Carbonara | Basics with Babish

Hello Friends, About a year ago, a group of real Italian chefs savagely criticized some of the biggest Carbonara videos on the internet. And as you may remember, my entry was not very well received. Since then I have only dreamed of Redemption. So today we are going to try two different versions of Carbonara, an old school Italian version and a more modern, less traditional version that is sure to piss you off. Let's get down to the

basics

. Alright. So before we can make Carbonara, we have to make "Carbonara", which by definition is made with "Guanciale", a type of cured pork jowl.

It's very delicious but a little hard to find. So if you can't find it, you can substitute Pancetta if you're in a pinch. I have maybe half a pound here that I'm going to cut into relatively large pieces and then set aside to make one of the essential elements of any Carbonara dish: the egg mixture. In a medium bowl or measuring cup, place 3 large eggs and 1 egg yolk for a little more richness. And then it's time to finely grate and measure 4 ounces of cheese. Truly traditional "Carbonara" uses 100% Pecorino Romano cheese, but is commonly balanced with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

If you want it a little less sharp and a little wackier, I'll go with a 50/50 ratio. Into which I am going to pour our beaten eggs. Then we are going to beat this whole thing with a fork until it is homogeneous. The only other thing you'll want to add is lots of freshly ground black pepper. We are not going to add salt yet because the "Guanciale" can vary in flavor and we do not want to oversalt our dish. Beat everything until well incorporated and then it's time to move to the stove, where we put the "Guanciale" in a cold pan.

Then we are going to put the heat on medium. This will cook the Guanciale more slowly and allow more fat to be rendered, which in traditional Carbonara is a good thing. Once it is fully cooked but not too crispy, we will turn off the heat and put the pasta in the hot tub. The water is "Salato come il mare", or as salty as the sea. And we must keep it moving to prevent it from sticking. And then a great trick to determine if pasta is cooked is to pull out a strand and eat it to see if it's cooked.

Don't throw him against the wall, you fucking weirdo. As you can see, our pork jowl has almost completely stopped bubbling. That's exactly where we want it to be. And as soon as the pasta is made, we add it directly to the pan with the "Guanciale". Once you've added all the pasta, we'll stir it into the pan, making sure it's evenly coated with all that "Guanciale" fat. And you want to work fast here. Because the only thing that will cook our egg porridge and make it soft and creamy is the residual heat of the pasta. So don't waste time pouring in the egg and cheese mixture and then shaking rigorously!

This will help emulsify the sauce, keep it creamy, and prevent it from curdling. If you notice that it is not as smooth as you would like, you can add a little pasta water, about 1/4 cup. But ideally it would look like this. Now let's try for seasoning (mine needs a little salt). Then, optionally, you can add the pasta. This will help aerate it a bit, making the sauce super creamy! And then, it's finally time to plate!! I like to use a carving fork to spin the pasta into a giant cylinder like this to present on a long, narrow plate.

So, of course, we're going to want to top this hedonistic helix with the remaining "Guanciale" from the bottom of the pan along with the remains of that creamy sauce. And there you have it friends! I'm going to say it one last time: "Carbonara", in its purest, most authentic and traditional form. Unless, of course, I'm wrong about something, in which case I'm in trouble. But at this point I'm going to ask all the Italians to leave the room, because it's time to make

carbonara

. This starts the same way with grated Parmesan and Romano cheese in a bowl along with 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk, beaten with a few healthy twists of freshly ground black pepper.

Now, when most Americans make

carbonara

, they opt for bacon. If you can't find "Guanciale" or "Pancetta" and have to use bacon, opt for thick cut ones. And in the same way, we are going to cut about 1/2 pound into large pieces. Then, in the same way, we're going to start these guys in a cold pan, because we want to render out as much fat as possible, but not for the same reason. You'll also notice that I'm using a non-stick pan. And that's because on stainless steel, bacon can leave a lot of affection on the bottom of the pot.

Which for once we don't want, as it could make our final paste look a little dirty. Once the bacon is completely cooked and the fat has melted we are going to strain it. Because this version of Carbonara is going to have a much lighter sauce. We're simply going to strain everything except about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat, which we'll leave in the pan. And then we'll return it to medium-low heat to add the most heinous ingredient of all: garlic. This is considered sacrilege in the "Carbonara" world, but I think it tastes very, very good, and so will you.

We simply sauté for 1 minute until fragrant before turning off the heat. Next, I see too many people who simply throw the pasta from the box into the water, which inevitably leads to disaster. Try this, where you pour the paste into the palm of your hand and then scoop it out with your hand, like a true gentleman. And as you see, this time I'm sticking with Bucatini. Next, like last time, we'll add the pasta directly to the pan, but this time we'll add about 1/3 cup of starchy pasta water, which will help make a cohesive sauce. Then we add the egg and cheese mixture to the party.

And if you find yourself in a bind like this where your pan is too small to throw the pasta in, no big deal! Simply pour it back into the empty pasta pot. Just make sure to keep it moving because there's a lot of residual heat here and we don't want to end up with pasta and scrambled eggs. So shake it violently and then it's time to taste the seasoning! Add salt and pepper as needed and evaluate the thickness of the sauce. If it is not thick enough, you can rescue it with a little very finely grated parmesan.

Just add maybe another 1/4 oz or so and mix rigorously. And now it's time to plate!! And one thing you'll notice about this Carbonara is that the sauce is much lighter because it has much less fat. It also stays creamier longer and doesn't freeze as quickly as "Carbonara." And the Bucatini, although a little difficult to eat with a fork, is dense, chewy and delicious. Whatever version of Carbonara you decide to make, I hope this has shown you how easy it can be, as long as you follow a few simple tricks! Now go out, get some dough and start rolling your R's.