Omelette: how do you make your(favorite)s?

[FrogPrincesse]

Since the famous modernist omelette is popping up on this thread I thought I should ask something that has been bothering me. Can you describe the texture? It seems from the photo that the inside is fully cooked. To me it seems very "well done", more like a crepe than a traditional omelette, but it's hard to tell without having tried it...

As you may know, the omelette skin is made separately to the filling. [...]

I did not realize that the filling also contained eggs. Thanks for the detailed description.

[Martin Fisher]

it might help to precook both the onion and potatoes in a micro until 3/4 done

My friends in Spain deep fried the potato slices until they were a bit soft.

Onions were lightly sautéed in olive oil.

I love Spanish tortillas.

I can't wait to go back.

~Martin

[FeChef]

No browning here. Can't abide it.

My challenge is to use water instead of cream or milk to thin the eggs because I prefer the pure egg flavor without a dairy blur. That makes the egg mixture more fragile. But if you use enough butter (or sometimes olive oil, depending) in the pan and get just the perfect temperature so that you can get the egg set without any browning and not too goopy in the middle (I don't like the goop), then Yay!

I can do it with 2-3 eggs, but if there are more, I'll probably get a brown spot and then I will eat the thing simply because it is a sin to throw away perfectly good food. But the whole thing will taste of overcooked egg and I won't be happy.

The browning on my omelette was not by mistake. I like that slightly crisp outside with a hearty dish like this. You almost need it to hold all of the heavy ingredients in. Also, this was a meal for two, theres 6 eggs in it.

[gfweb]

Both country and classic have their place for me. If sausage is present I like a little brown on the omelette.

[weinoo]

There is no way I would attempt to make either omelette described in the OP for a dinner party!

Someday you should try that...it'll teach you how to cook.

[huiray]

There is no way I would attempt to make either omelette described in the OP for a dinner party!

Someday you should try that...it'll teach you how to cook.

That smacks faintly of Cultural Imperialism.

I think Keith_W knows how to cook, notwithstanding what you may think.

[SobaAddict70]

That secret would be potato chips.

it's funny you mention that, because Monica Bhide has a fave dish she's written about that combines fried eggs with store-bought potato chips.

that might be my next omelette.

it's quite good, despite what opinions one may have of what is essentially "doctored up junk food".

[Dave Hatfield]

I too used to live in Spain way back when and Rotuts is correct in that the 'original' tortilla was made with only eggs, potato, onion and some olive oil. (don't think there was garlic, but I wouldn't swear to it.)

I think this was because the tortilla was very much a peasant dish and people used what they could grow or what was cheap. Not being strapped for cash I decided to 'fancy up' my modern version. Here's how I make mine.

Chop up onion & bell pepper into bite sized chunks.

Parboil some potato then cut it into bite sized chunks.

Put smoked lardons (or cut up thick cut bacon into chunks) into a frying pan with a bit of olive oil. Add the potato.

When the lardons are just starting to brown add the onion & bell pepper. Keep tossing everything so the it cooks relatively evenly.

Once the vegetables, potato & lardons are cooked add well beaten eggs. Tilt the pan around to distribute the egg evenly & cook for a few minutes.

Put the frying pan under a grill and cook the .top. When the top looks cooked and is lightly browned cut down into the tortilla to make sure its set all the way through. If not cook it some more on the stove top.

When done invert the pan over a serving platter & serve. It great either hot or cold. As there are only two of us I like to make a large tortilla & we eat half hot & save the other half to eat cold.

Naturally it needs to be salted & peppered up front & I like to add a good dose of Herbs de Provence.

Not at all traditional, but make a great meal and to my minds its one of the great egg based dishes!

Edited to correct typos

Edited May 29, 2013 by Dave Hatfield (log)

[weinoo]

There is no way I would attempt to make either omelette described in the OP for a dinner party!

Someday you should try that...it'll teach you how to cook.

That smacks faintly of Cultural Imperialism.

I think Keith_W knows how to cook, notwithstanding what you may think.

One of the reasons that chefs ask potential hirees to make an omelet is to gauge their skills as a cook. In a restaurant kitchen. Under pressure. Where the simple things become the hardest.

