Paella!

Unknown · July 2006

Tonight I cooked paella for the first time in ceramic. I've made many paellas before but I can honestly say that this was one of the best I've ever made. Thought I'd post my method here so I don't forget it and maybe others will want to give it a try. [p]I was originally going to grill some albacore, along with some asparagus and two zucchini. While waiting for the coals to fire up, I sat down with a book I got at the library "The New Spanish Table". I can recommend this book very highly; it's entertaining and has lots of great recipes. I was thumbing throught the paella recipes when the lightbulb went on. Ding! I could cut up the albacore, asparagus and zucchini and make a paella on the kamado cooker. So that's what I did. [p]I also cut up an onion, a jalapeno pepper and a yellow bell pepper that were in the fridge. I put my paellera (thin metal pan dedicated to cooking paella) on the grate directly over the fire. Threw in 3T (tablespoons) of olive oil, and tossed in the onion and peppers and let those bubble away for 5 minutes or so. [p]Then I added three cups of chicken broth, 1 T of paprika, a small handful of saffron, salt and pepper. Closed the cover and let that boil. Once it was boiling, I added 2 cups of Calrose medium grain rice (traditionally the Spanish advise using Spanish short grain rice such as Calasparra or "bomba", but I didn't have any handy, so Calrose would have to do. The Spanish also recommending adding the rice in the sign of the cross, but this step may be omitted; just pour it in and smooth it out so it's flat and even.) Close the cover and Let the rice cook for about 10 minutes. The temp gauge got up to about 300-325 with the cover closed. [p]After ten minutes of rice cooking, add the vegetables (in my case, zucchini and asparagus, cut up into bite size pieces. Cook 3 minutes.[p]At this point I added the albacore, closed the lid again, and let it go for another 7 minutes or so. The rice should take around 22-25 minutes total cooking time, so you can plan your vegggies accordingly. Most people like them kind of firm so don't overdo. [p]When the rice has been on about 20 minutes, check for doneness. Add a bit more water or broth if it seesm like its getting too dry. When the rice is cooked, remove the pan from the cooker, and let the dish rest for about 5-10 minutes. [p]I hope you will try making paella in your ceramic cooker. It really does have a superior flavor to the "stove top" methods. And it's a lot of fun too. [p]Regards,[p]Jim S.

MasterMason · July 2006

tinroofrusted,[p]I have 2 paella pan's ordered that will be waiting for me when I get back from vacation, I am looking forward to trying it.

AlaskanC · July 2006

tinroofrusted,[p]I really want to learn more about making paella. My husband has been talking about it for years (he had it in Spain back in the early 90's and loved it) but I've never had it, and I haven't tried making it.[p]Any tips would be mucho appreciated!!

michael · July 2006

tinroofrusted,[p]wow, i make paella every weekend. i just ordered a large big green egg and i never read anyone making paella on the egg. are you sure it came out as good as youve ever made?[p]the only thing i question is that you have to keep stirring the rice on the stove top, traditionally at least. but you say you just add the ingredients and let them cook inside the egg.[p]i cant wait to get my egg grrrrrrr

bobbyb · July 2006

AlaskanC,
try this one from thirdeye:[p]Posted by thirdeye on September 16, 2005 at 16:08:12:[p]In Reply to: Re: Lasagna In the Egg posted by QBabe on September 16, 2005 at 15:52:12:[p][p]QBabe,[p]Here you go: (This picture shows the amount of liquid in the pan before it went on the Egg. I added some more during the cook. Other shape pans may cook off the water differently.)[p]Paella
1C short grain rice
1 – 14 oz can of chicken broth
1 C of hot water
4 green onions, coarsely chopped
handful of frozen peas
½ C roasted red peppers
1 ear of corn, sliced into 1” rounds
½ can of clams and 2 or 3 ounces of the juice
½ lb. chorizo sausage, formed into meatballs
1 chicken breast, bone in with skin removed (wings are good too)
6 shrimp, peeled
1/4t salt
rub for chicken & shrimp [p]Stabilize the Egg at 375 degrees dome. Season the chicken and the shrimp. Lightly grill the shrimp for color, grill the chicken and sausage about halfway done, remove from the grill and set the plate setter on the grill, legs down. Chop the chicken into several pieces, leaving the rib bones in place. [p]Combine all ingredients in a pan suitable for the Egg except for the 1 cup of hot water. This can be added during the cook if needed. Cook until rice is done, about 45 minutes, rotating 90 degrees once or so. Remove and cover with foil for 15 minutes. I like a little of Tony Chachere's "Original Creole Seasoning" added at the table. It is great on the corn. [p]~thirdeye~[p][p]

Unknown · July 2006

Fascinating. Not too long ago, Cook's Illustrated had a section on how best to cook various rice. Up until then I was totally unaware that there were other methods than stove-top. I'll definitely have to try this!

AlaskanC · July 2006

bobbyb,[p]Thanks for posting that!
I can't wait to give it a try!

