Pasta Alla Gricia
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings.
- 8ounces guanciale (cured pig’s jowl), cut into ¼-inch pieces
- ½teaspoon finely ground black pepper, plus a pinch
- ¾pound tonnarelli or other long pasta like linguine or spaghetti
- ¼cup finely grated pecorino Romano
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
571 calories; 25 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 21 grams protein; 549 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Cook the guanciale in a large skillet over medium heat until deeply golden (adjust the heat as necessary to render the fat without burning the meat). The meaty parts should be browned and the fatty parts should be cooked but still slightly transparent. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. When it’s done, add the black pepper and turn off the heat.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, put a pot of salted water on to boil. When the water boils, cook the pasta until it’s al dente, nearly but not quite done and still a bit chalky in the middle.
- Step 3
When the guanciale has cooled a bit, and while the pasta is cooking, add ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water to the pan, turn the heat to high and reduce by about half.
- Step 4
When the pasta is ready, use tongs to transfer it to the pan with the sauce. Stir the pasta as it finishes cooking, adding more pasta cooking water if necessary until the pasta is done and the sauce thick and creamy. Add half the cheese and a pinch of pepper, and stir vigorously to incorporate.
- Step 5
Divide the pasta among four dishes, and dust each with the remaining pecorino.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Robert Green
the key if you actually use guanciale (and do so--it's the best!) is that you will have too much fat. but don't let it go to waste! put the excess in an adjacent pan with a bit of olive oil, chop up some brussels sprouts, and cook w/a bit of stock and you will have, in addition to delicious pasta, the best sprouts of your life.
Michael
Love this dish. A trick I learned from Gina DePalma is to add small splashes of pasta water to the guanciale while it's cooking to keep it moist and let the starch combine with the fat to begin making the sauce. Add more pasta water at the end when you've combined everything in the pan. Wonderful and simple
Tanabata
Good bacon, not overly smoked, is good for this dish. And yes, it seems to be a carbonara w/o the egg. This is why there are many dishes...
Never dump all the hot pasta water... it may always be useful to hydrate a dry pasta dish.
Remem - pasta is easy - it is we who render it difficult.
Michael
Remove the guanciale before adding and reducing pasta water. Returning the guanciale to the pasta at the end will maintain its crispy texture.
cecilia
I love this dish, but Mark would have 4 people each eat 3 oz of pasta? I make it with 1 lb for just my husband and me.
JM
The simple addition of pasta water resulted in a wonderful creamy sauce that adhered nicely to the pasta. Tracking down guinciale was worth it.
k8
This is a family favorite I've made for years with a small changes. I use quality bacon since it's easy to find, I add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and crushed garlic to the bacon at the end of his step 1. I top with large flake sea salt in step 5.
Bacon, garlic and cheese with a slight kick from the red pepper flakes is superb.
Sue
For an old cook 80 with an older finicky husband 85 and 3 oz pancetta in the refrigerator, this was fantastic. Used 8 oz linguine. Delicious, will make again. Pandemic be gone.
Katecooksthebooks
Just made this spur-of-the-moment with what I had on hand -- about 6 oz. of bacon, 8 oz. of linguine, parmesan. Turned out great but I made the mistake of over-salting the pasta water so that combined with the bacon and cheese made the final dish was VERY salty.
laura
The guanciale I used generated 3/4 cup of liquified fat. There was no way I would ever make a sauce with that. The recipe should say how much fat to leave in the pan, since apparently there is a huge variation in guanciale. It should also suggest trimming some of the fat off the guanciale itself. I left about two tablespoons of fat in the pan and that was more than enough. Also, the guanciale is very salty, so there should be a warning to go light on the salt in the pasta water.
Rebecca
The guanciale I used rendered a lot of fat so I poured off some of it and still got a nice creamy sauce. I added about a cup more water during the stirring phase. When you think youv'e added enough add more. Put the pepper grinder on the table. Used perciatelli pasta. Very satisfying supper with roasted tomato halves stuffed with fresh herbs and garlicky croutons. First course was asparagus.
Michaelc
Never heard of it other than guanciale. You might as well call prosciutto uncooked dried and salted ham. A lovely recipe which doesn’t need inverse snobbery
cmsl
My Italian boyfriend declared this restaurant quality. Followed the ingredients and directions to the letter.
grace
I drained off all by .25c of fat and the sauce still came together beautifully.