There isn't a doubt that Keith_W can cook. But to me, that omelet above appears soulless. Like it was made in a lab using techniques that no one who has to cook omelets for a living would ever have the inclination to do.

Sometimes one has to go back to basics to really understand what cooking is all about. That's what I was referring to.

[Keith_W]

Relax huiray, I knew exactly what weinoo meant. He's right ... can I pump out 8 Parisian omelettes for a dinner party? No, I can't. In any case, we should all stop fighting about omelettes before we end up with egg on our face.

[rotuts]

JP mentioned that making an omelette tells him what he needs to know about a potential chef.

[weinoo]

Well I figured that instead of just bloviating about omelets, I might as well go ahead and try to make something I've never made before - the one egg omelet, popularized by SobaAddict70 in his outstanding eGullet food blog this week.

I guess the reason I've never made a one-egg omelet is because when I'm just having one egg, I tend to go for the broken-yolk fried egg sandwich, one which many New Yorkers are familiar with.

Now, it's certainly not as beautiful as Soba's, but not bad for a first attempt, with herbs and maybe a teaspoon of grated Parmigiano And a different folding technique...

[rotuts]

one egg omelette is very interesting, and worth learning. but Id have to make two. so being hungry it tends to be one two egger for me.

[nickrey]

There is no way I would attempt to make either omelette described in the OP for a dinner party!

Someday you should try that...it'll teach you how to cook.

That smacks faintly of Cultural Imperialism.

I think Keith_W knows how to cook, notwithstanding what you may think.

One of the reasons that chefs ask potential hirees to make an omelet is to gauge their skills as a cook. In a restaurant kitchen. Under pressure. Where the simple things become the hardest.

There isn't a doubt that Keith_W can cook. But to me, that omelet above appears soulless. Like it was made in a lab using techniques that no one who has to cook omelets for a living would ever have the inclination to do.

Sometimes one has to go back to basics to really understand what cooking is all about. That's what I was referring to.

Ah yes, the heroic model of cooking.

I'd like to say any line cook who cooks hundreds of poached eggs every morning should get it right. But I know from experience that they don't.

If I remember rightly, one of the French chefs said that his omelette takes three minutes to prepare. Take this to twenty people and you have an hour of cooking if you have one burner available full time for the purpose.

If I cook for more than 20 people I have it planned to the max to achieve a consistent product. If this involves a process such as sous vide, so be it, and I am thankful for it. I've got out 60 uniform, high quality, plates out in twenty minutes with three people on the pass. Soulless? Not at all. Dependent on the cooking Gods for success? A poor service reflects poor planning and execution, nothing more.

Cooking is something that only bulk cooks in the heroic mould can do? Give us a break Mitch. From what I've seen of his cooking, I'd suggest that Keith would p... all over them with only a little experience in a commercial kitchen.

Edited May 29, 2013 by nickrey (log)

[weinoo]

There is no way I would attempt to make either omelette described in the OP for a dinner party!

Someday you should try that...it'll teach you how to cook.

That smacks faintly of Cultural Imperialism.

I think Keith_W knows how to cook, notwithstanding what you may think.

One of the reasons that chefs ask potential hirees to make an omelet is to gauge their skills as a cook. In a restaurant kitchen. Under pressure. Where the simple things become the hardest.

There isn't a doubt that Keith_W can cook. But to me, that omelet above appears soulless. Like it was made in a lab using techniques that no one who has to cook omelets for a living would ever have the inclination to do.

Sometimes one has to go back to basics to really understand what cooking is all about. That's what I was referring to.

Cooking is something that only bulk cooks in the heroic mould can do? Give us a break Mitch. From what I've seen of his cooking, I'd suggest that Keith would p... all over them with only a little experience in a commercial kitchen.

Oh please. I never said that. But it's a nice extrapolation.

What I said was that the striped omelet looks soulless. And I don't care if you serve one of them to me, or 600 of them. I'd send 'em back.

[sigma]

I don't know whether to hate on the awful looking modernist omelette, the painfully navel gazing one egg omelette or the cliched idea that chef's really ask anybody to make them an omelette to work in their kitchen. It's close. I am going to have to get back to you guys on this one.

[gfweb]

To me the MC omelet looks like a pastry...or at least a dessert. It would be weird surprise to bite into it and find that that wasn't creme anglaise oozing out.

