Heat resistant bowl. It’s important to beat your eggs in a tempered glass (like Pyrex) bowl, or a ceramic bowl, so it won’t heat up and cook the eggs from underneath. You want the liquid to do the cooking, not the surface, which will cause the eggs to curdle. Whisk. The technique requires that you aggressively whisk the eggs while adding hot liquid, making a whisk useful. In a pinch, a fork is a fine alternative. Ladle. You’ll need something to spoon the hot liquid from the pot, preferably a large ladle with a spout, so you can control how much you add.
Continue whipping the eggs until they just become frothy. Beaten eggs, as you’d make for scrambled eggs, will be more likely to curdle, since the consistency will be thicker. You want more of an omelet consistency. When you start to see a foam appear on the top of the eggs, you’re in good shape. Let the eggs sit and come up to room temperature while you make the rest of the recipe. It’s more difficult to temper very cold eggs, so it’s important to let them come up to room temp gently before tempering.
Start with a tablespoon or two and wait until you’re sure it isn’t curdling to add more. Some recipes will play fast and loose with the instructions, telling you to add a whole ladle full of boiling milk to eggs. It’s safer to start with smaller amounts and gradually bring the heat up. Continue adding until you’ve increased the volume of the eggs by at least half.
The mixture helps to thicken broths and custards, creating a rich sauce. When you pour it back in, you should notice the broth or the milk thicken somewhat, and take on a cloudier, yellowy tint.
Alternatively, you can just ignore some curds if you don’t mind the texture. Keep whisking vigorously and you’ll hardly even notice the texture.
If it helps, count to ten in between additions of milk, just to be sure you’re not rushing it. That’s slow enough that you’ll probably be safe from curdling. [3] X Research source
Try as best you can to only use broth to temper the eggs. Depending on what kind of soup you’re making, it can be hard to avoid little chunks of vegetables or meat. It’s fine if you get a bit of veg in there with your eggs–it’s all going together anyway–but the eggs will whisk easier with just broth and egg, and the eggs will temper more quickly.
Carbonara is typically made with spaghetti noodles, but also can be made with any noodle you like to eat. Technique-wise, it’s sometimes easier to temper the eggs in the pan using longer noodles, which tangle together to create a larger surface and keep the eggs off the bottom of the pan, so they won’t scramble. You can do it with any noodle, however.
In a carbonara, you’ll also add lots and lots of black pepper to the eggs before you add it to the pasta. The pepper is where the dish gets it’s name–the pepper grains look like bits of “carbon. "
The goal is to warm the egg on the top side of the pasta before it works through to the bottom of the pan, where it will likely start to curdle. It takes temperature control and good stirring to make it work correctly.
Eggs cook much more quickly than most people think, so heating the noodles through gently and having them at the proper temperature when you had them should temper the eggs very quickly, coating the noodles in a rich and thick cheesy sauce. Season with chopped parsley and serve immediately. [4] X Research source
