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Spaghetti Alla Carbonara
Ingredients
- 8 Egg Yolks
- 1/2 -1 Cup Grated Pecorino Romano Save a little more on the side to top the pasta off at the end
- Black Pepper (to your liking)
- 8 oz Guanciale (I didn't measure but each packet was about 4oz and I used 2)
- 1/2 lb Spaghetti
- 1 cup Reserved Pasta Water More is better than less here so reserve what you can
Instructions
- In a bowl, start separating the 8 eggs from the yolks – this took me a while
- In a large pot, add water and put to start heating up till a rolling boil
- To the eggs, add the 1/2-1 cup of pecorino romano cheese.
- Add pepper and whisk well.
- Get your Guanciale – start slicing, you can do chunks or thin strips, dealers choice!
- By now, your water should be semi boiling, you want it to be a rolling boil. In the meantime, get a pan large enough for all of your ingredients to be combines.
- Add guanciale and fry up till crispy. Your pasta water should be ready now, add that spaghetti.
- Once the pasta is about halfway cooked (typically about 4-5 minutes, reserve some of that starchy pasta liquid. Let it cool for a few minutes while you keep frying the guanciale.
- Now that your pasta water is a bit cooler, gradually BUT slowly whisk it into the egg mixture until creamy. Add more pasta water as needed.
- Turn off the guanciale (do not burn it) and take a few pieces out to save for topping. Your pasta should be almost done – don't forget to stir that spaghetti!
- With tongs, grab your spaghetti and toss it directly into the guanciale pan. Toss and mix till the oils and meat has coated the spaghetti.
- Pour in the egg mixture and QUICKLY start stirring (or tossing if you have that skill, which I do NOT). If it isn't creamy enough add more pasta water.
- Plate your spaghetti using tongs, give it a little twirl for a fancy look. Top with the crispy guanciale you saved and a little sprinkle of the cheese. ENJOY!
Video
Notes
- So, the cheese and the guanciale are VERY salty. I added salt to my pasta water because, us Italians are taught that the pasta water should taste like the sea. In this case, I would say, maybe not. Skip the salt in the pasta water and spare your cholesterol.
- EAT IMMEDIATELY. This creaminess can turn to thick and lumpy in 0.5 seconds.
- You can substitute guanciale for pancetta or bacon.
For starters, I’d like to say – sheesh blog writing is hard! But if you read through that recipe and you find yourself here – HI! I personally hate having to scroll through an entire website to get the recipe, so I will make my posts with me in mind in the sense that maybe you too would prefer not to read all this mumbo-jumbo.
Any-who, I found this tik-tok (and if I come across it again, I will link it here), where this woman is asking her Italian boyfriend if he knew that Spaghetti Carbonara was actually not created by the Italians. Something I did not actually know either. The boyfriend goes on to explain that the legend describes it as a meal created by American Military men who only had bacon, cheese, and pasta and somehow they created this pasta. Then once the Italians found out, they simply improved upon it with their version of bacon – guanciale and their scrumptious cheese.
Whether or not this is true, I haven’t the slightest clue. But I will tell you, if you love bacon – you will love guanciale. Some things I will note (which ironically I listed in the Recipe Notes) is that it is SALTY. Next time, I can lessen the salty-ness by not salting the pasta water. Secondly, this is my second attempt at this pasta. The first time, I screwed it up. I added the eggs too fast while it was too hot. I basically had scrambled eggs and bacon with some pasta. Don’t be like me.
If you have made it this far, THANKS! I am still figuring out how to add music to videos, if you know how – drop the info! I hope you try this recipe out, if you do please let me know! Also, if you want to see the recipe on tiktok or follow me there so that you have immediate access when recipe videos drop click here!
