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Perfect Cheese Omelet

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on January 30, 2012

Time

15 minutes

Yield

Serves 1

Perfect Cheese Omelet

Ingredients

3 large eggs Salt and ground black pepper ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère cheddar, Monterey Jack, or other cheese of your choice

Before You Begin

Making perfect omelets takes some practice, so don’t be disappointed if your first effort fails to meet your expectations.

Instructions

  1. Beat eggs and salt and pepper with fork in small bowl until thoroughly combined.
  2. Heat butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides and butter just begins to color, pour in eggs. Cook until edges begin to set, 2 to 3 seconds, then, with rubber spatula, stir in circular motion until slightly thickened, about 10 seconds. Following illustration 1, below, use spatula to pull cooked edges in toward center, then tilt pan to one side so that uncooked eggs run to edge of pan. Repeat until omelet is just set but still moist on surface, about 20 to 25 seconds. Sprinkle cheese down center of omelet, perpendicular to handle of skillet.
  3. Remove skillet from burner. Following illustration 2, use rubber spatula to fold lower third (nearest you) of omelet to center; press gently with spatula to secure seams, maintaining fold.
  4. Run spatula between outer edge of omelet and pan to loosen. Following illustration 3, Jerk pan sharply toward you a few times to slide omelet up far side of pan. Jerk pan again so that 2 inches of unfolded edge folds over itself, or, following illustration 4, use spatula to fold edge over. Invert omelet onto plate. Tidy edges with spatula, brush with melted butter, and serve.

Perfect Cheese Omelet

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

15 minutes

Yield

Serves 1

Ingredients

3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère cheddar, Monterey Jack, or other cheese of your choice

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère cheddar, Monterey Jack, or other cheese of your choice

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons very finely grated Gruyère cheddar, Monterey Jack, or other cheese of your choice

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a foolproof omelet recipe that would produce a creamy, supple omelet with perfectly melted cheese that didn't leak all over the pan. We found that using a good-quality nonstick skillet, cooking the eggs with an on-burner/off-burner technique, grating an easy-melting cheese, and shaping the omelet with the sides of the pan and a heat-resistant rubber spatula gave us the omelet recipe we had been looking for.

Before You Begin

Making perfect omelets takes some practice, so don’t be disappointed if your first effort fails to meet your expectations.

Instructions

  1. Beat eggs and salt and pepper with fork in small bowl until thoroughly combined.
  2. Heat butter in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides and butter just begins to color, pour in eggs. Cook until edges begin to set, 2 to 3 seconds, then, with rubber spatula, stir in circular motion until slightly thickened, about 10 seconds. Following illustration 1, below, use spatula to pull cooked edges in toward center, then tilt pan to one side so that uncooked eggs run to edge of pan. Repeat until omelet is just set but still moist on surface, about 20 to 25 seconds. Sprinkle cheese down center of omelet, perpendicular to handle of skillet.
  3. Remove skillet from burner. Following illustration 2, use rubber spatula to fold lower third (nearest you) of omelet to center; press gently with spatula to secure seams, maintaining fold.
  4. Run spatula between outer edge of omelet and pan to loosen. Following illustration 3, Jerk pan sharply toward you a few times to slide omelet up far side of pan. Jerk pan again so that 2 inches of unfolded edge folds over itself, or, following illustration 4, use spatula to fold edge over. Invert omelet onto plate. Tidy edges with spatula, brush with melted butter, and serve.

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