Re using an omelette as a cooking test. Top Chef did it and the young turks turned out an embarrassing pile of merde. Might not be such a bad test after all. What good are you if you can plate sous vide fish with forceps but can't actually cook?

[rotuts]

sigma

watch the beginning of the Pepin vid ( the YouTube with the omelette in the first frame )

hard to doubt JP

[Jaymes]

.Pepin had a vid in this 'Techniques' series showing the Fr.classic 'Urban ( my term )' omelette and the also classic 'country' ( his term - the sl browned one ) omelette. plus a forgotten classic the jam/jelly omelette .. an old country dessert ('50's) from FR.

My father lived in Saigon "Indochine" in the mid-50's, when the French were still there. His favorite French restaurant served a dessert omelette, which, through the ensuing decades, he often recreated at home. You make your omelette however you want. Then you plate it onto something flameproof. Best is a small oval ramekin. Top with a generous sprinkle of turbinado (I use the Rancho Gordo piloncillo http://www.ranchogordo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RG&Product_Code=4PIL&Category_Code=HASI#.UaYf_dg0_Zo ), then you flame it with brandy or calvados.

You can add a dollop of ice cream on the side of the plate, or a little whipped cream if you want, but I usually don't.

And, speaking of jam and jelly omelettes, when we were kids, our dad made our favorite omelette on special mornings. He browned some bulk sausage, then put that into the middle of the omelette, then put a narrow strip of jelly right down the middle. Eggs & jelly & sausage. Unbeatable combination for some of us. I had forgotten about that until a year or so ago when I was having breakfast with my daughter. She was having sausage and eggs and toast. There was a little plop of jelly on her plate, and I noticed that with every bite of her eggs and sausage, she scooped up a little bit of jelly onto the fork.

So the following Sunday, I stopped by to make her the "special omelette" that my dad had made us kids when we were young.

Now, of course, it's a classic at her house, for her kids, too.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Jaymes (log)

[rotuts]

very interesting. Im going to give that a try. if I find some fresh ripe strawberries that taste like strawberries I might add a few to this when no one is looking.

[sigma]

sigma

watch the beginning of the Pepin vid ( the YouTube with the omelette in the first frame )

hard to doubt JP

I first saw that when it aired on TV the first time. I like Jacques Pepin very much. I remember back in the early '90s when he came in to spend a little time watching a kitchen in which I was working. Nice man.

Not sure why it is "hard to doubt him" about hiring practices in restaurants since he hasn't worked in one since at least the early '70s, never worked in a restaurant in either the Nouvelle or post-Nouvelle style and cooks a style of food completely divorced from what restaurants, other than retro bistros, do nowadays. It's a nice skill, and at some point it was probably a reasonable test, but now it isn't and people continue to think it is because of videos like this.

[weinoo]

It's a nice skill, and at some point it was probably a reasonable test, but now it isn't and people continue to think it is because of videos like this.

Yes - now you have to show the chef you know how to vacuum pack, put something into a water bath, walk away for 36 hours, come back and unseal, sear, and plate. Much better cooking skills!

[rotuts]

I dont see this as'hiring practices in restaurants'. I see this as this man's view of assessing skill and technique. but what you say on current restaurants is indeed also true.

current restaurants may not need these skills and techniques, along with roasting a chicken and other classic cooking techniques.

so be it.

I should have said I don't doubt JP on classic cooking technique. he last book "Essentials" is all about these older techniques and Rx's

always delicious.

Edited May 29, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[sigma]

I dont see this as'hiring practices in restaurants'. I see this as this man's view of assessing skill and technique. but what you say on current restaurants is indeed also true.

current restaurants may not need these skills and techniques, along with roasting a chicken and other classic cooking techniques.

so be it.

I should have said I don't doubt JP on classic cooking technique. he last book "Essentials" is all about these older techniques and Rx's

always delicious.

Look, I don't disagree with you guys about the problems with current restaurant practices. I'm just saying they exist.

[rotuts]

that brings up an interesting subject: what do restaurants of various grades use these days to asses the skill and technical competence of a potential hire?

The Test Kitchen used to ask applicants to make lemon cookies in their kitchen. after all its their kitchen.

those in the Biz might be brave enough to start this topic.