I’ve made thousands of omelets in my day. Plain omelets, Western omelets, omelets with all kinds of cheeses and meats, all egg white, veggie omelets, fruit omelets, mini ones, six-egg omelets, lox, and onion, you name it and I’ve probably had a customer request for it in an omelet. Well, maybe not chocolate, that would be crazy. Or would it?
One thing all those omelets had in common besides eggs is they were not made in non-stick pans. I prefer stainless steel.
I’m not a fan of commercially applied non-stick coatings. I personally have issues with pieces chipping off and possibly winding up in your food no matter how careful you are with them, it happens. I’m also concerned about the fumes these pans omit at high temperatures. Newer coatings seem much improved but I’m still not 100 percent sold.
I know, I know, what you might be thinking is that eggs stick in stainless steel sauté pans and cast iron is heavy (makes it hard to flip).
Don’t blame the pan!
The secret to getting a light fluffy pan omelet is properly greasing the pan, temperature, and timing.
1. Grease a cold stainless pan with butter, cooking oil, or cooking spray. Be generous with the coating. Liberally coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Contrary to popular belief, the eggs don’t absorb all the grease and add tons of calories to your meal. A good deal of the grease gets “pushed” by the liquid to the outer edges.
You’re still concerned about calories? Okay, we’ll use cooking spray for this example.
2. It doesn’t matter if you add milk or water to your eggs. Air is what makes the omelet light. Think about whipped cream, whipped butter, and meringue for a minute. Give your eggs a good beating with a wire whisk. A whisk adds more air than a fork or wooden spoon can.
3. Place your pan on the burner and pour your eggs into the cold pan. Resist stirring the eggs. All stirring will accomplish is removing your great grease coating job! Cook your eggs over medium heat. High heat will cause the bottom to quickly dry out. Too low heat and your eggs won’t set in the middle.
4. Add your fillings, in this case, shredded spinach and cheddar cheese as soon as the eggs start to set.
5. Check the edges. See the bubbles? See it starting to set? Carefully lift the edge. If omelet easily separates from the pan, remove it from the heat.
6. Loosen omelet all the way. Lightly spray the top with cooking spray. Flip. Pan should be hot enough to finish cooking the eggs. Place it back briefly on the heat only if absolutely needed to finish cooking.
7. Fold omelet in half and serve.
I like to make a sandwich on a toasted English Muffin. One more fold and its ready! Delicious!
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I love spinach and eggs fixed any way…..This is the perfect share for Foodie Friends Friday.
I do have one non- stick pan but always heat the oil, butter etc before putting my eggs into it. I will have to try this way next time I make an omelet. Thanks for sharing.
lol funny Lois since the point is to try to get away from using coated pans! My guy has is own non-stick pan he uses for his eggs, he’s not a convert yet, but I keep trying! 😉
Exactly how I make mine! Although I do use a non-stick pan. 🙂