Paella on the Kettle


 
Justin, for a new member, that cook makes me wonder just how much I’m going to like you!😁
But, seriously, that looks outstanding! I love rabbit, hard to find around here anymore, don't know why. Used to be pretty easy!
 
Rich G said:
Justin, this looks spectacular! I'd have to butcher the rabbit when nobody who lives here was looking, but damn, man, that looks so incredible!

I'm sufficiently motivated to make sure my paella cook doesn't move out any further!

R
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Yes, haha, the rabbit was a hard sale on my family and they ate it without complaint to my surprise. I look forward to speaking with you soon!
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Justin, for a new member, that cook makes me wonder just how much I’m going to like you!😁
But, seriously, that looks outstanding! I love rabbit, hard to find around here anymore, don't know why. Used to be pretty easy!
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Yes, here too. I have to go to Richmond an hour and a half away to source it. Thank you for the compliment!
 
Rich I don’t believe I’ve ever had that meal before.
It looks amazing.
I didn’t often eat fancy meals like that growing up so I’m still discovering new things.

Justin your plate with the rabbit is rather inspirational.
It’s been years since I’ve had a plate of rabbit and after looking at your pictures I am now gonna find me a rabbit even if I have to spit out buckshot.

Chuck if you ever venture up north you should stop by for a plate of my fish bait.
I bet I can bring you over to the dark side :devilish:.
 
Rich G said:
I've had a long love affair with paella, but always thought it was a bit more than I could do myself until a trip to Spain in 2016. A friend of my wife's walked me through the whole process (in Spanish, which I don't speak.....we communicated via food and hand gestures!), while cooking up an amazing Valencian paella for our two families. It took me two years after we got back for me to make my first one, and three more years after that for the second. The third only took two weeks! :) I thought I'd share my recipe and process here since there wasn't a lot of detailed instruction for cooking this dish on the grill when I first did it......

My starting point is THIS RECIPE, and I just make variations on the "add-ins" depending on what we feel like or have on hand. This recipe is for a Paella Mixta which has some seafood, chicken and chorizo for the protein.

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups Bomba
5 cups chicken stock
25 threads saffron
4 Tbsp olive oil
3-4 pieces chicken
1 link soft Spanish chorizo
2 1/2 tsp spanish paprika
5 cloves minced garlic
1 1/4 cups chopped/grated onion
1 1/8 cup grated tomato
16 shrimp
10 clams
1-2 handfuls green beans
1 can butter beans
Salt to taste

Here is the general process:

Heat stock to/near boiling. Crush saffron and add to stock to steep.

To prepare grill: Fill a charcoal chimney with briquettes, and light. When the coals are fully ashed over, arrange in the bottom of the grill in a single layer just smaller than the circumference of your paella pan. ***EDIT: I should have clarified that my bottom vent was wide open, and this is a lid off cook. You want the fire to start hot to brown all the ingredients, and get the stock/rice boiling, then just naturally die down to a simmer as the rice finishes cooking.

Place pan onto grill above hot coals, and add olive oil to pan. When hot, add chicken and fry until golden brown, season with salt/pepper. When chicken is brown, push to sides of pan, and both kinds of beans. Sauté the beans for a few minutes, then add garlic and onions and sauté for a few minutes.

Add chorizo and cook to heat, then add rice and stir until well coated with oils. Add paprika and grated tomato, stir for a few minutes (DO NOT BURN!) then add stock to pan. Stir lightly to evenly distribute rice, bring to a boil, and let boil for 8 minutes.

Nestle shrimp down into cooking rice, and continue to simmer for another 7-8 minutes. Add the clams about 5-6 minutes later. Once rice is well cooked and liquid is absorbed, listen for sizzle/crackle of soccarat forming. Let go for another minute, then remove and cover for 10 minutes.

****NOTE: Your rice may take more time, and possibly will need more liquid. When the original liquid is almost gone, test a few grains of rice to determine if it is cooked to the level you prefer. If not, cook longer, and add a bit more liquid if needed to ensure you don't burn it.

Here are a few pictures that should help solidify the process above......

Ingredients ready to go (this is important, cooking goes quickly until the rice goes in):

View attachment 33397
View attachment 33406
My grill setup using charcoal holders to contain the charcoal in the middle (you don't have to take your middle grate out, mine fell out....):

View attachment 33398

Chicken is in to brown....I turned every couple of minutes for six minutes, then push to the side of the pan for two more before removing:

View attachment 33399

Chicken to the side, beans in for 2-3 minutes:

View attachment 33400

Onions and garlic in, cook these until their liquid is virtually gone:

View attachment 33401

Add the chorizo, brow lightly on one side, then the other:

View attachment 33402

Tomato and paprika go in next.....make sure you don't burn this!!!:

