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There is no more challenging single-ingredient meal than the omelet. It’s a terrifyingly deliberate process that’s all about perfect temperature and timing, and, in front of the stove, you are naked but for your technique.
As for the filling (if you even need one), there is no wrong combo, only wrong volumes. But anything you add should be for flavor, not nutrition. Precook everything except cheese and avoid anything crunchy. (Broccoli? Who does that?)
Click here to watch Manny Howard demonstrate how to make the perfect omelet.
The Perfect Omelet
Ingredients
1 tbsp corn or peanut oil • 3 eggs at room temperature, beaten • salt and pepper • 1 tbsp c old butter, diced
Tools
Seasoned skillet or nons tick pan • fork • spatula
Cooking Time
Less than two minutes
STEP ONE Beat eggs, season with salt and pepper, and, over medium-high flame, preheat seasoned skillet or nonstick pan with oil.
STEP TWO Add eggs to pan and stir until they coagulate (think very soft scrambled eggs). Tap pan on burner so eggs set in the bottom of pan (still more liquid than solid).
STEP THREE Lift pan off burner at 45- degree angle, and fold or roll edges of the egg disk toward the center, first one side, then the other, folding in thirds rather than in half.
STEP FOUR Now holding the pan, tap the base against something solid to loosen the omelet. Sprinkle the pan with chilled, diced butter, letting it melt but never brown.
STEP FIVE Holding the serving plate below and parallel, let the omelet half-somersault onto the plate, arriving seam-side down. The omelet should be yellow with no trace of caramelization.
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September 15th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
The basic instructions are OK but this is a wimpy (metro-sexual) omelet at best.
The best omelets are made with olive oil and a real man likes to fill his omelet with a good cheese and some crumbled or sliced sausage.
One of my favorites omelet fillings is braised chicken liver and swiss cheese. Another favorite is texas chilli and cheddar cheese.
Also forget the hotel chef school three way fold, a big omelet can be a single fold. Be a man and make a man’s omelet.
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September 16th, 2009 at 3:04 am
I agree with George, we need man omelet’s not girly man, testosterone free eggs!
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Ryan Reply:
January 13th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Fellas… cooking for yourself is easy. Take protein, add heat, no worries. But a real man can also cook for–and impress–his lady. And your lady doesn’t want a man’s omelet. Well, maybe yours does, but I guess that’s your issue…
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January 18th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I’m a big fan of the single fold, although I’ll agree that a tri-fold looks nicer for presentation. Some mushrooms, spinach, creamy cheese, and a little thick cut jalepeno cured bacon.
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March 21st, 2010 at 5:45 am
My biggest problem is always the flip. I’m never able to get my omelets to look as nice as yours in the pictures above because they always break. I’ll have to try following your tips more closely next time.
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