The Ford service manager I talked to suggested only removing the front throttle plate (four bolts plus a bolt that holds on the throttle cable, after removing the air cleaner, etc...). Then remove the gasket and you can clean the EGR passages from there. You should probably be able to reuse the gasket.
Mine weren't very dirty... certainly not clogged, but if you are getting the code, then yours is probably much worse and you should be able to unclog them from there.
The carbon will fall out, not into the engine from this location.
Oh, and tighten the bolts to 72-108 inch/pounds when you put it back together.