Unknown · July 2006

I have been doing Paella for a year now for large groups. Even did the first one for Friday night food for the cooks at a cookoff in Albany, Oregon. I now have three pans. Two are really large, one is 14" and I just ordered a medium size. I now can do Paella for 6-8, 8-14, 14-25, and up to 50 or so. I have a three ring propane burner made in Spain and the matching tripod. These things are great for tailgaters or large parties. They also combine with barbeque very nicely. I usually predo my chicken thighs in the FE100 or my ceramic cooker. Also I will smoke nice sausage and other items before the actual Paella cook occurs. [p]Two resources that I used to get books and equipment are
www.tienda.com and
spanishtable.com[p]The best Paella book that I have used so far is Paella! by Penelope Casas, I believe the book is available at La Tienda.[p]I typically now am making what I call Northwest Paella, I use all fresh items from local farmers market. Fresh Oregon Mushrooms, peppers, Walla Walla Sweet Onions, fresh garlic, fresh asparagus etc. I try to use Spanish Olive Oil, good safron, Bomba Rice or Valentia Rice.[p]I will try to post some pictures of some of my large Paella Cooks. Football games are less than sixty days away, will bring the giant pan for the opener.[p]
[ul][li]La Tienda[/ul]

MasterMason · July 2006

duck,[p]
This site seams to have a little better prices on the pans.

[ul][li]Paella pans[/ul]

Unknown · July 2006

nice site, thanks.[p]My last pan I ordered from spanishtable.com. They were cheaper than La Tienda. Have not received it yet.

fishlessman · July 2006

tinroofrusted,
sounds real good, 2 questions, how much is a small handfull of saffron, and did you get a good carmelization of the rice. ive had difficulty with the carmelization in the past and just havent figured the timing right as of yet. will give this a best shot adding in some seafood. thanks for getting me to think about these again.

Unknown · July 2006

tinroofrusted, I've had paella all up and down the coast of Spain and loved it. I'd like to make it on the egg. Two questions-Can you tell me what is the largest pan that will fit on the large?(can't tell from price lists because they don't include handle dimension) and which pan material works best on the egg? (carbon steel, stainless, or enamel) Thanks!

BOBF · July 2006

tinroofrusted,[p]The best paella I ever had was at a restaurant in Algiers. It was cooked in a copper or brass pan that was at least 30 inches in diameter and probably 3 inches deep (was for a group). As I recall, it was cooked in a wood burning oven similar to a pizza oven. The restaurant was named in french something like "A fire of wood". I think you are getting close to what I experienced and it was excellent. I am going to give it a try soon.

Unknown · July 2006

Tin H,[p]My cooker is 19 inches in diameter. My paella pan is 13.5 inches dia. and it just fits with the handles (about 18 inches dia. with handles) I've read elsewhere that you can bend the handles on the traditional steel pans upward so that they won't stick out as far. I am thinking of picking up a 17 inch pan for larger crowds.
[ul][li]http://www.tienda.com/paella/pop/pp-02.html[/ul]

Unknown · July 2006

fishlessman,[p]
A small handful isn't a very exact measure, is it? I used about 1 teaspoon of threads. If using powdered saffron then quite a bit less, maybe 1/3 of a teaspoon. [p]I wasn't displeased with the carmelization of the rice. I would have liked a bit more "soccorat" (burned bits of crusty rice on the bottom of the pan), but it was pretty good. Frankly I was afraid that it would burn due to the intense heat from the fire, but that didn't happen at all. [p]I have no doubt that if I left the paella on for a few more minutes I would have generated plenty of soccorat. As the liquid absorbs, the rice begins to sizzle more and more. Next time I might use a bit less stock and open the botton vent a bit more and see if I can generate a bit more crust. [p]Cheers![p]

Unknown · July 2006

duck,[p]I have the Penelope Casas book "Paella!" and I really do love it. She has some great dishes in there. [p]When you cook in the open air on your burner do you have any trouble getting the rice fully cooked? I've tried making it on the stove top without putting it in the oven and often find that some of the rice (toward the top) isn't fully cooked.

fishlessman · July 2006

tinroofrusted,
one of the things i found was that there was too much steaming going on in the egg. maybe try opening the top all the way and regulating from the bottom only to let the excessive steam out. the ones i made with a tomato base came out ok, but i like the plain simple broth style with the chewy bottom rice the best. some day im going to get this right

MasterMason · July 2006

tinroofrusted,[p]Someone posted a pic here about a week ago that showed a 14 inch pan in a large. It didn't look like you could fit anything larger in it.

AZRP · July 2006

<p />tinroofrusted,
I love the flavor of paella, this is the 14" carbon steel pan from paellapans.com in a large. -RP

Unknown · July 2006

tinroofrusted,
direct or indirect?[p]thanks

DTM · July 2006

Yo duck & Ryan,
Thx for the Boise advise. Have Petey hooked up.
Will you do the paella when the Cougs have some duck?
I think I can appear there.
Are you doing Stevensville?
Thx for the Boise help.
Dan

Paella!

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