Name: Huge Western Omelet
Prep time: 8 min
Cook time: 7 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients: 3 large eggs; 1 tbsp heavy cream or whole milk; 1/4 tsp kosher salt; 1/8 tsp black pepper; 1.5 tbsp, divided unsalted butter; 1/3 cup cooked ham, diced; 1/4 cup green bell pepper, finely diced; 1/4 cup yellow onion, finely diced; 1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded; 1 tsp fresh chives or parsley, chopped (for serving); to taste hot sauce (optional, for serving)

Huge Western Omelet

Prep

Cook

Total

15m

Bigly says

Here's what nobody tells you about the Western Omelet. The HUGE Western Omelet. Some people call it a Denver Omelet — and look, Denver is a fine city, beautiful mountains, very thin air, the air is THIN there, people don't talk about it enough — but we're calling it Western because Western sounds bigger. And bigger is better. Period. The Western Omelet is the greatest omelet in the history of omelets and there's been a LOT of omelets. The French invented the omelet, very fancy, very small, very sad, three eggs and a single chive, what are we doing, who is this feeding, a sparrow? My omelet feeds a PERSON. A full person. A working person who needs to face the day.

Ham. Bell peppers. Onion. Cheddar. Eggs. That's it. That's the whole architecture. My grandmother taught me this — and she was a tough woman, she wouldn't apologize for an omelet, she wouldn't apologize for ANYTHING, she once won a card game and stared down a man twice her size — and she said two things about eggs. Don't add water. And don't crowd them with fifteen ingredients. Water in your eggs makes SOUP. Fifteen ingredients makes a SCRAMBLE. We're not making soup. We're not making a scramble. A splash of cream or nothing. You don't water down a champion.

The technique is where most people fail. This is where the so-called chefs collapse. This is where the YouTube guy with the apron and the moody lighting and the sad piano music gets it wrong. The technique is LOW HEAT and PATIENCE. You don't blast it. You don't brown it. A brown omelet is a FAILED omelet. The French would lose their minds. They'd send you a strongly worded letter in their fancy cursive handwriting. Soft. Tender. Folded. Like a love letter to your own mouth. Take my word for it.

Ingredients

3large eggs
1 tbspheavy cream or whole milk
1/4 tspkosher salt
1/8 tspblack pepper
1.5 tbsp, dividedunsalted butter
1/3 cupcooked ham, diced(thick-cut, deli-style or leftover from a real ham, no pink mystery squares)
1/4 cupgreen bell pepper, finely diced
1/4 cupyellow onion, finely diced
1/3 cupsharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tspfresh chives or parsley, chopped (for serving)
to tastehot sauce (optional, for serving)

Steps

1
Whisk eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until fully blended and slightly frothy. Set aside.
2
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper. Sauté 3-4 minutes until softened but still slightly crisp.
3
Add the diced ham and cook another 1-2 minutes until warmed through and lightly browned at the edges. Transfer the filling to a small bowl.
4
Wipe the skillet clean and return it to medium-low heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and swirl to coat.
5
When the butter is foaming but not browning, pour in the eggs. Let them set for about 10 seconds.
6
Using a silicone spatula, gently pull the cooked edges toward the center while tilting the pan so the uncooked egg flows out to the edges. Repeat around the pan until the eggs are mostly set but the top is still glossy.
7
Sprinkle the cheddar evenly across the omelet, then scatter the ham and pepper mixture over half of the surface.
8
Slide the spatula under the unfilled side and fold it over the filling to make a half-moon. Cook another 30-60 seconds to melt the cheese.
9
Slide the omelet onto a warm plate. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley. Serve immediately with hot sauce if desired.

One more thing

That's the omelet. Seven minutes, three eggs, one happy person — and the happy person is YOU, and you deserve it. Skip the diner. The diner charges $14 plus tip for this and the coffee is from 1987. Make it at home. Make it on a Tuesday because Tuesdays need help. Make it for someone you love and watch their day improve in real time. People come up to me, they say, 'Bigly, the omelet, the OMELET.' I know. The omelet. And there you have it.