Bobby Flay Carbonara Recipe

This Bobby Flay Carbonara Recipe is a rich and silky recipe, which is made with salty guanciale and golden egg yolks. It’s a restaurant-quality pasta dish, ready in about 35 minutes.

Bobby Flay Carbonara Recipe Ingredients

• 4 ounces guanciale, cut into ¼-inch dice
• 4 ounces slab bacon, cut into ¼-inch dice
• ½ cup canola oil
• ¾ cup packed fresh parsley leaves (divided: ¼ cup for frying, ½ cup chopped fresh)
• Kosher salt
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 ounces Grana Padano cheese, finely grated (about ¾ cup)
• 2 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Black Pepper Pasta, cut into fettuccine, or store-bought fresh or dried fettuccine
• 2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, finely grated (about ¾ cup)

How To Make Bobby Flay Carbonara Recipe

1. Crisp the pork: In a large pan or skillet, combine the diced guanciale and slab bacon. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and the meat becomes crispy, about 12 minutes. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Crucial: Reserve the rendered pork fat in the pan (you will need 2 tablespoons later).
2. Fry the garnish: Heat the ½ cup of canola oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add ¼ cup of the whole parsley leaves (ensure they are dry to prevent splattering). Fry until crispy, about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and season immediately with salt. Finely chop the remaining ½ cup of fresh parsley and set aside.
3. Boil the water: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season it with 2 tablespoons of salt.
4. Make the sauce base: In a large heatproof bowl (large enough to hold all the pasta later), whisk together the 6 egg yolks, grated Grana Padano, garlic paste, black pepper, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of the reserved warm pork fat and three-quarters of the crispy pork. This creates a rich emulsion known as a liaison.
5. Cook the pasta: Drop the fettuccine into the boiling water. Cook until al dente (tender but with a slight bite). Important: Before draining, carefully scoop out 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta.
6. Temper and toss: Immediately transfer the hot, drained pasta directly into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture. Toss vigorously and continuously with tongs. The heat from the pasta will cook the eggs without scrambling them. Add the reserved pasta water a splash at a time to thin the sauce until it is glossy and coats the noodles perfectly. Stir in the chopped fresh parsley.
7. Serve: Divide the pasta among bowls. Garnish with the remaining crispy pork, the grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and the crispy fried parsley leaves. Serve immediately.

Recipe Tips

• Guanciale vs. Bacon: Guanciale is cured pork jowl and is the traditional meat for carbonara. It has a richer, funkier flavor than bacon. Bobby Flay uses a mix of both to balance the intense pork flavor with the smoky familiarity of bacon.
• The “Liaison”: Mixing the eggs, cheese, and fat in a bowl before adding the pasta is the secret to a smooth sauce. If you add eggs directly to a hot pot on the stove, they will scramble. The bowl method uses the residual heat of the pasta to gently pasteurize the eggs into a cream.
• Garlic Paste: Mashing the garlic into a paste with salt ensures the garlic flavor permeates the sauce evenly without biting into raw chunks of garlic.
• Pasta Water: The reserved pasta water is starchy and salty. It acts as an emulsifier, binding the fat and the liquid together to create a sauce that clings to the noodles rather than sliding off.

What To Serve With Bobby Flay Carbonara

This dish is incredibly rich, so it pairs best with bitter greens or acid to cut the fat.

• Arugula Salad: Tossed with lemon vinaigrette and shaved parmesan.
• Grilled Broccolini: With chili flakes and lemon.
• Dry White Wine: A Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.
• Garlic Bread: If you want a carb-heavy feast.

How To Store Bobby Flay Carbonara Recipe

• Consume Immediately: Carbonara is truly a dish that does not store well. The emulsion breaks as it cools, and reheating often results in scrambled eggs and separated oil.
• Reheating: If you absolutely must reheat leftovers, do so in a skillet over very low heat, adding a splash of water to try and bring the sauce back together. Do not microwave.

Bobby Flay Carbonara Recipe Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 750
• Total Fat: 45g
• Saturated Fat: 18g
• Cholesterol: 280mg
• Sodium: 950mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 50g
• Dietary Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 1g
• Protein: 30g

Nutrition information is estimated per serving based on 4 servings.

FAQs

Try More Recipes:

• Bobby Flay Pasta Dough Recipe
• Bobby Flay Homemade Pasta Recipe Recipe
• Bobby Flay Chicken Alfredo Recipe