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1
Coat a large saucepan with olive oil; add the guanciale and cook over low heat until its brown and crispy and has rendered a lot of fat, 6 to 8 minutes.
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2
Remove the guanciale and set a third of it aside for garnishI like to call these bits the crispy critters.
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3
Bring the pan and the remaining fat to medium heat, add the onions and red pepper, and season generously with salt.
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4
Cook until the onions are soft and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes.
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5
Add the tomatoes and two-thirds of the guanciale, and bring to a boil (BTB), then reduce to a simmer (RTS) and cook the sauce for about 1 hour, tasting periodically and adding salt as needed (trust me, you will need to reseason).
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6
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
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7
Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package suggest.
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8
Taste it: It should be toothsome with just a little nugget of hard pasta still in the centerthis is al dente.
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9
Ladle about 2 cups of the sauce into a bowl and set it aside as an insurance policy; you want the perfect ratio of pasta to sauce and while you can always add it back, you cant take it out once the pasta is in the pan.
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10
Drain the pasta, add it to the pan of sauce, and stir well.
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11
Cook the pasta in the sauce, adding more sauce if needed, for another 1 to 2 minutes; the pasta will begin to absorb the sauce and it will cling to the pasta in a lovely little hug.
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12
Add the cheese and a drizzle of big fat finishing oil and toss until its a homogeneous mixture.
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13
Divide among serving bowls, top with more Parm, and give each a sprinkle of the crispy critters.
