A dry, rubbery omelette cooked too hot or too long. A soft French omelette is the opposite: moderate heat, two minutes, and a centre that's still creamy when you fold it.
For one person
- 3 eggs
- A pinch of salt
- 15 g butter
- A 20 to 22 cm pan
Size matters: in a pan that's too big, the layer of egg is too thin and cooks all at once. For 3 eggs, 20 to 22 cm — which pan size to choose.
Beat the eggs
Beat the eggs with a fork and the salt until white and yolk are fully combined, with no streaks of white. No need to make them foamy. Salt now: it makes the omelette more tender.
The cook, in two minutes
- Empty pan, medium heat, until the water drop test works. No hotter: eggs don't like high heat.
- The butter: it should melt and foam, without browning. If it browns, the pan is too hot, turn it down a little.
- Pour in the eggs and leave them 10 seconds untouched.
- Stir for 20 to 30 seconds with a spatula, pulling the edges to the centre while shaking the pan. You get very fine, small curds.
- Stop stirring when it looks like still-runny scrambled eggs. Spread into an even layer and let it set for 30 seconds to 1 minute: the base firms up, the top stays creamy.
- Fold: tilt the pan, fold a third towards the centre, then slide the omelette onto the plate, rolling it over on itself.
The cue
Take it out while the top is still glossy. It keeps cooking on the plate for a few seconds: if it's already dry in the pan, it will be overcooked at the table.
What if it sticks?
In a stainless pan, egg sticks for two reasons: the pan wasn't hot enough when the butter went in, or there wasn't enough butter. The mechanism, and how to fix it, are here — why your eggs stick.
Fillings
Grated cheese, herbs, ham: add them just before folding, on the still-creamy top. Fillings that release water are cooked separately first, in the same pan: mushrooms, onions, spinach.
The three mistakes
Heat too high. The outside browns and turns rubbery before the centre has set.
A pan that's too big. The layer is too thin and dries out in seconds.
Waiting until it's “properly done”. That's already too late: it comes out still glossy.
A good omelette in stainless is mostly about temperature: a pan that heats evenly helps a lot. The pan we film with is 304 stainless with no coating, in 22, 24 and 28 cm, with the 25-recipe book free.
