How to make Carbonara?

[vincenzosassone]

As you can imagine, I don't know how to prepare this dish.
Anyway, before to begin, I would like you to know that I'm the one who asked the basics of pasta, in the previous forum about pasta.

I'm having great pastas, I need to thank you for this. By now, I know how to do "pasta con pesto" (the easiest in my opinion), "pasta con sugo" and even "pasta con tonno" (that isn't hard at all).

I tried to follow some videos about carbonara but I can't understand a step (that is, obviously, the hardest).

When I prepare Carbonara I usually prepare pasta (I turn the heat on, I wait until water is boiling in order to pour a little salt and then I add spaghetti). Meanwhile, I take a pan with pork jowl and I turn the heat on.
When pasta is ready, and the pork jowl too, I don't know how to continue, so I stop without introducing the eggs!

This pasta, with a little olive oil, is called "pasta alla gricia" but this isn't what I want...

 

[taxlady]

Maybe the instructions and discussion in this post will help: https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-668.html#post2415

 

[dragnlaw]

vincenzo -

from the post that taxy suggested:-

I think this is the paragraph that you want to understand.

When the spaghetti is cooked and mostly drained, add the bacon and oil, then add the egg mix, off the heat, and the black pepper, mix well with the spaghetti so that the pasta is thoroughly coated with the sauce and is well 'speckled' with the black pepper, and serve immediately.​

 

[Bitser]

The heat of the pan and the pasta cooks the eggs and melts the cheese. Sounds like you use guanciale, which I can't get here. But I make pancetta and it works a treat.

 

[cookwewill]

I just happened to watch a video on FB the other day, where a native Roman cook prepared the authentic carbonara. The video is not very well produced but I'm sure you will be able to follow it: https://www.facebook.com/foodporn/posts/377166330431270

Another good video recipe is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvO8UPbIH30

And one more, I totally love watching this guy cook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsg5H2TEQXs

All 3 videos feature Italian chefs

 

[Andy M.]

I watched those videos and my mouth is watering! Gotta love the passion of the Italian chefs.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

These videos will certainly up my carbonara game. I thought I knew how to make it, and my caracara was ok, but not nearly as good as what those chef's achieved. My technique was completely wrong. I rad how it was made, misunderstood the process. Now I can't hardly wait to make it properly. Guess what Saturday's supper is going to be, maybe with a side of steamed broccoli.?

Cookwell, thank you for posting those links.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

Thanks for posting those videos cookwewill. I will definitely be making a batch of carbonara that way soon. Seeing it done is very helpful. I have been dithering about making proper carbonara for a while. I make something that I call "carbonaroid", which has some similarity to proper carbonara, but I am comfortable with that method and those ingredients. And it tastes good. This looks like it will be better.

 

[cookwewill]

Glad that you liked these videos, I enjoyed watching them too. It's always great to see someone cook on video, reading the recipe doesn't compare at all

 

[vincenzosassone]

Thank you everyone!
I'm getting more and more inspired by cooking and now I'm even good in cokking pasta. Thanks expecially for that videos, when I combine the theory and the practice I do better!
Anyway, now I know that eggs mustn't be cooked but we have to put them inside the pan were all the ingredients are present, but I don't know how I can stir them... I mean, can I stir them normally or I have to do this faster?

 

[dragnlaw]

vincenzo, watch the video's again and see how they stir. Fast, but you don't want it flying out of the pan! LOL

Love Gennaro and I think his video is possibly the best.

 

[vincenzosassone]

Thank you, I'll try it!

 

[karadekoolaid]

Gennaro is Jamie Oliver´s mentor - so I´d go for his version too!
Hey, Vincenzo - I think the most important thing about cooking is to be practical and to give it a try. Maybe it doesn´t work out perfectly the first time, so you keep trying. Until it´s perfect FOR YOU. I think the key "problem" with carbonara is making sure your eggs become incorporated into the sauce, rather than becoming scrambled eggs!

 

[dcSaute]

am I the only one that noticed their 'technique' - i.e. order of adding what to which . . .
is not the same?
all authentic?
does it make a difference?

 

[Andy M.]

am I the only one that noticed their 'technique' - i.e. order of adding what to which . . .
is not the same?
all authentic?
does it make a difference?

"Authentic" typically focuses on the ingredients. Technique is also important but there can be some flexibility. With carbonara, the key is to add the eggs to the other ingredients and any pasta water near the end and off the heat, so the eggs won't 'curdle'/overcook.

 

[taxlady]

I just re-watched the second two videos. I used CopyMeThat to save copies of the recipes. I made that for supper tonight. It was delicious, but mine was not nearly so tidy. I think the whole process will be easier the next time. I used bacon lardons, because that's what I had. I will get some pancetta and try with that another time.

 

[Bitser]

Pancetta is really expensive. (That's why I make my own.) But a good substitute is plain smoked bacon (peppered works) without any sugar or maple flavoring. Lay it out before cooking and sprinkle it with garlic powder and an Italian herb mix.

I brown the pancetta, take it out, and chop it, leaving part of the grease in the pan. The pasta gets drained and turned, hot, into the bacon pan. Add the bacon, then stir in the egg mix and the herbs. The key bit is to grate the parmesan very fine and whip it into the eggs until fully blended and somewhat fluffy. That gives a smooth, even coating to the pasta.

 

[taxlady]

I thought part of the reason for using pancetta instead of bacon, was because it isn't smoked. That's what the guy in the second video said.

 

[Andy M.]

I thought part of the reason for using pancetta instead of bacon, was because it isn't smoked. That's what the guy in the second video said.

To be authentic, you should use guanciale. I have used both pancetta and bacon and I choose to use bacon because it like the smokiness. C'mon, it's BACON!

 

[cookwewill]

I thought part of the reason for using pancetta instead of bacon, was because it isn't smoked. That's what the guy in the second video said.

Based on the info I have, both the original guanciale and pancetta are not smoked, but these days you can also buy smoked versions of both. The main difference is that guanciale is made of the cheek, while pancetta is made from the belly cut.

The cheek is more fatty than the belly and obviously tastes somewhat different since it's a different part of the animal, so that should be the main difference.

BTW: we have our own traditional way of curing the cheek here in Slovakia, the three main ingredients are salt, garlic and a LOT of paprika. First we boil it and once it's tender it get's "massaged" with a mix of garlic and salt, then you literally cover it with paprika. It looks like this:

The Slovak Guanciale