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Monday, October 18, 2021

Smoked Sausage Carbonara on the Big Green Egg

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Carbonara is a fantastic pasta dish. It is creamy yet has no cream. It seems gourmet, yet it is simple to make. 

Technically, this is more carbonara-style than carbonara. I use the carbonara technique of using the heat of the pasta for cooking the eggs. But, like many Americans, I like to add peas to mine, which is a no-no to many classically trained chefs. But what I really like about this dish is the smoked sausage that I finely dice and crisp up in a skillet; it adds such a nice smoky flavor and crisp texture.

Creamy smoked sausage carbonara with garlic toast
Creamy and delicious Smoked Sausage Carbonara from the grill.


Tricks for Skillet Cooking on the Grill

Using a skillet on a kamado grill requires a little bit more skill than on a stovetop because you add the element of fire control. If you're just using it to reverse-sear a steak, it's relatively easy because you almost can't get it too hot for that. But for cooking dishes at a controlled heat like this one, it makes a difference. Too hot, and you can burn your sausage or sauce. Too cool, and your sausage will look depressingly pale, or your sauce might not cook through. If I'm not searing, I use three tricks to make sure I'm cooking at my desired temp.

  1. I use a lower cooking temperature and allow extra time for preheating.   Sure, I can get my skillet ready to cook by using a hotter grill temp, but then the skillet will likely get too hot. I aim to get my grill temperature at about 325°f and then allow enough time for my skillet to reach the same temperature. Takes longer, but it's more stable that way.
  2. Use a two-zone fire to allow heat control. Cooking too hot? No worries, slide the skillet over to a cool spot. Want it hotter? Slide it on over to the hot spot. This particular skillet is too big for using this technique on this grill, but it works on smaller skillets.
  3. I use a non-contact thermometer to make sure my cooking surface is at temp before I start cooking. This way, I'm absolutely sure that I'm where I want to be, in this case between 325°f and 350°f.

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One other tip for this recipe, or really any simple recipe, the fewer the ingredients, the more critical it is to use the freshest, best quality ingredients that you can. 

Carbonara-Style Smoked Sausage and Pasta

Adapted from Bon Appetit's Simple Carbonara Recipe

Published 10/18/2021

Simple, creamy, and smoky, this carbonara-style pasta dish can be cooked on the grill or stovetop. 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons EV olive oil
  • 5 ounces spicy smoked sausage, finely diced (we used Conecuh Cajun Smoked Sausage)
  • 9 ounces fresh fettuccine pasta, cooked 2 minutes less than according to directions
  • 1 3/4 cup reserved pasta water (the water used to cook the pasta)
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 ounces parmesan cheese, finely shredded
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dustless ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup frozen green peas, left at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking

Instructions

  1. Preheat grill to 350°f.  For this cook, I used a large Big Green Egg kamado grill set up for direct heat with a Kick Ash Basket full of Rockwood Lump Charcoal and one of my cast iron grates from Craycort. 
  2. Preheat a 3-4 quart cast-iron skillet until it reaches 325-350°f, about 10 minutes. 
  3. Render and crisp the diced sausage in olive oil until dark golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a fine rack or a paper towel. Save the bits and oil for the next step.
  4. Finish cooking the pasta. Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the skillet, which will rapidly come to a boil. Stir in the cooked pasta and cooking, frequently stirring, until the water is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. As soon as it is done, remove from heat and quickly proceed with steps 5 and 6.
  5. Make the sauce. Whisk together the egg yolks and whole eggs until thoroughly combined (no whites visible). Stir in the finely shredded parmesan and black pepper.  Whisk in about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the pasta water.
  6. Combine the sauce and pasta. Slowly pour in the sauce while stirring the noodles until coated. Add enough (or none) of the remaining pasta water to get a creamy consistency.
  7. Complete the dish. Stir in the peas and 3/4 of the cooked sausage. Taste and season with a few pinches of kosher salt, as desired.
  8. Plate the dish. Divide the pasta between two plates. Garnish with the remaining sausage and parmesan cheese.

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 30 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 15 mins.

Total time: 45 mins.

Tags: sauce, pasta, sausage



But first, let's make some garlic toast! Sliced a French loaf, brushed it with butter and garlic, seasoned it with garlic salt, and toasted it until golden brown on each side.

Smoked Sausage Carbonara
Make sure to dice the sausage finely, so you get maximum crispiness and even distribution. You want to get a bit of that smoky spiciness in every bite.

Also, use the finest shredder that you have for the parmesan cheese. It will only be melted by the carry-over heat of the noodles, so you want it as small as possible so it dissolves easily.

crisping smoked sausage in a cast iron enameled skillet
You want the sausage to be golden to dark brown with crispy edges, which took about 5 minutes. Don't worry about the bits left behind; that's more flavor for the pasta!

Smoked Sausage Carbonara on the Big Green Egg
Tip, don't just dip it all in one place at once; that will cool your skillet down. Add the pasta it batches around the skillet. Stir it all around to get everything coated.

Smoked Sausage Carbonara - Slowly add the sauce while stirring the pasta.
Perhaps the most essential thing about carbonara is to add the sauce slowly while keeping the pasta moving. If you dump it all at once, you will likely end up with scrambled eggs instead of sauce.  

Putting the Smoked Sausage Carbonara together
Stirring in all of the goodies. People often ask about this skillet when I post it. It's an older enameled cast iron jambalaya skillet from Emeril Lagasse that's no longer available, but it is similar to this one from Lodge. Basically, a 3 to 4 quart enameled cast iron skillet.

 Typically chefs use spaghetti or bucatini. Why do I use fettuccine?  First, it's easier for me to make fettuccine, but I also like the way it holds the sauce.

Smoked Sausage Carbonara plated with garlic toast on the side
I think I might use smoked sausage instead of bacon, guanciale, or pancetta from now on. I love the flavor it brings. We like the Conecuh brand, but you can probably use any spicy smoked sausage for this dish.




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