Rigatoni alla Carbonara was a dish I first had in the Trastevere section of Rome in the 1970s, long before it became popularized in the United States. It came to our table in an enormous bowl from which you served yourself several portions. Nowadays, the sauce is generally served with spaghetti, but I believe my original experience with rigatoni complements the dish far better because it allows for more coating of the sauce.
My Rigatoni alla Carbonara varies somewhat from the traditional recipes in that I use a bit of smoked bacon in addition to the usual guanciale, a hint of garlic, and dried chili peppers, all of which I believe enhance the flavor substantially without debasing the original dish. For a very nebulous history of pasta carbonara, click here.
Making carbonara has become more complicated because of the modern concern for salmonella poisoning. Many chefs have developed a makeshift double-boiler method to combat this, as well as to create a sauce that does not curdle or scramble. I have adopted their methods here. What I do not use, and what so many American restaurants do use, is cream to prevent scrambling. I believe it’s a travesty to the dish.
To Go Directly to the Recipe, Click Here.
It’s important to have all your ingredients prepped ahead of time because once you start cooking, everything must come together very quickly.
Choose a stainless steel bowl that will fit into the pot in which you cook the pasta. Grate the Pecorino Romano and the Parmigiano and combine them. The traditional cheese for this dish is Pecorino Romano, but I find that mixing the Pecorino with Parmigiano gives a subtler flavor.
Grate the cheeses.
I use a chunk of Schaller and Weber Double-Smoked Bacon to maximize the smoked flavor. If you can’t find chunk bacon, select a slice of thick-cut bacon. Chop the smoked bacon into small dice.
Chop the bacon.
Chop the guanciale into small dice.
Chop the guanciale.
You can, of course, eliminate the bacon, and some like to substitute pancetta for the guanciale, though the guanciale creates a more deliciously unctious sauce.
Peel and lightly crush the garlic cloves. You definitely do not want a heavy garlic flavor, just a slight hint.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over a low flame. Add the 2 whole garlic cloves, the chili flakes, as well as the chopped bacon and guanciale.
Fry the cured meats.
Cook slowly for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the bacon and guanciale have rendered their fat and become browned and somewhat crunchy.
Cook the meats until crisp.
If the garlic cloves start to brown too much, immediately discard them. Turn off the heat when the meats are done.
In a small bowl combine 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg. Freeze the leftover egg whites for another use. There is much disagreement as to using only egg yolks or the whole egg. I find that 3 yolks, plus one whole egg give the most desirable result. Beat the egg yolks and whole egg, then beat in the grated Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano cheeses.
Combine the egg and cheese.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a tablespoon of salt. (You use a smaller amount of salt for the water because the cured meats impart much saltiness.) Add the rigatoni and cook for about 9 minutes until barely al dente. The pasta will cook a bit more after you add the sauce to it.
Just before the pasta is done, add 1 tablespoon of the pasta water to the egg-cheese mixture, and beat it in to temper the eggs. This will help prevent scrambling or curdling. Remove about 1 cup of the pasta water, and reserve it. Keep the pasta water in the pot at a simmer.
Turn off the heat on the guanciale and bacon, and discard the garlic cloves, if you’ve not already done so. Remove the rigatoni from the cooking water with a slotted spoon or ladle strainer. You don’t want to lose the pasta cooking water by using a colander.
Remove the rigatoni with a slotted spoon.
Add the rigatoni to the guanciale-bacon in the skillet.
Add the pasta to the meats.
Stir the pasta so that it is coated in the rendered oil, add about tablespoon of the pasta water to it, then scrape the rigatoni into a bowl that fits into the pot in which you cooked the pasta. The bottom of the bowl must be above the water level and not touch the simmering water in the pot. This is the makeshift double boiler.
Gradually add the tempered egg-cheese mixture into the bowl with the pasta.
Gradually add the egg mixture.
Stir the pasta constantly with a wood spoon or spatula. The idea is to heat the egg mixture enough to kill off any salmonella and to make it thicken into a creamy sauce, while being very careful not to let the egg mixture scramble. You must be very vigilant in watching for scrambling because this can happen quickly even though you’re heating it in a double boiler. (If it does begin to scramble, remove the pasta from the heat immediately. It’s still edible, but has the consistency of scrambled eggs with no sauce.) Add a bit more pasta water to the mixture.
Stir in some pasta water.
You want a creamy, but not watery, sauce. Grind a generous amount of black pepper into the pasta.
Serve the Rigatoni alla Carbonara in shallow bowls, sprinkling over it additional grated Pecorino Romano. Serves 2.
