Rich, silky smooth carbonara in only 15 minutes!
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-- RECIPE --
(makes 2 portions)
▪225g/8oz very thick cut bacon, diced into small batons
▪Olive oil
▪340g/12oz spaghetti
▪50g or 1/2c aged parmesan, feather shredded
▪50g or 1/2c pecorino romano, feather shredded
▪1 egg + 3 egg yolks
▪2g or 1teas ground black pepper
▪Reserved pasta water
To cook the pasta, bring water to a boil. I’m using a 12” saute for this for faster boiling. Salt water then add spaghetti. Simmer on high for about 8min. When done, noodles should have just a bit of crunch in the middle.
To cook the bacon and prepare the sauce, preheat a large heavy-bottomed pot over low. Add a bit of olive oil to the pot followed by bacon. Allow to render and brown for around 8min, stirring occasionally.
In a separate bowl, mix together cheeses and eggs.
When bacon is rendered and golden, remove it from the pot, and reduce heat to medium low, adding any bacon grease that comes with it back into the pot followed by black pepper. Fry black pepper and stir with wooden spoon, scraping up bacon fond.
At this point, ladle in about 300mL/1.5c pasta water into bacon pot and continue to deglaze up bacon fond. Transfer spaghetti into bacon pot (remembering to save additional pasta water to adjust sauce later).
Stir 100mL/.5c of pasta water together with the egg and cheese mixture.
Add 100mL/.5c of additional pasta water into the spaghetti pot and stir. Simmer pasta in shallow water for about 90 seconds. Taste pasta. It should be al dente. Remove from heat and stir in rendered bacon. Add egg/cheese mixture and stir very well until cheese melts. If needed, return pot to low heat, stirring constantly until cheese is melted and sauce is velvety and creamy. Don’t take it too far or sauce will become gloppy.
Top with a pinch of aged parm and black pepper and serve.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:08 boiling spag, rendering bacon, mixing sauce
4:46 Vite Ramen (ad)
5:46 Finishing the carbonara
9:20 Let’s eat this thing
#carbonara #carbonararecipe #pasta
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This one became a mainstay of my weekly cooking repertoire. It's simple, and when done right, is a restaurant-quality meal that never fails to impress.
These videos are fantastic. I really appreciate how practical these kinds are. Really great to see your channel grow from 20K to over 600K. Well deserved ❤️
Package: Al dente 10 min Brian: tHiS pAcKaGe ClAiMs iT tAkEs 12 MiNuTeS
Nothing but respect for always leaving your recipes fully laid out in the video description! I tend to watch through all your vids anyway because they're enjoyable and playful while still be succinct, but just writing a quick thanks!
Agreed, so few cooking channels do this.
Brian, my boyfriend and I love your channel, style, and humor. Your personality shines through in the best way. He made this carbonara recipe for dinner today and it was absolutely delicious! Keep being your awesome self, and know that you are appreciated!
Thank you for another quick and delicious recipe. We love filling our busy weeknights with your suggestions. As always, you rock!
I just made this for my family (I’m nearing the end of my bodybuilding prep), and they say it’s AMAZING. So grateful for this recipe!
Made this yesterday, followed directions exactly. Despite me salting the pasta water too much, EXCELLENT! Process is SPOT ON for superb texture and creaminess without cream. TY Brian!
Just tried this recipe tonight and it was delicious. Ive actually never eaten this before but glad we tried it and will definitely make again. Thank you!
This is great economy of movement in your steps, man. I make carbonara a few times a month and even when I’ve got my mise all totally en place, it always takes me way longer than it should. Excited to try this methodology next time. Great stuff as always!
I see what you did there! 👍
I do the same. Water to boil, bacon chopped into a cold pan, medium heat, 3 whole eggs in a bowl to warm up. Then crack pepper and grate cheese. God this one impressed me. He wasn't skimpy on the pasta water and put the pepper into the oil.
That's a great comment dude I know exactly what you mean, sometimes no matter what I do, even having every bit of my mise set out on a sheet tray absolutely ready to go, I end up making a giant mess and it takes 5x longer than it should. More and more I feel the difference between a really competent home cook & a pro chef is efficiency rather than taste.
That's always my issue lol. My kitchen is set up the shape of a pretzel ...🤔 Oh wait... I'm just disorganized.
Cooked and tried, absolutely delicious, creamy but not oily. Thank you 🙏
Well done Brian! Excellent example of carbonara done properly down to every single detail. Keep up the good work. Cheers from Croatia!
