# Spaghetti Carbonara

Silky egg and pecorino sauce on every strand, with crisp guanciale, cracked black pepper and not a drop of cream.

- Total time: 25 min (one cook, steps overlapped; 44 min if done strictly in order)
- Hands-on time: 13 min
- Serves: 4
- Difficulty: medium
- Source: https://dagwood.blrbdigital.com/r/spaghetti-carbonara

## Ingredients

### Pasta

- 1 lb spaghetti. Substitutes: rigatoni (Same sauce, and the tubes trap more of it)
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1/2 oz Pecorino Romano, finely grated, for serving (optional)
- black pepper, coarsely ground, to taste

### Guanciale

- 6 oz guanciale, rind removed. Substitutes: pancetta (Leaner and milder, renders a little less fat); thick-cut bacon (Smoky and not traditional, but still very good)

### Egg and cheese

- 2 oz Pecorino Romano. Substitutes: Parmigiano-Reggiano (Milder, nuttier and less salty)
- 2 large eggs
- 4 large egg yolks. Substitutes: large eggs (Less rich and a little looser, still good)
- 2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground

## Steps (in the fastest order for one cook)

1. [0:00] **Boil** (Pasta): Bring a large pot of water, about 4 quarts, to a rolling boil. _(12 min, hands-off, high, critical path)_
2. [0:00] **Cut** (Guanciale): Cut 6 oz guanciale into strips about 1/4 inch thick and 1/2 inch wide. _(4 min, hands-on)_
3. [0:04] **Render** (Guanciale): Cook the guanciale in a cold skillet over medium-low heat, stirring now and then, until the fat runs and the edges turn golden. Turn off the heat and leave it in its fat. _(10 min, hands-off, medium-low)_
   - At 4 min in: Stir the guanciale
   - At 8 min in: Stir and check: golden edges, still a little chewy
   - Why: Starting cold melts the fat out before the meat can scorch.
4. [0:04] **Grate** (Egg and cheese): Finely grate 2 oz Pecorino Romano on a rasp grater. _(3 min, hands-on)_
5. [0:07] **Whisk** (Egg and cheese): Whisk 2 large eggs, 4 large egg yolks and 2 tsp black pepper in a bowl, then stir in the grated cheese to make a thick paste. _(2 min, hands-on)_
6. [0:12] **Cook** (Pasta): Add 1 tbsp kosher salt and 1 lb spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente. _(9 min, hands-off, high, critical path)_
   - At 1 min in: Stir so the strands don't stick
7. [0:21] **Toss** (Pasta): Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then lift the spaghetti into the guanciale skillet, off the heat. Add the egg mixture and a splash of the water and toss hard until glossy and creamy, adding more water as needed. _(3 min, hands-on, critical path)_
   - Why: Off the heat, the hot pasta thickens the eggs into a sauce instead of scrambling them.
8. [0:24] **Serve** (Pasta): Serve right away in warm bowls, topped with Pecorino Romano and black pepper. _(1 min, hands-on, critical path)_

## Graph

Each step lists the steps that must finish before it starts.

- boil (can start immediately)
- cut (can start immediately)
- render after cut
- grate (can start immediately)
- whisk after grate
- cook-pasta after boil
- toss after cook-pasta, render, whisk
- serve after toss

## Notes

- Salt the pasta water lightly. Guanciale and pecorino bring plenty of salt.
- Grate the cheese on a rasp. Coarse shreds clump instead of melting into the sauce.
- If the sauce tightens before you serve, loosen it with a splash of the reserved pasta water.

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Recipe graph by Dagwood (https://dagwood.blrbdigital.com). Licensed CC BY 4.0. JSON graph: https://dagwood.blrbdigital.com/r/spaghetti-carbonara.json