Critically Good Shrimp Carbonara Recipe

I’m so excited to share this outrageously scrumptious shrimp carbonara! This shrimp pasta options completely cooked shrimp tossed with spaghetti in a creamy, silky, easy carbonara sauce made with eggs, freshly grated cheese, and black pepper. It’s a assured hit and so easy to make!

In case you are a pasta traditionalist, look away. Should you love seafood pasta and don’t thoughts bending the principles a bit within the vein of scrumptious dishes, this shrimp carbonara recipe is for you! I’ve shared our genuine pasta carbonara earlier than. It’s easy and has probably the most pleasant silky sauce.

For this recipe, we’re utilizing all of the methods of conventional carbonara and including shrimp. It’s simpler than you may assume, which is why this works as a fast weeknight dinner. And, as a bonus, it hits all of the marks for a particular dinner, like, say, for date evening (see extra of our date evening recipes). We’re obsessed, and after you strive it, you’ll be too.

Key Components

• Shrimp: For the most effective outcomes, I want giant or jumbo shrimp. They’re much less more likely to overcook and dry out. Search for contemporary shrimp that’s agency and has a barely candy scent. In case you have frozen shrimp, thaw and drain them earlier than utilizing. I go away the shrimp entire earlier than tossing it with the pasta, however if you happen to’d want to have smaller bites of shrimp all through, you may minimize them into smaller items.
• Pork: You desire a type of cured, fatty pork like guanciale (most conventional), pancetta, or thick-cut bacon (best to seek out). We are going to render this in a skillet, which provides taste to our dish, and because you’ll have some rendered fats, it makes our sauce a lot creamier after mixing it with the eggs and cheese.
• Pasta: My go-to is spaghetti, however bucatini, which seems like spaghetti with a gap down the center, can be pretty. In case you are up for it, shrimp carbonara made with selfmade pasta is unimaginable!
• Room Temperature Eggs: There’s no cream on this recipe. As an alternative, we mix egg and egg yolk with the rendered pork fats and a few starchy pasta water to make the sauce silky and creamy. The eggs warmth up however probably don’t hit a temperature that makes them totally cooked (just like when making selfmade tiramisu). We wish a creamy, emulsified sauce, not a totally cooked scrambled egg texture. In case you are involved about uncooked eggs, use pasteurized eggs (they’re frequent at most grocery shops). In case you are nonetheless apprehensive, add some shrimp to our simple fettuccine alfredo as an alternative, which has no eggs and makes use of butter and cheese for the sauce. Notice: In case your eggs are straight from the fridge, you may heat them up shortly by including them (of their shells) to a bowl of heat water and leaving them for a couple of minutes.
• Cheese: I take advantage of Parmigiano-Reggiano AND Pecorino Romano and love the mix. If it’s essential select one, go together with Pecorino Romano. It’s saltier and tangier than Parmigiano-Reggiano, which works extremely properly in carbonara. For the most effective outcomes, use a nice grater to grate the cheese, and skip the pre-grated parmesan, because it doesn’t soften down as properly right into a silky carbonara sauce. Some areas of Italy would by no means assume to mix shrimp and cheese, however as I mentioned above, this recipe bends the principles a bit, and actually, your style buds will thanks!
• Salt and Black Pepper: For completely seasoned pasta, you need to season your pasta water, which can season the pasta itself, and since we use a few of that starchy water to convey our sauce collectively, it is going to additionally season the sauce. Contemporary black pepper is fairly customary in carbonara, and for good cause. I like a nice grind for the pepper, use plenty of it, and adore it!

Make Shrimp Carbonara

Like our different shrimp pasta recipes, this one goes quick (see our soba noodles with shrimp or this shrimp and clam pasta for extra concepts)! The recipe begins with cooking your spaghetti, then when the water boils and the pasta cooks, your sauce and shrimp are prepared.

Whereas the pasta cooks, add the pork to a skillet with halved garlic cloves, olive oil and black pepper, then cook dinner over medium-low warmth. The pork must be scorching gently, not browning too shortly. Cook dinner till the fats renders and the pork continues to be barely chewy within the heart (not crunchy/crispy). Then, toss in your shrimp. I like spreading them out in a single layer, letting them cook dinner for about one minute, after which flip them and cook dinner one other 30 to 60 seconds till they’re tender and ever-so-slightly undercooked. Switch the shrimp to a plate, after which transfer on to ending the carbonara sauce.

When the pasta is prepared, use tongs to toss it into the skillet with the rendered pork and its fats. Toss properly for two minutes. The warmth ought to keep low, and also you’ll be tossing the pasta the entire time, giving the spaghetti an opportunity to soak up the flavors from the pork, shrimp juices, and rendered fats. (The shrimp continues to be on the facet on a plate, however because you cooked them within the fats, it imparts a seafood taste to the skillet).

Now, flip off the warmth and let the skillet sit for a minute earlier than pouring in a whisked combination of egg and cheese. Because the skillet sat for a minute, it gained’t be so scorching that it scrambles the eggs, however will probably be scorching sufficient to softly cook dinner the eggs in order that they flip into that silky easy sauce.

Throughout this step, you need to repeatedly toss the pasta across the skillet since maintaining issues transferring makes positive you create the sauce with out scrambling the eggs. You’ll discover it’s a bit thick as you toss, so loosen it with some pasta water (a few tablespoons or extra as wanted).

If you end up proud of the sauce, toss within the shrimp and serve instantly so it’s scorching, topped with freshly grated cheese and extra black pepper. It’s severely good!