Can't cook a French omelet

[tommyyate]

I'm a newbie when it comes to cooking. I've been trying to make a classic french omelet. From what I understand, the right omelet should be cook fairly quickly without hardly any egg sticking to the pan.

I don't know if it the quality of my 10" frying pan (non-expensive non stick pan made by silverstone that I purchased at costco), my technique or my plain gas stove in my apartment, but I can't get to come out right.

One thing I must point out is that I cook with egg beaters and not eggs. And I use canola spray oil and not butter. I think this may make a difference on the way the omelet turns out but I'm not sure.

Can anyone give me any advice or offer up some suggestons? Thanks.

 

[Andy M.]

Follow this link:YouTube - good eats french omelet for a two part video on how to make a French omelet.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I LOVE omelets & make them a LOT. I make mine with regular eggs & butter. However, hubby will only eat omelets made with Egg Beaters or Egg Beaters "Just Whites", with canola spray oil as the pan lubricant.

As you've discovered, it's difficult to get these to turn out "right". Or better said, the way you see regular-egg omelets turning out. I've yet to find a way to get hubby's omelets to turn out as nice as mine, although the few times I did sneak in butter instead of the canola oil spray, I did get a better result.

 

[tommyyate]

Thanks Andy M. I actually saw that episode last week and happened to be taking notes. I'm glad to see it's on youtube because it was fillied with all sorts of tips.

I think the problem might be my gas stove. The grates that go over the burner are very flimsy and have a low profile. Everytime I shake the pan over the grate to get the egg mixture moving around, all it does is create a whole lot of noise from the side of grate hitting up against the part of the stove that supposed to keep it in place (I don't know if that makes any sense but it's a particularly annoying banging noise especially in the morning). Also, I think the low profile of the grate brings the pan too close to the fire causing the eggs to cook to quickly (parts of the omelet usually stick to the pan).

If there was some way to maybe replace the grate(s) with the ones I see in more expensive stoves I think that would help.

 

[Callisto in NC]

I'm with Breezy, your issue is the Eggbeaters and spray non-coat. You want to cook French, you have to use real eggs and real butter. The French don't mess around with fake eggs and oil spray.

 

[Andy M.]

tommy, I don't think it's the stove. You should be able to adjust the heat to compensate for the low profile grate. The noise is another issue that, while annoying, is not a factor.

I recommend trying again with butter and eggbeaters to see if that makes a difference. Then try real eggs and butter, then real eggs and spray oil. See if any of the combos is better or worse (using the same technique for all tries).

I think you'll have better results with eggbeaters and butter.

I assume you are trying to keep your sat fats down so are using the combo you mentioned in the OP. That's good.

If you continue to have problems, you may want to consider not trying to make French omelets and switch to a simple bi-fold or tri-fold eggbeaters omelet. I often make an eggbeaters omelet. At times, I have made it with low-fat cheddar and it's pretty tasty.

 

[dave the baker]

Callisto said it right......... Also, get yourself a 1# bag of beans and practice flipping them in your omlette pan. And practice...and practice....and practice some more. But nothing helps with egg beaters. I have to eat them because of my diet and have had no luck. I just end up scrambling them as best I can. They don't look pretty.

 

[Billdolfski]

I use a small, nonstick pan with pure egg and clarified butter for the fat. Granted, this has nothing to do with sticking but isn't a 10" somewhat large for a French omelet?

Also, if you're afraid you're getting too much heat, take the pan off the heat source and put it back on when you need to. You don't always have to just leave it sitting on the flame and adjust the heat that way.

 

[msmofet]

i also use a small non-stick pan. i run spatula under the sides and lift to allow uncooked egg to flow under. i also remove from heat as stated above, i hate brown eggs of any kind. and never cook till the eggs "look" done in the pan, that gives you over cooked eggs on the plate. i do the flip like alton does. my fav omelet is fresh cooked asparagus with grated cheese.

 

[dave the baker]

I always use a 10" pan for a French rolled omelette (or omelet??) and cook it over HIGH heat very rapidly. Should only take just over a minute, without burning. A lot of it is in the wrist.

 

[msmofet]

I always use a 10" pan for a French rolled omelette (or omelet??) and cook it over HIGH heat very rapidly. Should only take just over a minute, without burning. A lot of it is in the wrist.

is that for 1 person or several people? i make individual omelettes (i think it is spelled both ways).

 

[dave the baker]

One at a time, only. And there's probably more ways to spell it, too. Doesn't matter as long as we both know what we're talking about. When I was cooking for a crowd, I'd mix up all the eggs in a big bowl or pitcher and dip out what I needed as I cooked along. Had various fillings in separate bowls within easy reach. Learned from Julia Child programs and books.

 

[msmofet]

One at a time, only. And there's probably more ways to spell it, too. Doesn't matter as long as we both know what we're talking about. When I was cooking for a crowd, I'd mix up all the eggs in a big bowl or pitcher and dip out what I needed as I cooked along. Had various fillings in separate bowls within easy reach. Learned from Julia Child programs and books.

hmmmmmmmmm so it is a large 1 person omelet. that sounds like i won't have any raw spots due to more surface area. i only have small 3 -small (maybe 7 in) pans that i use for making crepes for my blintz recipe. i will have to see about getting a 10 in pan. i do have a large non-stick straight sided pan, not good for omelettes.

 

[dave the baker]

Yes, you need a slope-sided pan. Although you can't take some beans with you to the store, hold the pan you're looking at like you are cooking an omelet in it and are flipping the eggs. Them, if the pan feels right in your imagination, buy it. Good quality of course. And not too heavy, so it will heat quickly.

 

[msmofet]

these are the non-stick pans i like

Scanpan

you can use metal in them. they are a bit pricey but worth it. i got a "Try Me" price of $39.99 for my 8 in (i thought it was 7 in). i can't find a pic of my large pan w/lid. but that also had a "Try Me" price, i think it is 10 or 12 in with two "helper" handles, no long handle.

 

[dave the baker]

Looks like a nice pan, but the sides are too low for flipping omelets.

 

[Andy M.]

Looks like a nice pan, but the sides are too low for flipping omelets.

That's similar to the pans I use. I didn't think the sides were too low at all. Dave, how high are the sides on your pan?

 

[msmofet]

the sides don't seem that low but i don't flip omelets, i do the alton fold instead. i DO however flip over easy eggs 2 at a time (due to the fact that when i use a spatula i break the yolks sometimes and i hate broken dipping eggs!! ) and have no problem.

 

[ChefJune]

I always use a 10" pan for a French rolled omelette (or omelet??) and cook it over HIGH heat very rapidly. Should only take just over a minute, without burning. A lot of it is in the wrist.

and that takes practice!

 

[dave the baker]

Andy: Judging from the picture I'd say at least half agin as high.

June: Yup. Lots. And many messes to clean up before I really got it. Worth the effort though.