Deglazing the fond in the pan with pasta water beforehand is an absolute pro move. Little tips like this are why I love your channel so much.
man you should go back to Julia Child if you dont know about deglazing a pan
@@infringinator don’t be that guy. Not a single recipe on KZhead does this step for making a Carbonara. Of course I know how to deglaze a pan. That’s not the point. The step itself is not mentioned in most recipes and I find it a cool technique for this specific dish.
@@joshualiford4227 my recipe is the best. I go to the restaurant and $30 later I have carbonara
one pro tip and 10 amateur tips :) . He needs more practice.
The shallow pasta boiling is such a great hack. Carbonara is so easy to get consistently right if you are always aware of how it can fail rather than always trying to perfect it according to the recipe. Good prepping and maintaining pan temp is key for consistency.
thank you J. Keniji-Lopez Alt, I'll give you the credit you deserve with pleasure 🙂
I agree. I would have never thought of this myself.
Looks delicious! Love all your hard work Brian!
I started using an immersion blender to mix the egg+cheese, and then also blend in some pasta water at the end. Works quite well and makes a very stable emulsion.
I do this too changed my carbonara game from never ending frustration to success!!!
I tried with a Vitamix blender and the heat over cooked my eggs... USE Caution some recipe's are almost like a Hollandaise type construction.
@@lostphotographs3936 I did the same thing, that’s why I went with an immersion blender (blender wand).
Clever! Thanks!
His technique worked perfectly for me and was my first time.
I’ve watched heaps of “how to carbonara” and this is by far the easiest and most success guaranteed. Thanks Bri
he did a great job, but to say this is BY FAR the easiest and most success guaranteed. That's just wrong. There are ALOT of good videos (alot bad too) that accomplish a very good carbonara. Vinxenzo's Plate comes to mind. This isn't rocket science.
@@bara7331the opinion I expressed here is my opinion, and mine alone. I stand by my comment that this is by far the easiest and most success guaranteed. This is my truth.
This one and Jamie Oliver's are my favorite "how to" videos. There are so many different methods out there, but I love the simplicity of those two!
Yo Bri, I recently discovered your channel, you and your videos are awesome. This is the first recipe of yours that I cooked, and it was incredible. Can't wait to try the rest of your recipes!
I love making Carbonara, Brian, and appreciated seeing your version. I am going to try your approach of deglazing the pan with the pasta water next time!
2:10 the package shows al dente in 10 mins, not 12 ;) Looks absolutely delicious; I really need to get back into cooking and this will absolutely be a favorite dish, I'm sure.
it was actually 8 minutes 32 seconds 120 milliseconds with 120ml of nasty starchy pasta water too yo.
🤓
@@infringinator “Nasty” in a good way? That starch is very helpful in creating smooth, “creamy” sauces.
Yet again - a well known and overly attempted recipe done 10% better than anyone else! Those small details are key, and going overboard with pecorino romano is just that bit of poshness I am looking for in these flicks. Thanks man!
Thanks for watching! Always more pecorino
Pecorino in this case is a necessity rather than poshness... Actually the parmigiano is poshness as the OG roman carbonara recipe has only pecorino and parmigiano. But yeah he did kill the dish
Interesting that you look for poshness in carbonara as it's one of the more famous examples of cucina povera, alongside puttanesca and panzanella.
@@jckalma7916 and what's wrong with that?
@@knn1309 nothing. Personally l like to keep poor man's kitchen "poor" but that's just me. Pecorino all the way though, like it better that parmigiano.
Thank you for the dish. This channel has easily become one of my favorite.
Thank you so much Brian!!! I did my first attempt today and it was a total success!!!! I will make it more often thanks to you!.
Yo Bri- I’m feeling these quicker less-involved recipes. I love all your content and learn a ton, but I gotta say I tend to actually make the easier ones more often and with great success 🎉
This is really cool! I'll definitely be trying this out in the near future. Thanks Brian! It's so cool to get simple recipes like this that I can likely use on a weeknight. It's flavorful but not hard to make. Thanks again! Edit: Finally brought myself to make it, and it was literally the easiest recipe ever! I never thought I'd be able to make carbonara, let alone such a delicious version! Thanks for the foolproof recipe
I love all your recipes Briannnn thank you for sharing this one.💖
Finally got around to making your carbonara recipe and it was spot-on! Delicious, I couldn’t believe it didn’t have cream or butter from the taste - thank you
Perfection! You didn’t overcomplicate the dish and presented it exactly as it would be done in Italy. Bravo Brian!
