How To: Make a Great Omelette

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

While Patch can’t resolve this existential dilemma, it’s a sure thing that the egg did come before the omelette.  And, omelettes, as most of us know  are delicious at any time of day.

But sometimes, despite best intentions, cooking with eggs leads to an over or under-done result.  

Wouldn’t it be nice to whip up this tasty meal with consistency?

For advice on how to cook great omelettes, Patch went to Chrissy Auer, who, along with husband Hapi, operates Glen’s Dinette on Main Street.  At 20  years and counting, the couple are the seventh and longest-running owners of this popular village eatery.   

Chrissy, standing before the egg-covered grill in the crowded eatery, looks sweetly composed and not much older than the young college graduate who began making breakfasts back in 1990.

“I graduated in April, got married in May, and began work at the restaurant in June,” she laughs.  And she’s been cooking omelettes ever since.  

Glen’s cracks open several dozen eggs a day, Auer says, many which leave the grill as omelettes.  While not an' eggs-act' figure, it’s safe to say that Glen’s makes thousands each year--taking into account a few weeks of egg-free vacation for the hardworking couple.  

Here are some of Chrissy Auer’s tips for producing consistently well-cooked omelettes:

Tip 1: Use fresh eggs.  

“You want your yolks to be up--nice and high and round.  Not flat.”  she says.

What does that mean?  

The “up” yolk of a very fresh egg has a round appearance--when you crack open the egg, the yolk will be a tight yellow ball in the middle of a thick clinging white.

Yolks of less fresh eggs tend to rupture easily and flatten, and the whites are thinner and spread outward.  This kind of egg won’t produce an omelette of good consistency.

Tip 2: You need three extra-large eggs for a base to hold fillings. 

Auer says be sure to “scramble the eggs up really well, by using two forks” to make a complete blend of the whites and yolks.  This gives the egg base good consistency to hold the fillings.

Tip 3: Prep your ingredients before you start cooking.

Cut omelette filling into a size small enough to integrate with the egg base and create a pleasant blend of egg and filling with each bite.   Almost any ingredient can go in an omelette--traditional favorites include diced bacon, ham, cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes, or you can be creative and add other foods.  If you prefer softer veggies with less crunch, saute or quickly blanch them beforehand. 

Tip 4: Preheat the pan.

Be sure to preheat the cooking surface.  It should be hot enough so that oil or butter sizzles when added.  This way the eggs will begin to cook as soon as they’re poured.

Tip 5: Use the right pan.

Next, pour your eggs onto the griddle or pan. Best size for omelettes is 7-inch diameter, side-to-side, with a 5-inch diameter cooking base. If you’re cooking with a round pan, you’ll have an enclosed circle of egg.  If you’re using a griddle, the eggs will spread, but if you used fresh eggs, they should hold their shape better and not thin out too much.  

Tip 6: Don't leave the stove.

Eggs cook quick so you need to keep a close eye. When the eggs are about halfway/almost “dry,” it's time to add the fillings.  

Tip 7: Ingredient placement matters.

If you’re using a pan,  lay your filling toward the middle of the egg circle, leaving empty space around the edges.  You’ll be flipping the egg in half soon, to make the semi-circle omelette. 

If you’re using a griddle, your eggs may have spread into an irregular shape.  Simply sprinkle the filling over the entire surface of the omelette.  You’ll make a tri-fold rectangular omelette. 

After filling, you’ll probably cook the omelette no longer than two more minutes till all the egg is set.  Cooking times vary, so watch carefully.  And keep in mind that eggs continue to cook after they leave the pan, so don’t overcook.

Tip 8:  Make a smooth flip

When the egg appears nearly done, use a spatula to flip a circular omelette in half, or to tri-fold an irregular one. Make a tri-fold by flipping one edge of the omelette halfway toward the center, then bringing the opposite edge to cover that.

You may turn the omelette once or twice more in the pan to “seal” the folds, pressing lightly with the spatula along the seams.  Then remove from the heat, and serve.  For a more attractive presentation, position a tri-fold omelette with the seam-side down.

Auer says some home cooks make omelettes in a pan placed in the oven, which brings them into a fluffier state.  Another trick,  gleaned from a cooking website, is to add milk or a tablespoon of cold water or plain seltzer to the eggs. 

Given all the omelette requests at Glen, we asked Chrissy about any unusual requests that she's created.

“Lots of egg-white-only omelettes for health-conscious customers,” says Auer.  

She thinks, then adds, “There are also the eight-egg omelettes.”

Eight eggs?

“For the weightlifters.  They like to bulk up” [on the protein]. 

If a three-egg, or even an eight-egg omelette isn’t enough for you, consider the Guinness World Record omelette:  On March 19, 1994, Guinness recorded a 160,000-egg omelette (1383 square feet) cooked in Yokohama, Japan.  

Closer to home--though not as close as Babylon Village breakfast spots--is the annual “Giant Omelette Celebration” in Abbeville, Louisiana.  

Each year since 1984, an enormous Cajun omelette of over 5,000 eggs is prepared by international chefs.  One additional egg is cracked open for each successive year of the festival, meaning that on November 5 and 6, 2011, you could share in the consumption of a 5,027-egg feast.  Visitors eat for free.  (Click here  more information and a video link to see the omelette being made.) 

Or instead, make an omelette for yourself right now.  Remember: three eggs, pre-heat, and watch ‘em closely.  Now go get crackin’.