I Tried Serious Eats’ Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe and It’s Absolutely Foolproof

If there’s one food outlet that I can always count on to offer a simple-yet-clever method improvement for a classic recipe, it’s Serious Eats. When I was scrolling through different carbonara recipes for our recipe showdown, I came across Senior Culinary Director Daniel Gritzer‘s version, which boasts a double boiler method to prevent the eggs from scrambling. I was so curious to know if this untraditional yet seemingly ingenious technique would make for a better final result. 

Get the recipe: Serious Eats’ Spaghetti with Carbonara Sauce

First, cook spaghetti to al dente in salted water. Before draining, reserve 1 cup pasta water and keep the pot with the water on the stove. Meanwhile, heat your pork product (I used pancetta) until the fat renders and the meat is crispy. Separately, whisk eggs, egg yolks, Parm, pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper in a large, heatproof bowl. Transfer the al dente pasta to the skillet with the crisped pancetta and toss to combine with a drizzle of oil.

Add the pasta mixture to the egg mixture and place the large bowl over the pot of boiling pasta water, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl is not in direct contact with the water. Stir quickly with tongs, adding pasta water as needed, until the sauce is thick and glossy. Season with more cheese and pepper as needed, then serve immediately.

This recipe worked like a charm and the final result was an undeniable winner. The double boiler method is so clever. Not only because it’s a great way to keep the pasta over active heat without the risk of scrambling the eggs, but also because it doesn’t require setting up another pot of boiling water, as you already had to boil water for the pasta. How ingenious is that?

This approach does require that you have a large heatproof bowl and a saucepan that’s small enough to set the mixing bowl into without it touching the water (but that’s also large enough to cook your pasta) so definitely make sure that you have the proper equipment before you embark on this carbonara journey.

I also enjoyed the combination of whole eggs and egg yolks as well as the one-two punch of pecorino romano and Parmesan. The egg and cheese mixture was still runny enough to create a sauce, but because it was laden with so many yolks, the final result was a brighter orange hue than a lot of the other carbonaras in the showdown. I made this with pancetta and I was super pleased with the flavor and texture. I found it to be slightly less fatty and salty than guanciale, but I felt that the porky flavor was slightly sharper and more pronounced.

Make sure you have a large heatproof bowl and a medium saucepan that the bowl can rest on without having the bottom of the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Once you’ve sorted out the proper equipment, you’re all set to try out the double boiler method.

Rating: 9.5/10