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This is the best carbonara in the world – created by Luciano Monosilio in Rome – otherwise known as The King of Carbonara so we can assume we are in safe hands.
Made simply with spaghetti, egg yolks, grana Padano, pecorino, pepper and guanciale. Deliciously creamy, really quick and utterly delicious. The trick is to not mix the carbonara in the hot pan used to fry the guanciale, but remove it from the heat and toss in a separate bowl. This keeps the carbonara saucy and creamy, without risk of scrambling the egg yolks leading to a chunky, textured sauce rather than the luscious sauce you want.
Six ingredients you need for carbonara with guanciale
Spaghetti, a long pasta such as spaghetti or linguine is ideal here as the creamy sauce coats each pasta.
Egg yolks, with their higher fat content, yolks ensure a creamier, emulsified sauce with a tighter texture so it clings to each spaghetti.
Guanciale, an Italian cured meat from pork jowl or cheek. In Italian, the word guancia means cheek. It’s similar to pancetta, but it’s fattier and saltier with less smoked flavour. Guanciale is traditional for a carbonara and really levels it up.
Grana Padano, salty and similar to Parmesan, just aged in less time. You can use Parm instead of Grana Padano if that’s all you have in.
Pecorino Romano, a hard Italian cheese from sheep’s milk. It has a funkiness compared to the salty note of Grana Padano.
Freshly ground pepper, this is a really important ingredient! Don’t think of it as an added extra, but as the sixth ingredient as it cuts through the fatty, salty sauce and adds good bite. Use a pepper mill or a pestle & mortar if you have one and want to use it.
Important steps to remember when making carbonara
Guanciale is a cured meat product from Italy – named after the cheek. Cut off the rind and then cut into cubes. Add to a hot pan and allow the fat to gently render out. Turn it down once it starts sizzling as you don’t want it to burn before it has the chance to render out. It should be golden all over.
Using egg yolks ensures a creamy, silky texture, which you then make even better by adding some of the guanciale fat to the mixture. Then make sure you toss the pasta with this sauce in a bowl, not in the pan and definitely not on the heat. This will ensure the silkiest, richest carbonara with guanciale.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it has to be eaten immediately so the sauce stays rich and silky.
Unfortunately once the eggs have scrambled, there isn’t much you can do to remedy it. If they are just starting to scramble, you may be able to fix it by stirring in a bit more pasta water quickly. In future, add the egg mixture to the pasta in a large bowl off the heat. This removes most of the risk of scrambling the eggs. Before adding the guanciale fat to the egg yolk mixture, make sure it’s cooled enough as if you add it when blistering hot, you will scramble the mixture.
More pasta recipes you might like
Puttanesca Spaghetti with Burrata
Ricotta Pesto Pasta
Spicy Tomato & Nduja Pasta
Creamy Lemon Pasta
Creamy Weeknight Courgette Pasta
Carbonara with Guanciale
Ingredients
- 280 g spaghetti
- 4 egg yolks
- 200 g guanciale
- 30 g 2 tbsp Grana Padano
- 20 g 4 tsp pecorino Romano
- 1/2 tsp pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- Cut off the rind and the pepper layer of the guanciale. Then, cut it into 1 cm (0.4”) slices, stack them, and cut into 1 cm (0.4”) cubes.
- To a large bowl, add the egg yolks, the freshly ground pepper, the Grana Padano, and the pecorino Romano. Mix with a whisk until well blended.
- Add the guanciale to a heated cast iron pan (no oil, butter, or fat added), then sauté over high heat, tossing the guanciale as you do, making sure it browns on all sides. Once the guanciale starts to smoke and fry, lower the heat so it does not burn. Let it cook in its fat until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
- When the guanciale is done, drain the rendered fat into a heatproof bowl, and let both the fat and the guanciale cool to room temperature.
- Cook the spaghetti according to package directions — they should be just shy of al dente when done as they will continue to cook with the sauce later.
- Add some of the rendered fat from the guanciale to the bowl with egg yolks and mix. Then, transfer the spaghetti into the bowl, add a ladle of pasta water to the bowl, place the said bowl over a water bath, and constantly stir until the sauce thickens.
- Remove from the water bath and add the guanciale and toss to combine.
- Transfer to warmed plates, taking care each portion has equal amounts of guanciale. Then, sprinkle each portion of carbonara with freshly ground pepper and pecorino Romano. Serve immediately, or the sauce will dry out and become sticky.
