@Max.Baroni's Classic Carbonara
Classic Carbonara
Ingredients:
2 cups thick-cut guanciale
4 eggs (3 whole + 1 yolk)
1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup shredded Pecorino Romano
1 bag lumache (or spaghetti, rigatoni, bucatini — any pasta with texture)
Salt + freshly ground black pepper
Steps:
Start by slicing your guanciale into thick, meaty lardons. Add them to a cold pan and place over the lowest possible heat. The key here is to slowly render out the fat without crisping too fast. Stir occasionally and let it go for 15–20 minutes until the fat has melted and the pieces are golden and crisp on the edges but still tender inside. Remove the guanciale from the pan and leave about half of the fat behind.
While the guanciale is rendering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook your pasta until just shy of al dente — it’ll finish cooking in the sauce. Save about 2 cups of the pasta water before draining.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and yolk with both cheeses and a few generous cracks of black pepper until you have a thick paste. This will be the base of your sauce.
Add the pasta directly into the pan with the reserved guanciale fat over very low heat and toss to coat.
Whisk in about 1 cup of hot pasta water into the egg-and-cheese mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add more reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce. Now, add this to the pan and toss or mix consistently to avoid scrambling the eggs. You’re looking for it to become glossy and cling to the noodles — creamy but not soupy. The residual heat will gently cook the eggs and create that silky emulsion.
Once it’s reached that perfect creamy consistency, fold the guanciale back in and give it a few final tosses. Taste and adjust with more black pepper or cheese if needed.
To serve, twist or spoon the pasta into a mound on each plate and finish with any extra sauce and black pepper.