In culinary school, you spend an entire week on eggs. Whisking, tempering, frying, scrambling, poaching…it goes on and on. I learned what a chalaza is (btw, it’s the membrane that attaches the yolk to its shell) and how to make a decent souffle. Making delicious eggs is an art that takes practice, patience, and attention to detail. You can’t just throw them in a pan and walk away and expect something magical. But, if you take the time to prep and add a touch of technique, you will see (and taste) a world of difference.
Working the line on early morning breakfast shifts gave me lots of time to practice my egg cookery. Often in large volumes; over and over. I cooked so many eggs I would have dreams about them.
I often found myself at the bar at Petit Trois on a Tuesday evening watching chef Ludo Lefevre's team make perfect omelet after perfect omelette in awe. Boursin cheese, chives, and a crack of pepper to finish. I remember wondering how they did it. Until I learned myself, and eventually taught other cooks how to do the same.
Temperature and timing is everything with a classic omelette. Sometimes, instead of using Boursin, I use goat cheese and add fresh shallot, parsley, chives, salt and pepper. I recommend leaving the goat cheese at room temperature for about an hour to allow it to whip easier. It will also help when piping it into the omelette. You want to make sure that your filling isn't ice cold–it will be hard to pipe, will drop the temperature of the eggs, and potentially still be cold when ready to serve.
Unsalted butter! A chef trick in and of itself. Unsalted butter allows you to season your food yourself. Very important in developing flavor as you go. I have not used salted butter in YEARS and I strongly recommend this moving forward.
Add a chip of choice to your liking to finish your omelette. I really like the crunchy texture with the soft eggs. When we decided to add chips to the omelette you see on Season 2 of The Bear, it was also a nod to the “family meal shelf” that so often has random scraps and snack to choose from. My favorites are Sour Cream & Onion or Salt & Vinegar. Okay! Let’s get to it.
Before we get to the eggs, we prep our filling! Add tempered Boursin to a bowl and work it until smooth. If you have access to a piping bag, add it to a piping bag. If not, no worries! A Ziploc bag works too–just cut one of the corners. Or if not, you can spoon it in! I prefer to pipe it in for ease and even filling.
Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Crack three eggs into the mesh strainer and beat with a fork until all of the egg passes through. Patience & perseverance here! Remove strainer and stir your blended eggs with a rubber spatula.
Grab a non-stick pan and turn your burner on low heat. Add about 1 tbls of unsalted butter and *dance* it around the pan. Literally spin it around the pan to cover all surface area. The heat should be low enough that the butter does NOT burn. If it does, start over. Wipe your pan clean and allow it to cool down.
Pour your eggs into the pan and season with a chef's pinch of salt. Spread eggs evenly in the pan, “scrambling” the egg mixture before letting it settle. Move the pan to bring runny bits to the edges. Heat should be LOW. I do this for about 20 seconds and then STOP.
When eggs are still a bit runny, add your filling. Pipe a line of Boursin cheese into the bottom half of your perfect egg circle.
Turn heat OFF. Using your spatula gently form the edges to smooth them out before folding. I then take a tab of cold butter and circle it sound the outside edge of the omelette. Tilt your pan to gently lift the edge of the omelette to begin folding. I gently flip/push the omelette to form as I go (you can watch this video for a little visual guidance).
Continue rolling / folding. I like to add a bit of butter as I fold the eggs. Once you’ve turned the omelette to the opposite side of the pan, you’re ready to plate.
Carefully tilt your pan and move your omelette to a plate using your spatula, seam side down. Slice your chives (hot tip: wrap a wet paper towel around the base of your chives before you slice–this helps keep them nice and uniform). Garnish with chives and sour cream & onion chips; crushed by hand, right over the top.
Now give it a go! Thanks for reading :)
XO,
Coco
Yessss! Thank you for sharing this! I’ve been wanting to make this ever since watching that episode in season 1, but have been too intimidated. These instructions will certainly help!
DREAMING about this, thank you!!!