As an Italian that's what I said too. It is not easy to see an American or an Englishman who makes a real carbonara (without ruining the dish and changing it completely). Unfortunately the problem is the Guanciale that is not easy to find outside Italy.
@@aris1956 You do know that calling your self as an italian doesn't mean anything especially if you are wrong about what makes a real carbonara. I bet that you never read up on history of carbonara since the first one did have cream in it and bacon.
I’ve been wanting to make this for YEARS and finally found a recipe I could follow! Eating it now and it’s amazing!!
I'm terrible at cooking, and yet I found myself making this Carbonara and it was fantastic! It tasted good (got some 'well done' eggy parts... so that's something I'd like to fix next time) and I even enjoyed the process of making it. Huge thanks!
Nicely done! It's all about the details... This added some new steps to the process that IMHO put this dish on a next level. Thanks 4 the inspiration, Bri 😇
Always great, Brian! You are in the top 3 chefs/cooks I always refer to on KZhead. Thanks for your teaching skills : you really do an excellent job of teaching and explaining. Really! Still waiting for the cameo with you know who! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
We made this tonight and definitely another winner for weeknighting. I've had carbonara in restaurants not this good. Now we need to track down some guanciale for a second attempt. The timing was spot on.
My family loved your carbonara recipe, quick & easy 😋 Thank You Brian
I made this tonight. It's super easy. Just two things I'd say. watch out for when you add the pasta water in with the black pepper and bacon, as oil + water = pain. Also use a thicker spaghetti. I used thin spaghetti and it cooked too fast and I didn't have enough pasta water. But other than that, it was incredible. My husband said if he got it at a restaurant, he wouldn't be mad about it.
What kind of fucked up compliment is that
@@alfred9805 it wasn't so much of a compliment as it was a comment about my experience and suggestions I had. But like...I'm not a literal chef so...take with a grain of salt? And I'm sure Brian knows that (if he even read my comment) because I'm just some rando on the Internet lol
Bro, you are something. As a cocky culinary student and former chef, I find myself scoffing at most cooking videos I watch, and agreeing with videos from anyone like Ramsay or White. Only yours do I actually pay attention and learn something, EVERY TIME I watch. Chef's Hats off, you are hands down the best cooking channel available on YT. Cheers, from Missouri.
Nobody cares who you scoff at or respect, you’re not special and your “respect” will disappear on a whim. Impressing arrogant, self-important pricks like you is the biggest waste of time and effort and it’s giving narcissist vibes that you believe he needs to care about what you think.
Love the concepts here Bri - so cool you're not afraid to re-invent / streamline the de-riguer rules of the kitchen! I use my electric kettle to heat water fast! Works well. Cheers & yum!
Young man, that looks simply delicious. I'm making this dish for lunch tomorrow. Thank you for sharing!
This is probably my favorite carbonara video. Really great sequence to get the right texture: deglazing the pan with the pasta water, then emulsifying it with the fat, then adding the pasta, then tempering the egg cheese with the water before adding to the pasta, then adding the pork last to keep it crispy. And doing it with a dutch oven sounds like a great idea. Will use this technique next time I make carbonara!
I dated a girl who'd immigrated from Italy and she made carbonara for me. After eating, she said (sheepishly!) "did you like it?" and I said "make that again and you're going to find a ring on your finger. That was amazing." She lit up like a Christmas tree. Thanks for reminding me of one of the more amusing days of my younger life. Food's funny like that. (as for the girl, we eventually broke up. I still miss her cooking.)
I’ve been looking for a simple and straightforward recipe for Carbonara for quite a while and this seems to fit the bill perfectly. Thank you very much for your help and expertise. I was particularly pleased that you cooked the bacon until it was properly cooked. I hate being given carbonara with great big lumps of raw fatty meat in it. I find it revolting, and your bacon was just perfect in my opinion.
We typically leave Pasta dishes to Saturday evening when we have time to chill, watch a favourite show and chow down on a great dish. I always forget Carbonara when I am thinking of a pasta night, but not after watching this video Brian. Thanks for the poke to remember. HMMMMM I can already smell the applewood bacon this Saturday. Thanks Pal.
You are my new favorite cooking guy!😁
Thanks Marian!
