler. Carefully. The omelette will cook without browning on the bottom. And usually the edges start to lift off the pan which helps it stay in one piece when you fold it.
My other pet peeve about omelettes is raw fillings. If you’re just adding stuff on top of the eggs and folding them over you’re going to be biting into raw onion. So give the fillings a quick sauté in the pan you’re using to cook the eggs. You aren’t cooking them to be too soft, just long enough to take the bite out. And then your fillings will be warm when you add them to the eggs. An omelette doesn’t cook long enough to heat everything up in the centre. Unless you over cook it which is my other pet peeve. Brown eggs.
As a bonus after sautéing your fillings, you’ll have added some extra non-stickness (that’s not a word but I like it anyway) to the pan. Have you ever noticed if you fry a single egg in a small pan the first one often sticks but after that the others don’t? I cant explain why but this phenomenon makes folding your omelette extra easy. Don’t wipe out the pan, just remove the fillings to a plate and keep warm while you cook the eggs.
Use fresh eggs and take them out of the fridge for a bit before mixing them up so they’re closer to room temperature. This helps them break up better. Add about a tablespoon of cold water to the eggs and a bit of salt. What happens is the water drops create steam as they heat up, resulting in fluffier egg texture. You can add milk if you like. But try the water if you haven’t.
Whisk up the eggs well and pour into the pan. Cook them without stirring on low heat until they’re starting to firm up. It’s a great idea to have a good non stick pan that you use just for low heat cooking. Like eggs. Then pop the pan in the oven on the middle rack and turn on the broiler. As a safety precaution, leave the door open and the handle sticking out so it doesn’t get damaged. Keep a close eye on the eggs and remove the pan once the edges start to lift. It’s ok if the omelette is still jiggly in the centre.
Add your fillings to one half of the pan and top with shredded cheese. The half closest to the handle works best so you can hold the spatula with your dominant hand while you hold the handle of the pan in the other, making an easy flip. In a typical filled omelette you’d never get this much stuff in there! But because you’ve got a second heat source from above, you can really load it up. And the cheese gets a head start in the melting department. Use a good quality sharp cheese but don’t over do it. Just a light layer over the filling.
Pop it back under the broiler for another minute or so, just until the cheese is melting and the egg has finished cooking. You need to let the omelette rest for maybe a minute or so before trying to fold it. The eggs will slightly deflate, making it less likely to break in half at the fold line. You can practice sliding the omelette out of the pan onto a serving plate while folding. Then you’ll know you’ve made it big time just like me.
It’s that easy!
Garnish with some fresh parsley and chives. And more black pepper if you like. Here’s the recipe:
Omelette Made Easy
Ingredients
- 3 fresh large eggs
- pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp cold water
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp finely minced onion
- ¼ cup chopped sweet red pepper
- 3 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 slice deli ham
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish if desired
- minced green onion for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Whisk eggs well. Add a pinch of salt and let rest while preparing fillings.
- Mince onion. Rinse and chop pepper and mushrooms. Saute in butter in a medium sized non stick frying pan until softened slightly. Chop ham, add to pan and cook just long enough to heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Remove filling to a plate and keep warm.
- Return frying pan to stove top, set to medium-low. Whisk cold water into egg and pour gently into the pan. Allow to cook for about a minute or two. No need to move egg around in the pan. Watch for the edges to begin to set.
- Turn oven to broil. Place pan in the oven on the middle rack. If handle is not oven proof, leave the door open and keep the handle pointed out of the oven. Watch carefully and cook until the egg is almost cooked through. Give the pan a shake and remove once the egg is only wiggly in the centre.
- Add the fillings to the omelette on one half of the pan. Choose the half closest to the handle for easier flipping. Top with shredded cheese. Return to the oven under the broiler and cook only until the cheese melts, usually less than a minute. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about a minute.
- Carefully fold in half by holding the pan handle in your non dominant hand and with a spatula in your dominant hand. With practice you'll be able to slide the omelette out of the pan while folding, directly onto the serving plate.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and minced green onion if desired.
I’m thrilled that someone else came up with this method too. It works like a charm and the eggs are fully cooked without browning.
Small edit suggestion : “Watch carefully and cool until the egg is almost cooked through. ”
It’s not too late to change cool to cook, which I’m pretty sure you meant.
Thank you so much for picking up on the typo! How embarrassing for an English major!
As I’m sitting here eating my omelette this morning, I thought to myself: “I wonder if my process for making an omelette is a well known method.”
So a quick search on my phone brought me here as the first stop.
I Love it!
People are always amazed at how “perfect” my omelettes are, and I usually just smile and say thank you without revealing my secret. I’m the type that doesn’t let people in the kitchen when I cook because I use all kinds of shortcuts and “cheats.” However, my philosophy is that if the food still tastes amazing, who cares about the process?
In addition to a dash of milk, I add something I learned years ago working for a certain “upscale” chain restaurant that is popular for their cheesecakes. I think Canada only has one of their outlets in Toronto. Their standards for food are definitely high and impressive., but I digress. Anyway, they use a dash of mayonnaise in their omelettes and it gives the omelettes a beautiful velvety texture and sheen. I’ve never stopped doing the same since learning that.
So happy to see this stove to broiler method is used by others!
Thank you for that idea! I will be trying that for sure. I have a hunch I know what restaurant you’re talking about 😉.