Getting Started with Bucatini Alla Amatriciana

You will have to excuse me if you are looking for order. All you will find here is Chaos.  I do jump around.  I will often start and jump from something like Pasta, today's topic, to perhaps cheese tomorrow. And within this blog you will find constant comments, in brackets, to satisfy my own neuroses

Today's topic is Bucatini Amatriciana.  You may have has these before at a better Italian restaurant...but it was probably served as Spaghetti Amatriciana, or Rigatoni Amatriciana or Penne (Mostaccioli for you sicilians) .
Amatrice is a town in Lazio, the same region that Rome belongs to [Bucatini Amatriciana, though, are considered in the Corpus of Roman Cooking].  The town itself, though in Lazio, might as well be in the next region called Abbruzzi.  Perhaps that is the reason for some of it's ingredients.  One common change in the recipe today is the use of Salt Pork over Guanciale.  Guanciale comes from the word "Guancia" which means "Cheek" in italian.  It is the cheek of the pig which is cured to create the most deliciuos cured meat you could possibly eat.  Obviously, due to the nature of the place where the meat comes from, not much can be gleaned off a pig.  Therefore the recipie has mutated a bit because Guanciale is both very rare and very expensive.  In the United States Guanciale is litterally unavailable (as it well is rare in Italy).  Therefore the best alternative is a salt pork [not Bacon]! (simple, unsmoked, and not cured with any sugars).
Bucatini look like a large Spaghetto (singular of Spaghetti) with a hole running down the middle.  This hole makes it difficult to eat.  But do not despair, there is a reason for pasta to have the shape it has...all pasta.  The italians discovered that each pasta shape has a different surface area and it holds different amount of Sauce changing the flavor.  Pasta in Italy is called "Pasta-asciutta" or "dry pasta" so please do not commit the american heresy that everything must have a ton of sauce.  Please, pasta should not be "swimming" in Sauce.
here is the recipe:

Bucatini Alla Amatriciana

For six people (200g of pasta each)

Bucatini 1.3 lbs
1 medium onion
3.5 oz of Guanciale (salt pork will do)
1 large spoon of lard (I suggest Olive Oil here)
1 large can of crushed Tomatoes (Plain-no crap spice in it and preferably Italian)
3.5 oz of ground pecorino
salt
pepper

Cut the salt pork into very small cubes about a 1/4 inch by a 1/4 inch( a tad smaller preferebly....this will take some time).
Mince the onion, not quite so fine, and place the onions and Salt Pork  into a pan at moderate heat along with your Olive Oil.  Once lightly browned, not too much now, add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the salt and pepper [Many italians in Rome claim Ada Boni is wrong here.  They claim a small red pepper, not too hot, should be added along with the onions and salt pork].
Remember the salt pork is salty so taste first before adding the salt  and wait till the end of cooking.  Cooking time is a debatable subject..but no sauce should ever be cooked more than 45 minutes...this sauce perhaps 30 minutes at most.
Cook your bucatini, please salt the water.  Your pasta water should be salted like sea water.  It prevents the pasta from bloating.  [One tip...The term "al dente" or "to the tooth" means do not overcook the pasta.  Pasta should be a little hard.  Romans like it very hard by american standards.  A simple way of getting it right is to make sure the Pasta still has the "Anima" or "Soul".  The Soul of the pasta is found when you bite the pasta with your teeth...it is that uncooked line of pasta in the middle of what you have just bitten.  It should be a paper thin white line.  Please do this often because "overcooked pasta" will sneak up on you].
Bucatini like spaghetti should never be broken...if you do this you are wrong, a philistine and someone who needs to repent.  Bucatini should be placed in a deep pot with salted boiling water and slowly nudged in as the pasta gets softer...slowly moved around with a fork for the first 3 minutes to make sure they do not stick together.  you'll get the hang of it...just be patient.
Once the pasta is cooked [al dente], Drain it well [bucatini have a lot of water that stays in the little hole] ,add the sauce to the pasta, drizzle the pecorino and serve immediately [Ada Boni rightfully insists on that on every recipe.  With pasta, wait 5 minutes and you have ruined it].
Buon Appetito.