Odd request - can you do an episode on sanitary kitchen conditions? e.g., handling meat, wooden cutting boards, salt bowls. I see a lot of different approaches and while I think I'm frequently over-washing my hands, I just have absolutely no clue what I'm doing (right or wrong). Would love to know your take on it.
^^^
Cooking with Jonny says Hello 👋! Your video is truly amazing and shows your passion and devotion towards beautiful food. I am so lucky to see your work through your channel. Thank you for sharing! 🤗🤗🤗
This is best carbonara technique and recipe for using bacon. Thank for specifying the stove temperature and step by step cooking instructions. I am going to make this this week.
Dude you’re awesome. I truly wanna be able to cook like you at some point.
You could make that quite easily. Watch the vid a few times, buy the best ingredients u can afford and have a go. Its actually a very simple fast dish.
I thought exactly that myself and so I watched, and learned. You've got this. Brian took all of the thinking out if it for us. He's that good a teacher.
Actually brian the pasta says 10 minutes for al dente right next to the 12 minute cooking time.
I think that’s the number of the size for the noodle
I mean I think the main takeaway is don't always trust box instructions and instead taste your food for seasoning/textures
@@michelleblank2199 what planet are you living on where "al dente 10 min" describes the size of a noodle 😂
ok karen
We don't want mushy pasta
This is honestly the best carbonara video I’ve seen. Imma start cooking the bacon and do the mixing in a big pot from now on, too.
Great Video! Excellent camera work and voice over. Good information explaining the steps and the dish!Great job!✌🏾
You lie. I made this for lunch but it was only 1 serving (I have no ragrets). Still digging that weeds-and-sardines shuffle at the end, Bri. 🤙
just remember kids 1 in 1000 eggs has salmonella
1:03 I actually think pancetta would be the next best thing, it’s a bit more common to find than guanciale, but bacon is still a good option (ex. I’ve bought pancetta from Whole Foods before)
Fully agreed, even in Europe Guanciale is quite hard to find but Pancetta is readily available so I would also always pick Pancetta over Bacon
Carbonara is all about producing a rich creamy sauce and Brian as usual produces an excellent video that identifies the key elements to produce perfection.
There was an Italian restaurant in South STL city that used to serve Carbonara, closed now. It is my favorite pasta and no one makes it properly in restaurants. So... I make it at home; your method is clean & clear. I'll try it next time. TY!
LET'S EAT THIS THING
I was recently in Rome and made a point of eating all four of the holy pastas. While carbonara is maybe my least favorite (love alla Gricia) it is still amazing. I like that you mention the guanciale, as that is really the only pork used in the typical carbonara. It's cured, rather than smoked, which makes such a difference in the end product. Worth mentioning that you can buy guanciale online from numerous vendors. A 8-10 oz piece goes a long way. You could probably make two different two serving pastas with that much guanciale. Amatriciana anyone?
Amatriciana? YES PLEASE!
Gricia is my favorite too
Guancialle can be pretty hard to find in the States, though. I managed to find it in one specialty shop and I live in a mid-sized city (top 150 by population). Small towns are likely not going to have such specialty shops. I've heard Pancetta is a good sub, and I've found that at chain grocery stores.
@@LuisCaneSec as I said, buy online. Do you have a credit card? It’s worth it! So much better. Pancetta is not the same at all. It’s from the rib, guanciale is from the jowl of the pig. Like a chicken breast vs a thigh.
@@williamryan2067 You're right ! As an Italian I have to say anyone who has never eaten an original Carbonara with Guanciale does not know the true taste of a Carbonara. You can replace it with Pancetta but it's not the same. It's not the same taste. And this of course also applies to the other two typical Roman dishes (Amatriciana and Alla Gricia).
Followed this to a T. Came out exactly how yours did, and very tasty. Thanks for the new recipe!
Finally, a recipe that has a clear suggestion on seasoning rather than "to taste".
I think it’s worth noting people can also use panchetta instead of the bacon, and it’s usually much easier to find than guanciale. Whole Foods usually has a packs of it but the panchetta is cut into pretty small cubes.
Exactly, the next best thing is pancetta, followed by any pork cured meat (NOT smoked) that has a decent amount of fat. Smoked bacon is not an option in my books, since the smoky flavor is not usual to the original carbonara.
