Seafood Paella

stike · June 2008

finally got me some soccorrat. My mistake had been misjudging the time it would take the shellfish to cook. i used to add the shellfish when i added the broth, and the shellfish would be done before the rice.

this time i did a few things differently:
-after i pan seared the chorizo, and cooked the green beans and peppers, i then seared the shrimp each side quickly, for color, and then took them off, leaving it mainly uncooked.
-seared the scallops also, but left them raw inside and kept them to the side.
-then, after making the soffrito and adding the broth, i waited until the broth was pretty mych absorbed and i was debating whether i was hearing the sizzling of the last broth, or the start of the soccorat forming. THEN i put the seafood on. being par cooked, the seafood was done quickly, and it was just a matter of waiting for the clams to open

this was a dry run for eggfest, if i can make that happen.

couple pics of the ingredients:

the paella just about done (clams starting to open):

and here's a quick clip capturing what i'm pretty sure was the crackling of the rice caramelizing (forming the soccorat).

Essex County · June 2008

Very nice. Still trying to figure out what we're doing for the eggfest.
Paul

Photo Egg · June 2008

Very cool post...looks great.
Darian

lowercasebill · June 2008

nice cook and pics. looks like you have it figured out. i got a nice socccorat with my first one but i got impatient the second time [the one with the chicken wings] is the video from a dedicated video camera or just from the digital point and shoot???
bill

stike · June 2008

the vid's from a cr^ppy point and shoot. i had it out when i shot the giant roiling plumes of flame from the egg, and just kept shooting stuff.

Smokin' Todd · June 2008

wow! u actually cook on the egg. :P
ST

Fidel · June 2008

Beautiful dish. Congrats on a successful paella.

stike · June 2008

yeah. aside from taking the time to try to answer many newbie questions, i do.

have posted a number of cooks lately, one which jlockhart saw and tried himself last night.

i don't see much from many of the elders, lately, though. they seem bored with the egg for some reason.

stike · June 2008

thanks, mang.
it's a nice cook. in new england, it's not fun to try to cook paella in the middle of february.

so when the weather is perfect, standing outside with all the ingredients at hand, nice fire going, beverage in hand... it can be real nice

Unknown · June 2008

In you nose boy.

stike · June 2008

ah yes. anonymity. last refuge of the irrelevant.

Sundown · June 2008

stikey

When The Elders speak no one listens anyway. Who are they?

Little Steven · June 2008

Stike,

Really nice. What stock/broth did you use?

Steve

stike · June 2008

thanks
i used a packaged (foil carton) of fish stock.

Little Steven · June 2008

You guys get all the trick stuff.

Steve

JLOCKHART29 · June 2008

Good to see you post one of your cooks. Havent seen one in a while and I know they will be good!

I got to try that soon. Summer just a hard time to do new "exzotic" stuff. I did the snapper yesterday if you didn't see it. Turned out great and thanks again.

stike · June 2008

if i do chicken, i try to make my own stock.

this time, i had no saffron left, either. so there was no saffron. still good, but missing that nice perfume.

stike · June 2008

hahaha
tryna start sumthin, eh? heh heh

i go for quality, not quantity. ahem.
haha

i noticed you didn't use the vinaigrette on the mango, or grill the mango direct. you should try it next time.

the acid keeps the mango from browning, keeps it nice and yellow (and of course adds flavor). and the direct grill was great. nice grill marks, and the flavor changed, more mellow, buttery almost.

how did the mago feel/taste the way you did it sitting up on the fish?

here's mine. my pic might be misleading. i set the mango ON the fish after grilling it.

EddieMac · June 2008

Very nicely done!! My wife is a paella ace...she does paella once or twice per month for catering business....I showed her your pics...and she was thoroughly impressed.....

She waits until the last 20 minutes or so to throw the shrimp and shellfish on and then covers....and they always turn out well....You method was also very effective.....That's a winner!!

eddiemac
Ft. Pierce, FL

stike · June 2008

i shut the lid of the BGE for the last bit of the cook, to cook the shellfish. otherwise it's open the whole time.

the shelffish opened quick this time. might have shut the dome when it was the kind of fire you'd have for a 600-700 pizza cook. oop. but it cooked fast. the shrimp had a nice 'pop' to it woithout being overcooked. got lucky.

i think the purists wouldn't be happy with the amount of seafood i throw in, either. doesn't so "feature" the rice as threaten to overshadow it. but we can't help ourselves when we buy seafood

stike · June 2008

thanks. paella is a fun cook. pretty choreographed

stike · June 2008

that chicken would have been a scene-stealer.
maybe just do one?

i think althea should do those potatoes. man. i love those.

PineyWoodsBrewer · June 2008

One of my fondest memories of my years in Spain......

JLOCKHART29 · June 2008

Frank in Homa did some mango type cook and purea, purree.... Ohh cr@p, liquified them! :laugh: Any way wouldn't do that with the celantro mix but would cut the mango finer and increase the amount of mango and then add the mango to the celantro mix. I found myself trying to get "enough" mango to satisfy each bite. Make sense? If not don't stress over it to much. It's 5 am and I just got threw with a vodka martini before bed!!

Night!

Seafood Paella

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