How To Make José Andrés' 60-Second Omelet

When celebrity chef and philanthropist José Andrés appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast earlier this year, the conversation inevitably turned to food, specifically omelets. Andrés gushes to Rogan in a YouTube clip of the show about his version of the "best omelet in the history of mankind." All it takes is a single egg whisked with a generous spoonful of mayo that goes into a small microwave-safe vessel (he doesn't say which kind, but I imagine a ceramic ramekin is a safe bet). Then you let the egg mixture cook in the microwave for anywhere between 30 to 40 seconds.

The result is an omelet that apparently is Andrés' absolute favorite in the world. It can be made in about a minute, with barely any cleanup needed afterward. In theory, it's a pretty solid setup; you're simply whisking in a generous bit of fat from the mayo, along with an additional bit of egg that's also in the mayo (so more egg). Then you've got a quick omelet to eat in what might be the fastest time you can cook anything. 

After realizing I hadn't had breakfast at the time of writing this, I decided to give the recipe a whirl. After all, a 60-second omelet felt too good to pass up, and I wanted to see if José Andrés' lofty claims rang true. So I just took out an egg, beat it with about a tablespoon of Hellmann's mayonnaise, and poured the pale yellow mixture into an individually sized ramekin. After running that in my microwave for 40 seconds, I had a fluffy egg round that had risen quite a bit. It was definitely good. The mayo flavor barely came through, if that worries you, though I could maybe detect a touch of it in the aroma plus a tiny bit in the egg itself. 

But I would definitely not call this "the best omelet in the history of mankind." Not by a long shot. I've noticed that Andrés tends to speak in superlatives, which is why it's fun to watch him talk, but this really is just a convenient microwaved egg. If you're a fan of Starbucks' egg bites, you are more than likely to enjoy this preparation, though I don't know how well this method would hold up to mix-ins like cheese, vegetables, or meat. But as a quick breakfast protein hit, this thing is perfectly fine. Just don't really expect the best omelet in the history of mankind. It's certainly the easiest, however.