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Paella eggsperts-initial learning curve challenges?

lousubcap
lousubcap Posts: 32,174
edited May 2012 in EggHead Forum
To all those who have done paella on the BGE, I have the LBGE and have thoroughtly researched TNW's outstanding tutorial but am looking for the "real world" pitfalls that a newbie should be alert for. I have no pressure here as this will be a significant part of the "Mother's Day" present-so should I hose it up, I have instructed my children to post the BGE on craigslist and my obit here :)>-
Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.

Comments

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    make sure everything is ready to go and in its place near the egg. 

    i have variously forgotten all sorts of ingredients, including the wrong amount of broth, ignored seafood in the fridge, etc.

    don't be faced when you are doing it either.

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    What stike says and don't stir. Cook the sofrito really well to a semi paste. Go a bit light on the water/stock you can drizzle it on after. Listen for the rice popping. I believe stike has another recipe for crunchito he may share

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
    I agree with the above recommendations.  Here are a few I have done.  Perhaps there is some additional info in the posts.  It is a great meal.

    http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1193633&catid=1
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    @littlsteven:
    yes.  when measuring the broth, grab the smaller glass measuring cup and convince yourself it's the same one you used last time, even though it's only half the size.  ugh.
    hahaha


    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    lousubcap, that write up of mine was real world, LOL!  All the photos you see of the first paella were taken on my first run.  Go for it.  I think I covered all the pitfalls, at least certainly all the ones I could think of.  And like my tutorial says, if you feel a bit nervous, just make a sofrito, add rice and broth and use that as a practice run w/o any expensive meat.  It makes nice rice that way, too!
    The Naked Whiz
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,174
    To all-nothing ventured, nothing gained-and you are all just looking for the LBGE on Monday-thanks for the input.  I fully plan to live thru this experience and expect to absolutely enjoy the end results.  But I could be wrong... :)>-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • troutgeek
    troutgeek Posts: 458
    Whiz's is the method I use all the time. It works perfectly. Don't overdo it on the meat. It's a rice dish, and not a meat dish. I would have practiced before Mothers Day, but... As for real world examples of what to look out for, when cooking the peppers, if the skins don't come off, then don't get too hung up about it.
    XL BGE - Large BGE - Small BGE - Traeger Lil' Tex Elite - Weber Smokey Joe
  • R2Egg2Q
    R2Egg2Q Posts: 2,136
    I've cooked the Chicken paella recipe on Whiz's site a few times and it is delicious! Glad to hear I'm not the only person to have struggled with peeling the peppers. Lessons I learned in my first paella was the prep work took a lot longer than I expected and having a helper is great as I didn't quite have everything in place as Stike suggests.
    XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG

    Bay Area, CA
  • AZbge
    AZbge Posts: 96
    I made my first Paella last night. One thing I forgot to do was to wait to hear the rice cracking. The rice was done but I didn't have any Soccarat.