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Perfect Cheese Omelet with Bacon, Onion, and Scallion Filling

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on October 5, 2011

Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 1 (filling enough for 2 omelets)

Perfect Cheese Omelet with Bacon, Onion, and Scallion Filling

Ingredients

Filling

2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch strips½ small onion, chopped fine1 scallion, sliced thin

Omelet

3 large eggs Salt and ground black pepper ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet3 tablespoons smoked Gouda or other cheese of your choice

Before You Begin

Smoked Gouda is a good match for this filling. Be sure to prepare the filling before you begin making the omelet or omelets.

Instructions

    for the filling

  1. Fry bacon in medium skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 3 minutes; with slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet; set skillet over medium heat and add onion, chopped fine, to skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in scallion. Remove paper towel from under bacon and transfer onion mixture to plate with bacon; set aside until ready to use.
  2. for the omelet

  3. Beat eggs and salt and pepper with fork in small bowl until thoroughly combined.
  4. 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 and filling down center of omelet, perpendicular to handle of skillet.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 with Bacon, Onion, and Scallion Filling

Perfect Cheese Omelet with Bacon, Onion, and Scallion Filling

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

30 minutes

Yield

Serves 1 (filling enough for 2 omelets)

Ingredients

Filling

2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch strips
½ small onion, chopped fine
1 scallion, sliced thin

Omelet

3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons smoked Gouda or other cheese of your choice

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Filling

2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch strips
½ small onion, chopped fine
1 scallion, sliced thin

Omelet

3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons smoked Gouda or other cheese of your choice

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Filling

2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch strips
½ small onion, chopped fine
1 scallion, sliced thin

Omelet

3 large eggs
Salt and ground black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing finished omelet
3 tablespoons smoked Gouda 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

Smoked Gouda is a good match for this filling. Be sure to prepare the filling before you begin making the omelet or omelets.

Instructions

    for the filling

  1. Fry bacon in medium skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 3 minutes; with slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet; set skillet over medium heat and add onion, chopped fine, to skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Off heat, stir in scallion. Remove paper towel from under bacon and transfer onion mixture to plate with bacon; set aside until ready to use.
  2. for the omelet

  3. Beat eggs and salt and pepper with fork in small bowl until thoroughly combined.
  4. 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 and filling down center of omelet, perpendicular to handle of skillet.
  5. 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.
  6. 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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