How to Make the Perfect 5 Egg Omelet

This is my recipe for a large omelet (yep, 5 eggs!) with the eggs cooked light and fluffy without getting fried, and thoroughly melted but not crispy cheese.

What you need to have

To successfully do this procedure, you should have these things available:

Equipment

• Cereal or small mixing bowl, big enough for that many eggs, and shallow enough to allow whisking;
• Hefty plastic fork;
• Heavy weight, high quality, non-stick pan with a well-fitted lid;
• Wide, non-stick safe spatula;
• A plate cover, with vent holes, large enough to cover the serving plate on which you put the omelet at the end of cooking.

Supplies

• Robust paper towels, preferably two of the half-size.

Ingredients

• Olive oil, preferably an infused olive oil;
• 5 extra large eggs;
• Medium grated cheese.

What you need to know

To successfully do this procedure, you should be aware of these things:

• I make the omelet this large because my wife and I split the omelet when I cook it. (That's practically daily.)
• For as many eggs as this omelet contains, in my opinion, it requires a lot of cheese to balance it out. The timing of the cheese melting is based on the amount of cheese. If you choose to use less cheese, the timings need to decrease proportionately.
• Using a plastic fork prevents the problems of a metal fork: the prongs of a metal fork scratch the finish of almost all bowls, including metal, plastic, and ceramic.
• The extra weight of the heavy weight pan takes longer to heat than a light-weight pan, and this aspect is exploited at the beginning of the cooking process.
• Starting with a cold pan reduces the outside of the omelet getting fried because the heat from the burner is heating the eggs at the same time as heating the pan. More of the heat makes it to the middle of the omelet at a slower, more even pace than it would with a hot pan.
• Infused olive oils provide a really nice, subtle undertone to the omelet, especially if you have a cheese-only omelet.
• Flipping an omelet that still has the top of it runny requires that it slides well. Oiling the top of the spatula assists with getting the spatula under the omelet without tearing the omelet.
• Cooking with olive oil requires just the right amount. Too little olive oil and the omelet won't release from the pan; too much and the oil causes it to stick (because of the low temperature).
• I use an older (more than 10-year old) electric stove. This matters because the element retains heat after the power is off, and that residual heat is used toward the end of the cooking.

What you need to do

Here are the steps:

1. Place the room temperature pan onto the burner and set the heat to medium-low.
2. Pour only enough olive oil into the pan so that it forms a puddle a little more than an inch across.
3. While the pan is warming, crack and stir the eggs.
4. With the paper towels, spread the olive oil around the pan, and coat the top of the spatula.
5. Immediately pour in the eggs and cover.
6. Cook for five minutes and 15 seconds, turn off the heat, let cook for another 20 seconds, and flip.
7. Add the cheese, cover, and let cook for about 45 seconds.
8. Move the omelet to the plate, fold in half, cover with the lid, and let sit for at least a minute. (Up to two is fine, and the longer, the better, because the cheese melts well.)
9. Enjoy!