Cut the hard rind off the guanciale, slice the meat about 0.5 cm thick, then cut it into strips or cubes of about 0.5 × 1 cm. Finely grate the pecorino and coarsely crush the pepper in a mortar.

Ingredients

• 320 gPasta, dry, unenriched
• 150 gPork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, jowl, raw
• 5 pieces · largeEgg, yolk, raw, fresh
• 80 gCheese, romano
• 2 gSpices, pepper, black
• 580 mlBeverages, water, tap, drinking
• 2.4 lBeverages, water, tap, drinking not counted – removed
• 2 gSalt, table editorial addition

Method

1. Cut the hard rind off the guanciale, slice the meat about 0.5 cm thick, then cut it into strips or cubes of about 0.5 × 1 cm. Finely grate the pecorino and coarsely crush the pepper in a mortar.
2. Put the guanciale into a cold pan without any fat and render it slowly over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes until the fat turns translucent and the pieces are golden; the edges should be crisp and the centre still tender. Take the pan off the heat and leave the rendered fat in it.
3. In a bowl, beat the 5 egg yolks with 60 g of the pecorino and most of the pepper into a thick cream. If it is too stiff, stir in a spoonful of lukewarm pasta water, never boiling.
4. Bring 3 litres of water with 20 g of salt to the boil (the guanciale and pecorino are salty, so do not add more) and cook the spaghetti one minute less than the packet says, usually 8–10 minutes. Before draining, set aside about 200 ml of the pasta water.
5. Lift the spaghetti with tongs into the pan with the guanciale and fat, standing off the heat, and toss with 2–3 tablespoons of pasta water for half a minute so they are coated in fat. Wait until the pan stops sizzling, then add the egg cream and stir and toss vigorously, adding pasta water a spoonful at a time, until a glossy cream clings to the pasta. The cream thickens at around 60–65 °C; if it stays runny, put the pan back over the lowest flame for a few seconds while stirring constantly, and if it starts to curdle into lumps, add water at once.
6. Serve at once on warmed plates, sprinkled with the remaining pecorino and pepper.