Paella Pan Suggestions?

DMW

OK, SWMBO goes to Spain to visit her sister soon. She asks what I want from Spain. Paella pan is the only thing I can think of, unless there are utensils/accessories to go with it I don't know about.

So, what do I ask for? I have an XL and Small BGE. The Small is really too small IMHO to be worth it, so what is the ideal size Paella pan for the XL? Also, setup?

Thanks in advance,

MJH

15 inch paella is a good size. I set up direct heat and the put my paella on top of a couple of bricks to raise it up so it will fit on my LGBE. But on an XL, you could cook directly on the grate.

lousubcap

Here's a good site to check out as you try to decide: http://www.paellapans.com .  Also check out the paella discussion here as you will learn a lot;

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/paella/paella.htm (the aforementioned pan site is referenced in the naked whiz's page) Great cook on the BGE!

Mattman3969

I have a 14" for my large. I would think you could do 18-20" on the XL. Just need enough room for airflow. 18-20" would make a big O bunch of paella.

Little Steven

Never mind the pan, get some bomba rice and saffron

HawkeyeEgghead

+1 on the saffron,  Rice will add weight to luggage and overage cost will pay for allot of Amazon shipping. 

Little Steven

HawkeyeEgghead said:

+1 on the saffron,  Rice will add weight to luggage and overage cost will pay for allot of Amazon shipping. 

I would leave my Guccis in Espagne to make up for the weight. It is a fortune here

bigdaddydivo

I agree w all of the above. You can find a thousand different paella pans at any good restaurant supply or chefscatalog.com bring home the saffron or some other spices or a handcrafted spanish something cooker or something. Just sayin

DMW

Thanks everyone. I'll forget about hardware and have her pickup seasonings/spices that are difficult to find here. My SIL should be able to assist with the selection. Saffron will be on the list for sure.

Cookinbob

I have an XL, and and two Paella pans.  My largest is 18", it fits nicely on an XL - I would be afraid a 20" with handles might keep the lid from closing.  My 18" feeds 10-12 people.  I also have a 14" which will feed 6.  Setup wise, I use a lump reducer ring, build a fairly small fire and cook direct - it only takes about 40 minutes.

Paella pans from Spain can be bought in all sizes at Amazon (where I bought mine).  Have her bring you something you can't buy at home.  Check the price of good Saffron and have her bring it if it is a good deal.  As for Bomba rice, I am way too cheap to spend the bucks for it.  I use Arborio at $2.00 per lb. and my Paella is awesome.  I would not enjoy it as much knowing I spent $5 to $7 per lb. for the rice - I'd rather bulk up on the seafood  

R2Egg2Q

I have an 18" Pata Negra pan for my XL. The handles on the 20" Pata Negra are huge and would prevent the lid from closing if I wanted close it.

TexanOfTheNorth

R2Egg2Q said:

I have an 18" Pata Negra pan for my XL. The handles on the 20" Pata Negra are huge and would prevent the lid from closing if I wanted close it.

IMO, there's no need to close the lid when doing paella. I have put foil over the pan for the last 5 minutes or so to help cook the very top layer of rice; maybe closing the lid would do something similar.

Crimsongator

Lodge makes a very nice CI that would work great! I agree with the Lil guy, get some other things

jfm0830

Paella pans are normally chosen to suit the amount of people you are feeding or the quantities in the recipes you are using. The 15" pan I have is said to feed 6 people, a 17" feeds 8, a 13" feeds 4 people. You want a relatively thin layer of rice and ingredients to achieve an authentic paella with a crispy bottom crust (called the soccorat). So if you are going to be cooking for a relatively small amount of people you can save a little and get a smaller pan. 

Be sure to measure the inside dimension of your XL at the level your pan will sit at. then measure the pan you plan to buy. I have a 15" s/s pan made in Spain and I figured it would fit just fine on my LBGE (18 1/4"). Turns out the handles of the pan just fits in the gap where my gasket doesn't go quite to the inside edge of the ceramics. 

And I will respectfully disagree with TexanOfTheNorth about closing the lid. While paellas are traditionally cooked in the open, they are cooked that way using a wood fire. The WiGWW charcoal I use is relatively smoke neutral. I add smoke flavor via the chips and chunks I add. You'll be able to add some smoke flavor for sure if you can close the lid.

While you can cook the paella on the grate, I would suggest getting an XL Spider from the Ceramic Grill Store. I had bought one for my wok and it is perfect for a paella pan. Installed legs down it raise the paella pan to the gasket level and holds it securely so it doesn't rock or slide (like it might on the grate).

I concur about bringing back some saffron. You might want to look in your area for local sources for saffron to get an idea of the prices you will pay. I get my Saffron locally from Sur la Table (1g for 13.99) or if I am desperate Williams-Sonoma (18.99 for that same 1g). Knowing what you'll pay going forward will tell you how much Saffron you might want to bring back. The 1g bottles are tiny and you will be able to fit quite a few in a small space. The price however is high, this is said to be the most expensive spice.

I have found some local Spanish markets which carry the Bomba rice and Serrano Ham which were the other two hard to find ingredients for me. If you can't find some of the ingredients laically, here is a great web site for all types of Spanish Food:

La Tienda

It is where I bought my Spanish made s/s paella pan, and where I bought saffron, Bomba rice and even the Serrano Ham which was shipped overnight in a small foam cooler type thing. I will say the prices aren't bad either. they sell the same brand of Saffron as Sur La Table and sell it for 50 cents less. Even if you don't buy anything from them there is a lot of knowledge stored there.

Jim 

DMW

@jfm0830 Jim, thanks for all the info! Much appreciated.

fishlessman

something you dont see here is aged sherry vinegars. i would get a couple different bottles of that to experiment with

tksmoke

Just to reiterate -  even though the XL can fit an 18" pan easily, that is not the size to get first.  A 14 - 15 inch pan doesn't require huge amounts of ingredients, and you will still have yummy leftovers when cooking for 2 people.  After you have mastered the techniques in the smaller pan, then you can get a larger pan for entertaining.  The pans are relatively cheap.  Paella is about my favorite thing to make on the egg.  Enjoy!!!