I love omelettes. Not so keen on cheese (lactose intolerant). Yet from watching a chef at a breakfats buffet at a five star hotel I know you don’tneed cheese to make an omelette. So, how is it done? My omelettes crash into a mushy bulk of scrambled egg. Am I using too much milk, so as a consequence it goes runny?
Sorry for the typos in the heading.
Sounds like you’re being too impatient and using too much milk. You’ve got to wait until the eggs have set before you add the fillings and then turn half over.
I use a moderately hot pan and some butter, whisk the eggs with a touch of milk and pour a thin layer in the pan. Once the top of the eggs starts to solidify I lay my filling over one half of the mix and turn the other half over.
A few practice goes and you’ll be fine.
I hope this doesn’t make me look stupid, but how would you define “omelette”?
To me, and omelette is scrambled eggs, except that scrambled eggs are just plain eggs (with maybe some milk or something mixed into the eggs for flavor or whatever), while an omelette is the same thingbut before it is done you put some solid stuff (cheese, onions, peppers, whatever) on top and then fold the egg over it like a crepe, let it cook a little more and it is done.
Omelet or omlette or however you want to spell that darned French word is fluffy.
Alcibiades Try whipping the whites, beating milk* into the yokes, folding the whites and yolks together, and only flip once.
*If you are making a four-egg omelette, use milk equal to half a yolk.
An omelette doesn’t require milk. Really it is straight eggs. For every 2 or 3 eggs put in one tablespoon of water - only to help steam the eggs. Use a good flat sided non stick pan. I have a French made one that requires no oil at all. Cook quickly, moving the cooked stuff from the edges to the center and tilting the pan to flow the uncooked egg into the spaces. When the top is nearly set put on fillings and fold in half. After a few moments more serve it. If you really hate runny eggs, as most kids seem to, before filling it slide onto a plate and put it back in the pan cooked side up. Fill,fold and serve immediately.
Another filling alternative is an oven baked omelette. A well seasoned single piece cast iron frypan or a shallow baking dish or pie dish will do. Slice one or two potatoes about as thin as a coin, microwave until cooked. Grease cookware and spread layers of potato on the bottom. Spread whatever you’ve got on top of that. Use your imagination - chicken, asparagus, mushrooms, pepers, onions, cooked meat, fish, refried beans, leftover chili, vegetables…whatever. Just keep beating up eggs and pouring them in until everything is covered. Who cares if it needs a dozen eggs? If you are adding cheese sprinkle on top. Thin slices of tomato on top of that look good. Cook at about 350 for at least 30 minutes. It will vary with size. I pull it out during cooking and move the cooked egg toward the center for even cooking as often as needed. Sometimes I brown the top under the grill. Often to serve I warm a jar of salsa and make pretty patterns on top.
The earlier tip about beating the yolks and whites separately makes a huge difference to your omelettes fluffiness in any circumstances.
Once you have placed your beaten eggs into the frying pan and added any fillings there is an alternative to turning it if you’re afraid of it breaking. Just place it under a hot grill to cook the other side.
P.S. If making scrambled eggs adding a splash of fresh orange juice instead of milk gives a wonderful flavour.
In my opinion - it’s down to the heat and the stirring. You shouldn’t use milk. Just whip up the eggs, and pour into a skilled with a reasonable amount of hot oil in it. Wait till you see the bottom of the eggs solidify, and gently push the solid bottom away from you so it ruffles. Don’t stir it. Continue pushing the bottom away until the thing is starting to get solid throughout, but is still moist on top. Then add your fillings, slide a spatula underneath the whole thing, and fold it in half. Put it under a broiler (grill) to brown, turning over once.
Many thanks for the tips. I was using butter not oil. Will that make a difference?
I will try again tomorrow, sans milk, and report back.
Really? Must try that.
You certainly don’t need milk, or water. Adding anything to the eggs before you mix them risks making the mixture too brittle so it will split as you fold it over. Over-beating the eggs makes a brittle mix too and its also better not to add any salt before cooking – season the omelette once it’s cooked instead.
The difference between an omelette and scrambled eggs is that scrambled eggs are scrambled – broken up in the bottom of the pan into soft little lumps instead of being cooked into a single mass.
The difference between cooking in butter or oil is that oil will reach a higher temperature before it overheats (butter will have burnt before then). Personally I use butter because I prefer the flavour but add a little oil too to stop the butter burning before the pan is hot enough. It’s a pity people feel the need to overcook their omelettes, they really ought to be baveuse (moist/runny inside).
I’ll second all of the ant-milk suggestions. I always just use straight eggs and whatever spices i want, very briskly whipped. toppings come in after the bottom of the egg mixture has had a chance to cook and firm up- added only to one half, soo that you can do the fold and flip.
works pretty much every time for me.
and too much cheese can ruin a perfectly good omelett.
This has been debated before here on the SDMB and scrambled eggs with ‘stuff’ in them is sometimes called a scrambler (i.e. ham scrambler would be scrambled eggs with bits of ham in it). but I don’t think it has an official definition.
