How To Make A Perfect Omelette

Your quest for the perfect omelette will require tools and ingredients. Since I am sharing all my secrets as an omelette master, I would be remiss if I didn't list them for you or if I left anything out.

Please gather these items first:

1) A Stove/Range...You probably knew this was important, but some folks try to cook omelettes on open fires. I couldn't begin tell you how hard it is to control your heat using an open fire and, as you will soon read, heat is one of my secrets.

2) Shedd's Spread Country Crock Margarine...Yep. No butter. I believe that the taste of this spread is just mild enough not to overpower the taste of your omelette. Real butter has too strong of a taste.
This is my secret ingredient.

3) Eggs...Jumbo. I prefer 4 or 5 egg omelettes. What can I say? I like to eat.

4) One No Stick Surface Frying Pan...If you do it my way, your omelette will be half as big as the cooking surface of the pan. Plan accordingly.

5) The stuffing...Cheese is a must. If you can't eat cheese, well, I understand. You can actually put just about anything in an omelette. I prefer ham and cheese. Veggies work well.

6) A spatula...must be metal and must be thin. THIN. You are trying to unstick cooking egg from metal without breaking or tearing said egg. Thick plastic doesn't work.

7) A Bowl and a Fork...Ever mix raw eggs together in your hand? Neither have I.

Have you got everything? Follow me to the next module...

Now that we have all our tools and ingredients together...let's get cooking:

First, turn on your burner. HIgh setting right now is okay because we are going to melt the Shedds Spread Country Crock (hereafter known as SSCC) first. Get a nice big old hunk of SSCC and put in your pan. Let it melt some and then pick up your pan and swirl it around the entire cooking surface AND a little up the sides too. How much SSCC is enough? If you have a nice puddle of SSCC in your pan and enough left over that you have to remove it with a spoon you have the right amount. Perfect. I can't emphasize this enough...you want a puddle of SSCC covering your entire cooking surface.

Next, put your pan back on the burner and turn the heat DOWN. You can ALMOST not cook an omelette too slowly, but you can most surely cook it too fast. You should set your burner to about halfway between low and medium. Since cooking times vary, here are measuring sticks for you on your heat settings:

If you pour your egg mixture in the pan and it immediately sizzles or starts to "set" then your heat is too high.

If you can walk over to your bowl, break your eggs and mix them up for your second omelet (because SOMEONE is going to want one too!) and walk over to your pan and your omelette is just starting to set...your heat is perfect.

Let's work on your egg mixture...

This is really the easiest part. Just use a fork and blend your eggs until they are completely mixed.Give it a little salt and then more than a little pepper. A few folks like to add some hot sauce here and that's okay too. I am not a hot sauce on eggs kind of guy, but you just might be. Or, you might be a hot sauce kind of girl. That's cool too.

Pour egg contents into pan.

Wait, did you add something ELSE to your egg mixture? Like milk? EGADS! Whatever, but I cannot guarantee these directions will work with add ins.

Pour egg contents into pan.

Wait another minute. Did you put some of your ingredients in the egg mixture? Your Veggies? That's just nasty. Spoon them out and put them in the center of your omelette when I tell you to later in this module.

(Just kidding. But not about the nasty part. If you do add your "fillings" to the egg mixture, don't overdo it.)

Pour egg contents into pan. Wait for it...wait for it...wait for it

Is your mixture starting to cook and set up? Great...now take your THIN spatula and push some of the uncooked egg up to the edges and also over the edges and into the center. Use this to fill any "bubble ups" you get that you had to pop. Continue to cook until you have a thin layer of uncooked egg mixture laying on top. All the edges are done.

Now you have to work fast. If you did this right and you have a frying pan that's in fairly good shape you should be able to dig underneath the edges with your THIN spatula and loosen that baby up. If you used enough SSCC and cooked it slow enough you might be suprised how easy it is. Your goal here is to be able to move the entire omelette around in the pan...swirl it.

Got it? Great! Do you still have a little uncooked egg mixture on top? Perfect.
Now place your "stuffing" all over the top.

Let's pause this for a second...

I'm not a world famous cook (only regional heh heh), so here are some links to some omelet recipes from those who ARE world famous:

The Rachael Ray Omelet Recipe

Emerils Omelet Recipe

Julia Child's Basic Omelet Recipe

Have you ever asked yourself, "Are Eggs Good For You?". Here are a few articles on the Incredible Edible Egg...you decide.

A Mayo Clinic Article on Eggs

A WEBMD Article on Eggs

An Article from the BBC

10 Health Benefits of Eggs!

Where were we?

Hmmm...Oh yes, my favorite part. The stuffing.

Now sprinkle whatever you like in your omelette all over the top.

WARNING! If you like your omelette "overstuffed", put it all on ONE SIDE and don't
take it out into the center. It will become impossible to flip the other side over and you will end up with scrambled egg hash. It will still taste good, but it's just not the same.

Got your stuffing on there? Great. We are in the home stretch. Now take your thin spatula and GENTLY gather up one side and flip it over.

So there it is. Your omelette should not be brown (unless you like it that way).

Allow it to cook a little more and then...

Get your spatula under the entire omelet, pick it up and flip it over.

Gasp!

You can do it!

Cook it a little more.

Finished.

Slide that puppy onto a sturdy plate and enjoy.

One final note:

There are some of you who want your omelette folded here and there so it looks like a burrito. It's not a buritto, it's an omelette. Besides, the more folds you attempt, the greater chance of ending up with scambled eggs. Fold more than once at your own risk.

Good Day!

Here are a few different "types" of omelets. Most of these have derived their names from the fillings:

A Tex-Mex Omelet has Green Chilis,Black Olives, Green and Red Peppers, and of course, Jack Cheese.

The Spanish Omelet or Tortilla Espanola includes fried potatoes and diced onions. Some folks add garlic and cheese too.

The Western Omelet (sometimes known as the Denver Omelet) has a combination of diced ham, diced onions and red and green bell peppers.

A Chili Omelet has, well...Chili. This one is for Chili lovers.

There are many more. Use your imagination and create your own!

Are you saying to yourself, "Come on, omelettes are easy, I can do that in my sleep"? Well, maybe you should learn to cook a souffle. Here's a little more on souffles...no, I will not get into it here. Souffles are too complicated.

(just click on the links below)

A Rachel Allen Souffle Recipe. Delicious!

Alton Brown Cheese Souffle Recipe on the Food Network

Kris Jenner's Sweet Potato Souffle from the Rachael Ray Show