Denver Omelet
Updated Jan. 18, 2024

- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6large eggs
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1small green bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, finely chopped (about ¾ cup)
- 1small yellow onion, finely chopped (about ¾ cup)
- Black pepper
- 4ounces ham steak or Canadian bacon, coarsely chopped
- 1½ounces coarsely grated Monterey Jack or pepper Jack (heaping ⅓ cup)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and ½ teaspoon salt; set aside.
- Step 2
In a medium (10-inch) nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high. When foaming, add the bell pepper and onion, season lightly with salt and pepper and stir to coat in the butter. Shake into an even layer and cook, undisturbed, until browned underneath, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to another medium bowl, add the cheese, and stir to combine.
- Step 4
Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium-low. Add ½ tablespoon butter and swirl to coat the pan. Whisk the egg mixture and pour half into the skillet. Cook without touching until the eggs around the edges of the pan are set, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a spatula, slightly pull the edge of the omelet in toward the center and, while holding the spatula in place, tilt the pan so that the egg runs to the empty skillet. Repeat this around the edge of the whole circle until the surface is nearly set but still shiny. (No runny egg will travel when you tilt the pan.)
- Step 5
Spoon half the vegetable mixture onto half the egg, cover the skillet with a lid or baking sheet, and cook until the egg is set and the cheese is melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Run the spatula around the edges, then fold the naked half over the filling. Slide the omelet onto a plate, then repeat with the remaining butter, egg and filling.
Private Notes
Comments
In NYC it is called a western omelette on all the Greek diner menus I’ve seen but you have to ask for and pay extra to add cheese. They usually mix the ham, onion and pepper into the eggs but serve it as a folder over omelette even though nothing is stuff inside. Ate it all through my childhood in NYC. I tried it per above and was surprised to fine i prefer the diner method of mixing the filling mixed into the egg.
... a scramble made by pioneers masking spoiled eggs with onions." You can't mask spoiled eggs with anything. The odor is overwhelming and sickening. No one would eat a spoiled egg, even under starvation conditions. And there is no such thing as an egg that is just turning. An egg that turns turns all the way.
I've always known it as a Western as well here in Canada, especially in Quebec. Wonder which name came first...
Has anyone ever tried to make this into a quiche?! I want to try it this weekend!
I love a good Denver omelette, and this is delicious. But the instructions here are far more fiddly than necessary. Just mix the cooked veg and cheese straight into the eggs and cook it all together. Simpler and every bite has the yummy goodness in it.
I used to make this, we called it a Western sandwich, for my older brother almost every night when he was in high school. He was growing and needed nourishment. He had teenage male malaise so he needed me to do the cooking. Almost sixty years ago!
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