Carbonara - sauce consistency

[Anonymous]

I made spaghetti carbonara for the first time last night and accidentally overlooked the egg (I wanted to make sure it was really cooked)! It ended up making the sauce more of a thick paste. Still tasted good, but is there any way to make it more sauce-like for when we eat leftovers tonight? If I throw it all back in a skillet on low and mix in some water, will that do the trick? It's currently mixed in with the pasta/bacon/etc.

[Anonymous]

*overCOOKED, not overlooked!

[Anonymous]

Thin it with some water the pasta cooked in.

[Anonymous]

Carbonara isn't usually very saucy.

When you're reheating, yes, you can heat it in a skillet with some extra water thrown in. That's probably better than microwaving it.

[Anonymous]

You really shouldn't "cook" the eggs. Just beat them in a bowl, and add the hot spaghetti which will cook the eggs enough. Always hold back a cup of the pasta water to thin the sauce as needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thin it with some water the pasta cooked in.

+1

We always save a cup or so of the pasta water to help thin things out if needed. I love carbonara!

[Anonymous]

I don't cook the sauce after putting in the eggs. I prep all the ingredients for the sauce and keep them on the side, then drain the pasta and immediately put it back in the pan (with the fire off) and put all the ingredients in & mix.

My carbonara used to be dry as well, but I found it helps to keep at least half the bacon grease in the pan - not healthy, I know, but let's be honest, carbonara is not a healthy food.

So, my sauce includes -
egg yolks
parm cheese + a little mozzarella because it melts better
cream
grease in the pan
salt & pepper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thin it with some water the pasta cooked in.

+1

We always save a cup or so of the pasta water to help thin things out if needed. I love carbonara!

The pasta water has starch in it. So it adds creaminess.

[Anonymous]

Reserve the pasta water and stir it into your egg and cheese mix (do not precook the eggs! Between the hot pasta water and the hot pasta, they will cook.). It makes it very silky and super yummy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thin it with some water the pasta cooked in.

+1

We always save a cup or so of the pasta water to help thin things out if needed. I love carbonara!

The pasta water has starch in it. So it adds creaminess.

Actually, in the carbonara the starch prevents the egg from overcooking - the shape of the starch molecules prevent the egg from coiling up. Or so says America's Test Kitchen who have a pasta episode on Neflix. (Their recipe works out great, but I would ditch the extra yolk and would not use pecorino. Evidently I really hate pecorino.)