Making Better Omelets
Attempt 1
Things didn't go quite as I was hoping. I mean just look at that thing up there?! I've been able to scramble eggs forever. I mean it is what the egg dish you were trying to make turns into when things go wrong! I can do soft scrambled, fried, hard or soft boiled. I can even sometimes poach. But, I've never been able to make an omelet. And that bothers me. It is the sort of thing anyone should be able to master, even me! Looking over the guidance it doesn't seem that difficult. I'm never going to be able to play Moonlight Sonata but I should be able to cook and enjoy an omelet when I want.
All it takes is practice, time, and eggs. Those are all things that I have a little bit to spare. Before I turned on the stove I did some reading, to refresh myself. Rombauer, Brown, and Lopez-Alt all agree on the general structure of how, though they have their own flair and idiosyncrasies. I'm not a talented enough cook to have any of that so I'm paring things down to the basics. Kenji's tip about using water to test/maintain pan temperature seemed especially helpful.
So what went wrong? You've seen the picture. You know I didn't make an omelet. I made soft scrambled eggs and made a mess of the pan bottom. Tasted wonderful with some toast. But no omelet. There were a number of mistakes in my first attempt: My pan was too big. I used a 12-inch and all the recipes called for 8 or 10. I used the type of pan, I'm sure you can cook an omelet in stainless steel but I think I'll follow the pros until I got everything else mastered. My pan was not hot enough, I used the water trick but the butter did not bubble instantly and was not completely melted when I added the egg. Not enough butter, not for the size of pan I was cooking on. While stirring the eggs I repeatedly scrapped the bottom of the pan. I think that is it.
Next time? I'll use a smaller, non-stick pan, ensure the pan is hot enough before adding butter, and exercise more control of my stirring. Or, maybe I'll lean in on the Alton Brown method? He uses oil instead and mixes it straight into the eggs.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Resources: Joy of Cooking, Rombauer;
How to Make a French Omelet, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (https://frienji.kenjilopezalt.com/posts/how-to-make-105211748);
Don't Fear the Omelet, Alton Brown (https://youtube.com/shorts/Q6nfU497qGM?si=VkUYA8RPIhUKWRaM);
Classic French Omelette, Daniel Gritzer (https://www.seriouseats.com/classic-french-omelette-recipe)