OTOH an omlet is pretty well defined, though sometimes the term is misused. One of the major differences between an omlet and scrambled eggs (w or w/o stuffings) is that the omlet is kept in one continous piece while scrambled eggs were ‘moved’ around and broken up while cooking.
Fillings are not required for an omlet, just the manner of preperation.
Think ‘pancake’. The eggs need to settle in the skillet, as when you’re making pancakes. Adding some, like a teaspoon, to four eggs seem to make it more smooth, but YMMV.
I use a shaker, when making omelet. In with eggs, salt, freshly ground pepper, put the lid in, shake with frenzy, but not for long. Pour in skillet and put a lid on top. That way the top of the omelet coagulates quicker. If waiting too long before flipping over, there’s a tendency to burn the bottom.
Ever try omelet with mushrooms? Fry some mushrooms with chopped garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Let is sit on the stove so it all turns kinda dark brown and mushy. Make your omelet and fold the mushrooms into it. Enjoy with a cold beer and some fresh white bread (not the pre-sliced atrocity in plastic bag).
Thanks, everton and kanicbird. I guess what I’ve been calling scrambled eggs all my life is more accurately “an omelette with no filling”.
For both omelettes and scrambled eggs, the eggs are thoroughly mixed in a bowl. It should look homogeneous, with no remnants of the white distinguishable.
For scrambled eggs, adding a small amount of liquid is OK. Water works.
For scrambled eggs, the mix is poured into the pan and “stirred”–scrambled–CONSTANTLY. Every second those eggs are in the pan, they are being stirred.
For an omelette, the mix is poured into the pan and LEFT ALONE until it’s about half cooked. Then it is FOLDED onto itself, in half or thirds.
For both, remove from the pan when they’re about 90% cooked. If they get fully cooked, they get dry and tough.
Part of the confusion here is that the overwhelming majority of short-order cooks don’t seem to know how to do this. They often don’t fully mix the eggs in the bowl. What they call “scrambled eggs” is really a chopped omelette–it only gets stirred occasionally, instead of constatly. And sometimes they stir their omelettes a bit, making their omelettes essentially the same as their scrambled eggs.
I was trained as a short-order cook by a man who really knew how to cook eggs. For example, an over-easy fried egg should have a runny yolk, NO runny white, and NO burnt white (brown or “cellophane”). Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to get someone to cook them that way for you. But with all due modesty, [BRAG ALERT] I get rave comments on the eggs I cook [/BRAG ALERT]. I’m just sorry that a lot of cooks these days weren’t given similar training.
Addendum:
Proper heat is critical. Too often, eggs are cooked on a grill or in a pan that is too hot.
Whether or not stuff is added to the eggs is immaterial to the question of scrambled vs. omelette.
I wouldn’t think of using anything other than butter for frying (fried over or up, scrambled, omelette), though I will lightly oil the pan or grill first.
And the pan or grill has to be as smooth as a baby’s butt. A fried egg should slide in the pan without having to scrape it off first.
The Scylla Omelette:
Break two eggs in a bowl, add a dash of tabasco, and a dash of black pepper. Whisk briskly for a minute.
Put a few drops of oil in a small pan and sautee your filling (onions, peppers, and such, no cheese,) than set aside.
Put a pad of butter in the pan, and bring it to medium heat. Add egg. Swish it around to make an even coating.
Immediately put your filling in the pan, but just over what will be the bottom half of the omelette.
Your omelette is ready to flip when it turns solid in the middle. You can increase your chance of success by kicking the heat up for about 30 seconds right before you flip to sear the bottom slightly. But it should be about three minutes.
If you want cheese, now’s the time.
Shake the frying pan to ensure the omelette is not stuck, than tilt it to the side so that a portion of it starts to slip out of the pan (you don’t need much.) use a spatula to catch that portion as it slips and flip it back onto itself, thus folding the omelette.
When you get good you can be a big show off and just fold the omelette in the pan without a spatula
Remember: Slide and flip.
After the flipping another 30 seconds or so and you should be done.
Bagels and cream cheese, bacon, Corned beef hash and home fries are generally required, along with the Sunday NYT, and a Bloody Mary.
I’ll be on the veranda.
:dubious:
3 eggs
1 tbsp millk
pepper.
Mix all. Put over Medium/Low heat in a lightly greased pan. The pan should be cool enough that butter won’t burn. Personally I use a bit of olive oil but YMMV.
Cook until bottom solidifies. You may want to tease the edges a smidge just to make sure nothings sticking.
Add some diced tomatoes, banana peppers, green onion, cheese (if it’s not going to give you volcanic farts) down the middle of your eggs.
Flip the right side over. Flip the left side over. Flip the whole deal so the seam is on the bottom (it will cook shut). Sprinkly a few of the toppings onto the top of your omelette. Steam to melt the cheese (if you’ve included it.)
Remove. Eat. Enjoy. Personally I like an omelette with a bit of HP sauce, but thats just me.
