When you slowly cook pork belly in the oven, its fat gently renders, slowly tenderizing the meat below. The result? Melt-in-your-mouth bites of succulent pork belly. Crisped up and tossed into a rich and velvety bucatini carbonara, pork belly changes the name of the game for the Roman classic. Can’t find pork belly near you? No problem, you can always substitute pork belly for the burnt bacon ends at your butcher’s shop. 

If you have the time, we recommend you prepare the pork belly 24 hrs ahead of time and cool completely in the fridge. This will make it easier to cut the pork belly into ½ inch cubes. Make sure to reserve 2 tbsp of the rendered pork fat. 

PORK BELLY CARBONARA

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

▢ 1 lb pork belly 
▢ salt
▢ black pepper

▢ 1 lb Bucatini
▢ cooked pork belly cut into ½ inch cubes
▢ 1 tbsp pork fat
▢ 2 eggs
▢ 4 egg yolks
▢ 3 oz freshly grated Pecorino Romano
▢ Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 275°F. 
2. Gently pat the pork belly dry and season with salt and pepper. 
3. Place, fat side up, on a rack-lined sheet pan. Cover with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 2 ½ hours, until the meat is fork tender. 
4. Remove from the oven and cool completely. 
5. When you are ready to make your carbonara, cut the pork belly into ½ inch cubes. 
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt. Cook the bucatini until al dente, 10 minutes. 
7. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, grate the Pecorino Romano into a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs and freshly cracked black pepper. 
8. When the pasta has started to cook, bring a large skillet pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp rendered pork fat. Place the pork belly into the pan to crisp up. Remove from heat when crispy, roughly 7 minutes. 
9. When the pasta is ready, remove the pot from heat. Add 2 tbsp of pasta water to the egg mixture and whisk in. This is called tempering, and it will help to keep the eggs from scrambling when you fold in the bucatini. 
10. Using tongs, lift the bucatini out of the water and place directly into the egg mixture. Fold the noodles gently into the mixture, continuously mixing to keep the eggs from scrambling. The best way to do this is using your tongs, pull the noodles gently upwards while folding them in as this will allow heat to escape. Once the mixture is velvety and the cheese has melted, fold in the pork belly with fat and continue to mix for 1 minute. 
11. Serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper. 
12. Mangiamo.