I was in Mallorca a few months ago and got a bunch of really amazing regular smoked and smoked sweet paprika to make paella with. Thought I'd try something a little different and found a paella pan I could use on the bbq at the kitchen supply store down the street. I used blood sausage, green chorizo, chicken thighs, and shrimp at the end. A few cherry wood chips while I was getting the rice to soak up the stock, and then when I put the shrimp on for the last 15 minutes, I put a handful of dry chips on and went to town with the smoke. Absolutely fucking amazing. You're all invited for the next round.
I've been dying to try something like this. Did you follow a specific recipe or freestyle? Would love even a high level recipe/method. Looks incredible!
Pretty much freestyled it. I'll try to see if I can walk you through what I did.
Started with oil in the pan and browned the chicken, blood sausage and green chorizo. Took those out, added a bit of bacon, then diced red pepper and onions. Sauteed, added garlic at the end, because I couldn't find bomba rice I ended up using arborio, which worked well enough. Once the rice was nice and toasty, I added a can of San Marzano tomatoes, and then some beef stock (I had some frozen and it seemed like it might be the right time to use it, but chicken stock works great, too I've since found out). Threw the meats back on the top, added a bit of soaked cherry wood, closed the lid, and let it cook down. Once the rice was almost ready, I threw the shrimp on, a handful of dry wood chips, and got a good smoke going for the last step.
How much of each thing? I guess it depends on the size of your pan. I used about 1.5 cups of rice and then just filled the pan as much as I could with stock.
One thing I'll say is that regulating the coals when cooking with the lid off is always a bit tough. I had to put the lid on with all the vents closed a couple of times to cool them down so I didn't burn the pan and everything in it while sauteeing. Otherwise, it's pretty straightforward. And so goddamned tasty! This has become a Friday night meal for us.
Bravo, I was wondering about heat regulation with the big pan. Briquettes or lump? And total cook time? Thanks again you have inspired me to try this, I needed a push. Was gonna do it on my WSM but this looks great.
I have used both briquettes and lump and have found lump to be the easiest to regulate the heat. Briquettes get super excited about any contact with air and seem to just take off. As for total cook time, with prep it's probably about two hours, but once the lid is on after putting everything together, if I keep it at a solid 300 it's probably about 30 mins for first stage and then 10 or 15 with whatever seafood one puts on top if one is adding that to the mix. Can't wait to see how it goes for you!
This just blew my mind. I’ve never thought of doing this and it looks amazing. I love paella and we’ve got a Webber.