Reading the title, I was expecting the worst like using cream etc, and was ready to start a rant... BUT I should have known you better! That is proper authentic Carbonara (except for the bacon but you mentioned the reason) of the kind which Italian Nonnas would appreciate! Great!
Phew! Glad it passed the test! Thanks for the feedback
Really nice.. This is a really good recipe..Thank you for doing this..God Bless.
Love this recipe, thank you. That’s a good way to cook the pasta, I can’t wait to try this recipe.
carbonara with cream should be considered a criminal offense.
its nice to see an american making carbonara without 1 liter of cream and 5 garlic gloves. pecorino, egg and guanciale are already a "flavor explosion", I really don't know why so many people keep adding all kinds of random things. (especially brits, peas and mushrooms, why?). one thing though: what you were showing as "guanciale", I am pretty sure that just pancetta?
I live in Britain and have never seen peas or mushrooms put into Carbonara. Cream I have seen for sure,
@@dnmurphy48 maybe its just a gordon ramsay thing then, saw his recipe a while back and he adds so much random stuff
Can't wait to try. Alot of the other recipes I've found call to combine the pasta and sauce over a bain marie. Your dutch oven method seems more efficient and... easier.
Always wanting more. Looks yummy. Thanks for sharing
Thank you Brian. Making this today 💪🏽
I made this recipe tonight. 12oz of pasta fed all 4 of my family members. It was amazing! Thank you!
Thank you Brian. You are terrific
Great video! I had leftover bacon and bacon fat so when I watched your video I had to do a take on this right away. It was as easy as it gets and absolutely delicious. Thank you!
That is amazing! Thank you Brian!
dude I made this recipe today and it was fkn LEGIT thank you for this, and all the others. Big fan of your channel.
Followed your recipe to the letter and had more than reasonable success on my first try making carbonara! Things got a little dicey at the end timing wise but your method of mixing the eggs, cheese and starchy pasta water seemed like the key to a great creamy sauce.
Thanks Brian! A very simple dish yet so complex to execute. But if perfectly done then you will be rewarded with the best pasta of your life. 🎉 I did.
Thanks for yet another great recipe! Bought Pecorino Romano and some thicc bacon today and had to make it at once! So delicious ❤️ even my 2 year old daughter ate a huge serving of this!
Ok Brian, you have a new sub. This recipie is just the bomb, the way you present it is amazing. You use so much more water then i ever done so gonna try this.
Hey Brian, at least someone, not italian, nail the Carbonara recipe!!!! Bravo Brian!!! This is great!!
Good recipe. Tried it and it was great. Thanks a lot.
Great demonstration loved the dance also I am going to give it a try great respect iowa
Love the recipe, thank you!
Made this tonight and it was so good!
so tasty and creamy carbonara thank you for the procedure
Looks delicious and easy to make to make Easier then I ever thought it would be
thank you! I took a lot of this to correct what I'd been doing wrong, including boiling pasta in a skillet.
Really enjoyed your every vid. I love carbonara!
Yup. Love it. Gonna make it.
Excellent as always. A lot of people are terrified of making carbonara and they shouldn't be. I'd like to see you do the classic aglio e olio and how you do a pasta primavera. Also, as we in the northern hemisphere are moving into winter I'd love you see your take on some winter'ish dishes like Boston Baked Beans - and maybe cornbread? And a classic winter stew - beef or vegetarian version? Thanks!
It’s pretty cold outside today, so I’ll make it for dinner. Thanks for idea!
I made this recipe. It is easy and so good! Thank you
Yum!! 😊. Keep dancing Brian, it brings 🤩!
My next meal try - love your recipes = I make many of them!!!!!!!
This is amazing! I’m not a good cook but people are starting to think I am. Thanks so much for your content!
Yum! ...I'm planning to make this tonite.. thanks!
just made it, amazing!
Easy cooking and its amazing.. After all this while i just using carbonara paste..now will use this easy recipe 😊
You are the first person to recommend the re-heat method if the sauce is too loose. Great way to fool proof carbonara!
Bravo, perfectly appropriate carbonara recipe for everybody to make without laser thermometers
My favorite dish. I absolutely love Italian food
Wow, it seem really great, I'll try it ASAP!
Just made my version tonight with pretty much the same ingredients. A more traditional way than combining the egg/cheese/water beforehand is mixing them into the recently drained pasta/pan and loosening with pasta water. I’d expect they taste the same but this way seems a little more foolproof, if your pan is too hot and you’re slow with the water it can scramble the eggs a little.