Zip-top plastic bags are one of the most useful items to have in the kitchen. They are excellent for maximizing freezer space, holding meats in their marinades, and even using as makeshift pastry bags to pipe icing on your baked goods. Let's add one more handy hack to the list: Using them to make mess-free omelets.
How? Heat a pot of water on the stove. While the water is heating up, prepare the omelet. Crack a few eggs into a high-quality zip-top bag and seal it shut. Massage the bag to break up the yolks, essentially "beating" the eggs. Then open the bag, scoop in any desired omelet fillings, and reseal the bag. Gently shake the bag around, making sure to massage the bag so that the eggs mix well with the added ingredients. By this time, the water should be simmering. Lower the ingredient-filled zip-top bag into the water — make sure it is not boiling — and let it cook between 12-15 minutes, depending on how much moisture there is in your added ingredients. Unseal the bag and let the omelet roll out onto a plate. You get all the flavor of an omelet with minimal mess. Black Fencing Mesh
Worried about using plastic for this cooking hack? Don't be. High-quality zip-top bags are made from polyethylene or polypropylene, which are the safest plastics to cook with. Seek out brands that use those materials. According to Cnet, these bags will only start to soften around 195 degrees Fahrenheit, which is well above 158 Fahrenheit, the approximate temperature at which eggs fully cook. However, steer away from bags and wraps made from polyvinyl chloride as they pose a risk of leaching harmful plasticizers into food (via Modernist Cuisine). As long as you choose bags made from the correct materials and make sure your water is a little cooler than a full boil, you'll be fine.
Now that we've got the major safety concerns out of the way, what is the main tip to ensure a successful bagged omelet experience? Remove as much air from the bag as possible. Push out the air and seal the bag before the egg-beating step, and do it again before placing the filled bag into hot water. When you make sure as much air is removed from the bag as possible before sealing, it helps the food stay submerged and cook evenly.
There are two major advantages to prepping omelets this way, and those are to help with meal prep and also to cook multiple different omelets for a crowd. If you fancy, you can pre-chop and/or pre-cook any preferred omelet fillings before adding them to different bags. When it comes time to cook, all you need to do is add eggs and plop the bags into simmering water. This same technique can be used to prepare omelets for a crowd. Get your guests to pick their omelet fillings and you can prepare as many personalized omelets as will fit in your pot of water — though make sure to not overfill the pot so that all the omelets can cook evenly.
If your omelet fillings have a high water content (say, defrosted frozen spinach), your omelet may still be a little watery after 15 minutes. In that case, you can cook it for a few minutes longer.
Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Screen Bagged omelets are also a great hack for dorm residents or folks who don't have access to a stovetop. Temperature-controlled rice cookers or electronic multicookers can hold the hot water needed, giving you a delicious home-cooked breakfast even in a less-than-ideal kitchen setup.