View attachment 33403

Next up is the Bomba rice, which gets stirred in with everything to evenly distribute, and coat with the remaining oil in the pan:

View attachment 33404

Add the stock/saffron you had simmering (slowly so the rice is not disturbed), and return chicken to pan:

View attachment 33405

After 8-10 minutes, the shrimp went in (push them into the rice), but I didn't get a picture.....so here's what it looked like right BEFORE the shrimp:

View attachment 33407

Add the clams a few minutes later, and flip the shrimp after a few minutes, too:

View attachment 33408

Here is what was left of my charcoal setup when I was done:

View attachment 33409

.....and, the final product:

View attachment 33410

This particular time out, the rice took 32 minutes to get where I like it, and I added about a cup of additional water to get it there. I think I didn't start cooking with the fire as hot as last time, so needed a bit more heat at the end to get through to the finish.

I hope some of you try this out. If you do, share a photo here, or create another recipe if your creation is really different.

Rich
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Looks great Rich!
 
EricV. said:
Looks really good, I am due to make one as well, I need to get some Bomba rice.
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I kinda forgot how easy it really is, and the kettle is just a perfect version of a paella burner! One full chimney of coals, open cook, and it burns down at a great rate to go from sear to boil to simmer! Fun cook!
 
This one had some Spanish chorizo, clams, black cod, and shrimp for protein (well, and white beans, too.)
 
Rich G said:
Looks fantastic, Dan! What did you think? Ideas for how to tweak it? Changes to the process as written?

Nice work!

R
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edit: Thanks, it was fun, and TBH I'm not sure I would have attempted it without your instructions /edit


Overall it went well The process as written was helpful. I printed it out and had it outside.

notes for me for next time:
I should have lit more coal and I should have factored in more time for the cook. Overall cook time was about 75-80 mins, plus a rest on the counter. Right from the start I don't think the pan was as hot as it should have been, but at the same time I didn't want to burn things so I was being conservative, and cooking on the WSK might have needed a little more than a chimney of briquettes. Next time it will be an over-full chimney plus a few more.

I generally followed your recipe with these ingredients.

boneless skinless thighs ( three cut in half)
boneless skinless breasts ( two cut in half )
big link of linguica, casing removed and sliced
about a pound of 13-15 count shrimp

1.5 cups of Matiz Paella rice ( not bomba )
3 cups ( plus a little later ) chicken stock,
1.5 cup onion, and a bunch of garlic, paprika etc.
1.25 cup San Marzano (canned) tomatoes, mashed up.
I didn't count saffron threads, I just eyeballed it but it was prob more than 25. I steeped the saffron in a couple ounces of chardonnay, microwaved to get it warm.

edit2: I don't recall the exact time, but a few mins after the broth was added I removed the breasts from the mixture. They were above 150F and I did not want them to over cook. I just pulled them, set them aside and wrapped them in foil. I nestled them back in for the last 10 to 15 mins, and flipped them once-in place to ensure they were reheated. /edit2

I didn't add beans or any veggies. Next time...
 
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DanHoo said:
edit: Thanks, it was fun, and TBH I'm not sure I would have attempted it without your instructions /edit


Overall it went well The process as written was helpful. I printed it out and had it outside.

notes for me for next time:
I should have lit more coal and I should have factored in more time for the cook. Overall cook time was about 75-80 mins, plus a rest on the counter. Right from the start I don't think the pan was as hot as it should have been, but at the same time I didn't want to burn things so I was being conservative, and cooking on the WSK might have needed a little more than a chimney of briquettes. Next time it will be an over-full chimney plus a few more.

I generally followed your recipe with these ingredients.

boneless skinless thighs ( three cut in half)
boneless skinless breasts ( two cut in half )
big link of linguica, casing removed and sliced
about a pound of 13-15 count shrimp

1.5 cups of Matiz Paella rice ( not bomba )
3 cups ( plus a little later ) chicken stock,
1.5 cup onion, and a bunch of garlic, paprika etc.
1.25 cup San Marzano (canned) tomatoes, mashed up.
I didn't count saffron threads, I just eyeballed it but it was prob more than 25. I steeped the saffron in a couple ounces of chardonnay, microwaved to get it warm.

edit2: I don't recall the exact time, but a few mins after the broth was added I removed the breasts from the mixture. They were above 150F and I did not want them to over cook. I just pulled them, set them aside and wrapped them in foil. I nestled them back in for the last 10 to 15 mins, and flipped them once-in place to ensure they were reheated. /edit2

I didn't add beans or any veggies. Next time...
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Great notes to add to the Paella compendium, Dan! A successful first run, with ideas to make it even better for you the next time!

I think that was a good call on the removing the breasts so they didn't over cook. Adding in some beans and veggies next time will add some additional complexity and texture to the dish for sure! I always try to use homemade chicken stock for paella when I can.

Nice work!

R
 
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