The perfect omelette

[TheChosenTwo]

Don’t really enjoy these but I eat them sometimes because we have hens and often a glut of eggs to get through.
What’s your tip to make the perfect omelette?
I’ll admit to my usual method which is to crack the eggs into the hot pan with butter already melted, break the eggs up a bit, season, start just folding it up and bit and pushing it about in the pan, once it’s setting around the edges I will add my fillings (usually cheese and/or mushrooms that I will have already cooked;), whack it under the grill for a minute to set the top and then flop it onto a plate.
It’s not especially appetising but it fills a whole and uses up some eggs!
disclaimer, I’m NOT the cook of the house, very rarely do anything other than assemble components for a salad 😂 I know my method will horrify many, I’m okay with this!

Yes, usually grated. I want the proper cheese pull type melted!

Break eggs into a bowl, add salt, pepper and herbs - important as it won’t taste of much without , use fresh herbs ideally. break up eggs with fork and sort of mix but DONT make into homogeneous blend or whisk. You should see white and yolk separately. Otherwise you’re steeering to scrambled eggs.

I then add about 1 desert spoon of cold water and lightly mix in- this turns to steam on contact with very hot pan and creates lighter texture - learntvthis trick years ago

Prep your filling if using- this may mean cooking mushrooms first in pan etc. have the fillings ready to hand
Only when ready to serve and everyone at table or whatever,

heat heavy bottom frying pan over the heat at max until it is searingly hot. you should feel heat on your hand form around 30 cm away,
add a good knob of butter- it should sizzle and melt immedately- swirl very quickly to grease pan base

pour in eggs and using a fork, immedately bring the cooked egg into middle, tipping unset eggs to edges until it is all partially set - it literally takes 1 or2 mins

the top should NOT be set.

tip over your filling and make sure dispersed well

DO NOT flip the omelette- it should be soft inside- it’s not a flipping pancake . You cook one side only.

using a palette knife and your serving plate, tilt the pan over the plate, flip one edge over, and allow omelette to roll over itself and out onto plate

best omelettes are where egg in centre is just cooked, but runny and not quite set, but the intense heat has browned the outside . You need a very hot pan to do that.

The original fast food - takes 3-4 mins to get 2 out and on table, if you’ve got fillings ready first.

You’re cooking too slow, on too low a heat, and mixing eggs too much
an omelette is cooked high, fierce and fast and one side only.

I do much the same as you, but I like a cheese and onion omelette so I try the sliced onion in butter and oil to soften before adding the egg, and I like gruyere or a mixture of gruyere and cheddar. I put the cheese on before popping under the grill as I like it to go nice and bubbly. Fold in half to serve and add hot buttered toast and butter. Yum!

Should add that I travelled a lot in USA with work, and was appalled to see them making omelettes in hotels. That’s a thing over there. Nowt wrong with it as breakfast or the weird filling options.
pit was just they used to cook them for like 10 mins, using a thermometer to check they were “done”
2 things happended

1. there was a massive backlog of folks eating for breakfast omelettes cos it took ages to get just 1 omelet cooked
2. The bloody thing was like rubber - a full set, dry, rubbery texture. Just plan nasty.

I tried to get various hotels in all sorts of cities to cook me one once on very high and fast so still runny- they mostly always refused. Oddly though they would always be able to cook me poached eggs with nice runny centres. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Season your eggs!

Quiche is another good way to use up lots of eggs.

@Appleofmyeye2023 regardless of what an omelette SHOULD be like - I'm totally with @TheChosenTwo in not liking snotty eggs. Definitely popping mine under the grill.

Fair does 🤷🏼‍♀️someone asked. I said. You do you

Fantastic! I can't wait to try this.

I love smoked salmon and cream cheese with chives in an omelette.

Break the eggs into a jug and mix. Pour into a hot pan. This part is a pain with an electric hob and I often get impatient and pour them in before it's hot enough. I think you're supposed to turn the heat down then.
Put cheese in the middle, doesn't need cooking in advance.
If I'm adding tomatoes, I microwave them for a minute first.
If the cheese doesn't melt properly, I put the whole thing in the micro for a bit. I couldn't be arsed waiting for the grill to heat up and using a separate tray.

A good cheese omelette shouldn't be bland at all. I life feta so maybe experiment with the type of cheese.

All those who put it under the grill - are you serving a round omelette, like a pancake?

You’re supposed to basically cook it as a circle, then when it’s set on the bottom enough, and you’ve sprinkled fillings/seasoning into the unset eggy bit on the top, you fold it in half so you end up with a semicircle. Then let it cook a tiny bit more and flip it if you like. Then serve.

Sandwiching the runny egg topside into the middle heats up the uncooked bit so it just sets perfectly (I like it still a bit soft in the middle) so you don’t need to grill it to cook that bit. It also helps your grated cheese to melt, if you’re using that.

There are far better ways of cooking them by flipping the pan and getting a nice fancy tube shape of omelette but basically you’re folding the uncooked upper surface in on itself so it heats up in the middle.

Well I did it at lunchtime, fried some red onions first and added some grated mozzarella (we had birria tacos at the weekend which were incredible - cheese was leftover from that), pre whisked and seasoned the eggs, poured them into then onions/butter, left it and didn’t jiggle anything about, under the grill for 30 seconds to set the top.
I will not eat snotty eggs.
it was… fine. As always! Maybe they’re just meant to be fine. Not a taste sensation. Does anyone actually really look forward to eating an omelette? As in, oh god I can’t wait til lunch for a delicious omelette?!

I think of them as a cheese delivery mechanism…so mine are always super tasty.

My top tip is to cook the egg mixture in butter.

Melt the butter in the pan, and pour the excess into the egg mix, whisk, and pour into,pan to cook. Yes Boursin in omelettes is lovely ( bear recipe)

fry some broccoli spears with garlic and salt

beat two egg. Add mixed herbs and coarse ground black pepper. Couple of thin strips of feta

Ramp up the frying pan to the max

thrown it all in!

broccoli and feta omelette is amazing and really filling.

Beat the eggs far longer than you think you need to. They get a lovely glossy silky texture. Then add salt and fresh chopped chives, thyme and cook in real butter not oil. Leave it until the top is almost opaque before flipping and or folding.

Or chop up cooked potatoes, onions, peppers, peas and fry in a pan. Pour well-seasoned beaten eggs over the top. Sprinkle with oregano and grated cheese then finish under a grill. Delicious.

Separate eggs.
Whisk whites until peaked
Whisk in yolks.
Season.
Chuck in pan with filling (cooked if necessary, mushrooms etc)
When cooked underneath (lift edge to check) put under hot grill until top is cooked.

Ultra fluffy omelette.

So you're not gently pulling the cooked edges in to the middle and tipping the uncooked egg back out into the space you made? This changes the texture from just cooked egg to soft omelette-y eggs.

@Appleofmyeye2023 does it exactly how I do it, makes the perfect omelette. I learned about the addition of a small amount of water to the eggs a few years ago, makes a real difference to the texture.

Mozzarella is still bland OP, you need to add stronger flavours. I fry diced chorizo and onions in the pan before adding the eggs (which gave lots of seasoning whisked in). When nearly done grate over loads of extra mature cheddar and leave for a couple of minutes until it starts to melt before folding and serving.