Current Events > Just cooked Carbonara for the first time.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Fuck me that was a lot of work.

I did the traditional Italian version rather than the NA knockoff and it took near three hours to do everything. It looked so simple in the Babish video too

Definitely doing the NA version next time. Probably way less mess at the very least.

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It takes 30 minutes tops and that includes the 20 minutes boiling the water and then pasta.


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Um how the fuck does carbonara take you 3 hours. Did you roll your own pasta?

The actual dish itself comes together in the time it takes the crisp up the guanciale/bacon and thats like 10 minutes max.

Not to mention meanwhile that fresh pasta isnt ideal for carbonara anyway. A good quality dried pasta will give the right texture and taste, and the right amount of starch content you want for the sauce. Rolling your own for carbonara pretty much defeats the point. Roman pastas are meant to be quick.

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heatmon930 posted...

It takes 30 minutes tops and that includes the 20 minutes boiling the water and then pasta.

CommonJoe posted...

Um how the fuck does carbonara take you 3 hours. Did you roll your own pasta?

I'm an absolutely horrendous cook unless I re read the recipe about a million times. Honestly what took the longest was the pancetta (Couldn't find guanciale). That shit is a nightmare to cut. Need a new knife ASAP.

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electricbugs2 posted...

I'm an absolutely horrendous cook unless I re read the recipe about a million times. Honestly what took the longest was the pancetta (Couldn't find guanciale). That shit is a nightmare to cut. Need a new knife ASAP.

Yeah you definitely need a new knife. Pancetta is literally just bacon.

But Id also just use any non-sweet bacon over pancetta. Guanciale has a specific taste and texture to it that you wont get out of pancetta, and pancetta offers nothing over bacon unless you dont like smoky flavors.

However, you can find smoked pork jowl at Walmarts on occasion. Thats the same cut that guanciale is made out of and while the fact that its smoked will be different from what you might find in Italy or New York, it will give you the texture and richness that guanciale gives plus all the nice smoky flavor.

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Carbonara with cream, bacon and garlic

CommonJoe posted...

Yeah you definitely need a new knife. Pancetta is literally just bacon.

But Id also just use any non-sweet bacon over pancetta. Guanciale has a specific taste and texture to it that you wont get out of pancetta, and pancetta offers nothing over bacon unless you dont like smoky flavors.

However, you can find smoked pork jowl at Walmarts on occasion. Thats the same cut that guanciale is made out of and while the fact that its smoked will be different from what you might find in Italy or New York, it will give you the texture and richness that guanciale gives plus all the nice smoky flavor.

The pancetta I had was closer to pepperoni with a bunch of fat folds underneath. This is my first time working with it. Honestly this recipe didn't turn out very good. Not sure if it's because I fucked something up, or I just prefer the American version with all the garlic and such, but this was disappointing. Somehow too bland and too salty at the same time.

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wbloechel posted...

Arugula!!!

The actual lettuce would have probably tasted better than this lmfao.

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electricbugs2 posted...

The pancetta I had was closer to pepperoni with a bunch of fat folds underneath

Yeah that doesnt sound like a good pick.

electricbugs2 posted...

Not sure if it's because I fucked something up, or I just prefer the American version with all the garlic and such, but this was disappointing. Somehow too bland and too salty at the same time.

Blandness likely has to do with the pancetta, salt level is likely to be your pasta water.

Heres what Id do:

Get some bacon and cut it into small cubes or lardons. Cold pan, with a touch of oil if the bacons meaty, otherwise nothing. Bring that up on medium-high heat.

Once you can hear the bacon cooking, grab your pasta and put it and some water in your biggest skillet, enough to cover the pasta, and use only about a 1/2 tablespoon of salt or less. Crank the heat to high and let it go.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk your egg yolks, cheese, and add plenty of black pepper and a pinch of salt.

Once the bacons nice and crispy, your pasta should be ready to go. If not, just pull the meat off the heat until it is. If the pasta gets there first, strain it, retaining the water.

Once both are ready, bring everything (meat, pasta, egg/cheese mix) together in the pan on low-medium heat. Stir relatively vigorously and constantly, and if you can do it toss it to aerate the sauce. Itll be ready aftet a few minutes, and it should look something like this:



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