Braised Pork Jowls Allamatriciana Recipes

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add guanciale and sauté until crisp and golden, about 4 minutes. Add pepper flakes and black pepper; stir for 10 seconds. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 2 minutes before al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
• Add drained pasta to sauce in skillet and toss vigorously with tongs to coat. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and cook until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. (Add a little pasta water if sauce is too dry.) Stir in cheese and transfer pasta to warmed bowls

BRAISED PORK CARNITAS

Steps:

• Heat a large, cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season pork shoulder with garlic, 2 tablespoons kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Place pork shoulder fat-side down into the hot pot and sear until deep golden brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Add yellow onion to cook with rendered drippings for 1 minute. Slowly pour in pork stock to cover pork shoulder.
• Bring to a light boil; cover and braise until fork-tender, 4 1/2 to 5 hours.
• Transfer to a bowl and shred into carnitas, adding 1 1/2 cups of pork stock for moisture and more salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add green onions and cook until slightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Heat corn tortillas in the hot skillet on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes total for each tortilla. Place braised pork into tortillas and garnish with cabbage, queso fresco, salsa, green onions, and a squeeze of lime.

ENZO'S SPAGHETTI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add guanciale and cook, stirring frequently until slightly browned, about 7 minutes. Remove guanciale to a plate. Leave a bit of the rendered fat in the skillet and discard the rest.
• Add onion to the skillet and cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute. Return guanciale to the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in white wine and cook until wine has reduced slightly, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in canned tomatoes, breaking up whole tomatoes with a spoon. Pour 1/3 cup water into the tomato can, swirl around to rinse the can, and pour into the skillet with remaining 2/3 cup water and tomato paste. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, 10 to 12 minutes. Ladle out about 1/2 cup of the pasta water, add to the sauce in the skillet, and mix well. Drain spaghetti and stir into the sauce until well combined.
• Sprinkle generous amounts of Pecorino Romano cheese over each serving, and garnish with basil.

PASTA AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat olive oil over medium. Add guanciale and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. To the skillet, add tomatoes, black pepper and red-pepper flakes, and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and smashing tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon, until tomatoes have broken down and sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted water, cook pasta according to package directions until just shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain.
• Add pasta, tomato sauce and ½ cup of pasta cooking water back to the large pasta pot and stir vigorously over medium-high heat until pasta is evenly coated in the sauce, about 1 minute. (Add more pasta water if sauce is dry.) Remove from heat, stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt.
• Divide pasta among bowls and garnish with more cheese and black pepper.

BUCATINI ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Sauce, part 1: Dice the guanciale, then sauté in olive oil over medium heat, 6-8 minutes or until the guanciale is crisp.
• Pasta: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes less than what the box advises. (Chef Mantuano advises using bronze-cut pasta for his dishes. These noodles are made with bronze molds instead of Teflon, for a surface texture that's a bit rougher and more porous. This greatly helps the sauce to cling to each noodle.)
• Sauce, part 2: Add the tomatoes to the crispy guanciale and bring to a simmer. Using a wooden spoon, stir the sauce occasionally, breaking up the tomatoes as they are cooking, 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Assembly: Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain the bucatini. Return the pasta to the pot. Season the sauce with chili flakes and black pepper. Pour sauce and reserved pasta water into the pot and cook over low heat, tossing the pasta with the sauce to allow them to "marry," 2 minutes. The pasta should still be firm to the bite.
• Transfer the pasta to a platter. Grate Pecorino Romano directly on top, about ½ cup. Serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table.