Dan
This is our favorite pasta dish. Guanciale can be hard to find, so I substitute pancetta. Also, like to add sauteed sliced mushrooms. The key is pasta water, and keep stirring. Delicious!
Max Alexander, Rome, Italy
No Italian would ever remove the rendered fat from guanciale (it’s the sauce), or add garlic to this dish. The standard Italian pasta serving is 80 grams or about 3 ounces; we eat smaller portions but serve other things on the side, like cooked broccoli or a raw fennel salad. American supermarket pecorino (Locatelli) is mass produced and sub-standard; I would use Parmigiano over there.
John
I like to use rigatoni because the chunks of meat get inside the tube
Mel B
I like to make with bronze cut rigatoni (really good small batch stuff when I can). They'll stand up to the vigorous mixing. It gives some of the guanciale pieces somewhere to hide with the sauce and it is just heaven in a bite
mary
Have found pig jowl bacon at Woodman’s market, Rockford, IL.
Winnie
Made this and I added garlic, mushrooms and red pepper flakes and at the end I added in mixed baby kale along with the cheese and it is wonderful. So flexible and easy to make. Would definitely recommend and using bacon made it simple to gather all the ingredients together. I also used a Parmesan Pecorino Romano cheese from Trader Joe’s which turned out great.
Dave Popple
I made this with Morel mushrooms from Eataly. Everything is the same except where it says to stop cooking and let the Guanciale cool, add mushrooms and stir, they will lose a little water but you are adding water anyways to make the sauce.
BJK South Australia
Guanciale is not available where I live so I use lightly smoked bacon trimmed of most of the fat. Adding pine nuts during the frying adds a tasty extra flavour. I also like to add some finely chopped parsley to the cheese that is sprinkled onto the finished dish.
Barbara NYC
If you can't purchase guanciale locally- it can be found on AMAZON--8oz $22.00. Shipped fresh.
AA
Country ham, readily available, would be an acceptable substitute, IMO, for guanciale.
RDB
A couple of observations: 1) Bucatini is always a great pasta shape for Roman recipes -- Gricia, Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe, Amatriciana; 2) In Step 4, remember to turn the heat on your skillet OFF BEFORE ADDING THE CHEESE! Cooking cheese, even in a nice fatty, starchy liquid, will cause it to separate. Enjoy.
Laneyhess
Does anyone have a good source to buy good guanciale in the US? (southern CA??) The best Carbonara we've ever had, hands down was in a little restaurant in Orvieto. The guanciale in that dish was spectacularly seasoned and, somehow, very lean compared to imported jowel we've purchased. I think the guanciale really makes the dish!
Golem
You're right. Most of the guanciale I've found in Washington, DC is mostly fat and I like the flavor from the meat. I think you have to find a butcher and tell them what you want. I'm looking.
Rose C
I need help when trying to find a substitute for pork products in a recipe. I know it won't taste quite the same, but we don't eat pork in this household. Any suggestions as to what I can use in place of guanciale? Turkey bacon? Help!
Golem
Maybe beef cheeks, although I think you need something cured. I've always thought of using corned beef or pastrami but I've never tried it. You might look for pasta recipes in an Italian-Jewish cookbook since that cuisine is still prevalent in Italy, especially Rome. The recipe for spinach, raisins and pine nuts is a classic.
TJ47
To my mind the guanciale provides fat and a briny umami. So I would use a good amount of olive oil and a different umami bomb. Maybe mushrooms with a half teaspoon of Hondashi. Or capers and anchovies. Wont be the same but it will be tasty!
Edith
When making carbonara I chop up sun dried tomatoes and lightly saute them, and I add some miso to the sauce. I bet that would work here, too.
Lara
I found a supplier of guanciale and I was so excited to make this! I followed the recipe as written and it was very delicious. It took longer to render the fat but it was worth the time. Once that was done, the recipe came together very quickly and easily. I can't wait to make it again!
Marie
Delicious!!! Only changes were the amount of guanciale was too much for 3/4 lb. of pasta (for us) and used about 4 -5 oz. I also removed the guanciale when adding the first pasta water to keep it crisp. Added it to pasta after about 30 seconds. We also like a little heat so added additional black pepper too. Will make this again and again!!
Robert
For 1/4 lb. pasta: 2.7 oz Guanciale 1/8 tsp pepper 1 Tbs. Romano + 1/3 Tbs at end 1/4 c. pasta water +
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