Bucatini all'Amatriciana

Amatriciana is a classic Roman sauce named after the nearby town of Amatrice. (Sadly, a few years ago, most of the town was destroyed by a very strong earthquake, and the area is still in recovery after all this time.) This is always properly served as a sauce with bucatini pasta, a close cousin of spaghetti. For a long time, given its base, it has been thought of as a close cousin of carbonara. (That recipe will be coming in four weeks.) Even given this close association with carbonara, it is nowhere near as well-known as its relative. If everyone who knew how good carbonara was tried amatriciana, I am sure a significant majority would also become fans of this tomato sauce. This sauce, though a relative of carbonara, is far less technical than it—much closer to the skill level of my sauce tomate from my French Mother Sauces series than to the skill level required for proper carbonara.

One thing stands in the way of the average home cook being able to make this sauce regularly: confusion about one of the ingredients and its substitutability or lack thereof. Amatriciana (and its relatives like gricia or carbonara) call for a protein called guanciale. Guanciale is a salt-and-spice-cured cut of meat that comes in a slab cut from the cheek of the pig. Guanciale has a very distinct flavor not only because of the muscle it comes from but also because of the spices that are used to cure it and the fact that it remains unsmoked. Try to find good guanciale, but if you can’t then get pancetta. If you can’t find either, go for good prosciutto. Only if guanciale, pancetta, and prosciutto (in that order) are nowhere to be found, look for slab bacon.

 
Cut 6 ounces of your pork product into strips and then cut across those strips to make lardons. Bear in mind that the lardons will contract significantly (by about half) as the fat renders out while the lardons are cooking, so cut them larger than you want them to end up in the final dish. Place the pork product (ideally guanciale) into a cold sauté pan. When the guanciale has been placed into the pan, turn the heat to medium (but no higher) and allow the fat to gradually render out of the guanciale. You don’t need any extra fat for this process. The fact that you are starting at a low temperature means the guanciale will be able to cook solely in its own fat since the low temperature gives the fat a head-start at melting relative to the cooking of the protein in the guanciale.

After about 10 minutes or however long it takes the guanciale to get to your desired state of crispiness, place 1 28-ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes into the saucepan where the guanciale is. Be careful since the tomatoes have plenty of water in them and there is plenty of fat in the pan from the guanciale. Because of this, there may be some splattering. Be careful to avoid burning yourself at this stage. Stir to prevent anything from catching and burning on the bottom or sides. Allow the sauce to simmer uncovered on low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Cook 1 pound of bucatini as directed. 2 minutes before draining, reserve ¾ cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the remaining water when a timer set according to the manufacturer’s instructions beeps. Place the pasta in the sauce. Toss to combine. If the sauce is too thick, use some of the reserved pasta cooking water to adjust the consistency and build an emulsified sauce.

Garnish with fresh-grated Pecorino Romano. If you make this, be sure to leave a comment down below letting me know!