Carbonara – Take 2

~ Carbonara is among my favorite pasta dishes ~

I love the classic Roman pasta dishes. But Carbonara is surely my favorite.  When done right, it is ethereal in flavor and texture. If done wrong, you have egg lo mein. No buono.

Over the years, I’ve made this countless times as this article will attest.  But lately, I’ve been tinkering with my process and think I’ve got it down perfectly.  The changes I’ve made are twofold:  First, I’ve been using much more cheese in the “egg slurry” to the point where its almost like an egg cream.  Second, I’ve honed in on the number of eggs to use and on the all important question: Whole eggs or only yokes?

Read on….

~ Step 1: Very, very slowly render your guanciale ~

One thing I’ve noticed about Carbonara in Rome is that it’s always yellow.  It never has a brownish tint. This is because they do not allow the guanciale to brown thoroughly.  To cook the guanciale the key is to start with a cool pan and go low and slow.  Once the fat is rendered, pull the guanciale out of the pan and turn off the heat.   This will prevent a lot of caramelization on the bottom of the pan.

~ You can see the guanciale here is not too brown ~

While the pasta water is coming to a boil, prepare your egg “slurry”.   I don’t always have a need for separated egg whites.  So I began reading some articles and watching videos of Roman cooks and most of them used whole eggs. (In that vein of nothing goes to waste I guess)

Therefore, for 500 grams of pasta, I’ve been using 4 whole eggs and 3 additional yolks. I like it rich in texture and color.  Beat the eggs together in a bowl and add ground pepper to taste. Now,  Carbonara – you can read the Legend here of how the dish came to be named – needs black pepper and I use lots of it in homage.  I use no salt.  There is plenty between the dish and the guanciale. Plus, you will pass cheese at the table and also salt the pasta water.

~ Here is the egg slurry and you can get and idea for how much pepper is used. ~

I have not measured how much cheese to use – I’ve been going by looks.  You want the slurry to be thick. Almost like a loose, wet paste. I estimate that I’ve been using 1 to 1 and 1/2 cups of Pecorino.  Whisk the slurry thoroughly.  Add all but a few pieces of the guanciale to the slurry.

When the pasta is al dente, return the pan to the cook top and put the heat on low.  Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.  Drain the pasta into the pan and toss coating the pasta with the oil rendered from the guanciale.

Pull the pan off the heat and then pour in the egg slurry. Mix constantly with tongs until the egg mixture becomes creamy.  If it seems too thick, add some of the pasta water.  The heat from the pan and pasta will cook the egg. There is no reason to have the flame on.

Serve immediately.  This is not a dish that can be held.

~ Garnish with a few bits of Guanciale. Pass Pecorino and Black Pepper at the table ~

Let me know how it comes out when you try it.   It may take a time or two to perfect your technique. But know this – even if you err and you end up with scrambled eggs and pasta,  it will look like hell, but it will still be delicious!

Salute!