Grilled Paella Chowhound

Father’s Day is around the corner, so get ready to fire up the grill and break out the big guns – or in this case, the big paella pan. Paella is always fun to make and of course, to eat. It’s a perfect way to feed a crowd and your family, and the best way to make it is over a fire. When it’s ready to serve, simply plunk it down in the center of the table and let everyone dig in. Family-style eating doesn’t get better than this, which is a perfect way to celebrate Dad.

Myriad versions of paella exist, depending on region and taste, but there are specific ingredients to use and techniques to follow for authentic results.

Think wide, low, and flat. The key is to spread the rice in a thin layer, so that as many grains as possible are in contact with the bottom of the pan. This will ensure not only contact with the aromatics (soffrito) but the desired crispy bottom (socarrat) of the cooked paella. Paella pans are easy to find and affordable. I purchased my 15-inch pan for less than $30. Alternatively, a very large cast iron skillet will do the trick.

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Short grain rice will absorb the liquid, remain relatively firm during cooking, and crisp – long grain rice will not. Use short grain rice, preferably Spanish Bomba or Valencia. Risotto (Arborio) rice may be substituted, if necessary. Note: Depending on the rice, cooking times may vary slightly.

An important blend of sautéed aromatics, typically onion, garlic, and grated ripe tomato, is used as a base to flavor the rice. It’s important to sauté the ingredients until the moisture from the tomato and the wine evaporate and the soffrito thickens, and let it deepen in color to build flavor.

If possible, use a homemade stock, chicken or shrimp stock are ideal, although a good quality store-bought chicken stock is a fine substitution. A key step is to add a generous pinch of saffron to the stock to infuse a subtle perfume and a burnished golden-red color.

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This is the holy grail of paella, the coveted crispy bottom that forms in the pan while the paella is cooking. To achieve this, a few techniques are imperative. Do not overload the pan, or the rice will not be able to dry out and will not crisp. And, most importantly, do not stir the paella once the rice is spread in the pan and topped with the proteins. You will know if the rice is crisping when the paella begins to make crackling sounds. This is the sure-fire way to know when the paella is ready, so be sure to wait for the “snap-crackle-pop” before you remove the pan from the grill!

Grill it! It’s important for the pan to cook over an even heat source. A grill can accommodate the size of a large paella pan, unlike many stovetops. Plus, the fire will add a smoky backdrop to the dish. And finally, Father’s Day really wouldn’t be replete without turning on the grill, right?

1. Grate the tomatoes, cut-side down, on a box grater. Discard the skins and transfer the pulp and juices to a small bowl.

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2. Bring the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the saffron and keep warm over low heat.

3. Place the chicken in a bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon paprika, and then lightly season with salt and black pepper. Put the shrimp in a separate bowl and toss with 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and then lightly season with salt and black pepper.

4. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat. Preheat a 15-inch paella pan or large cast iron skillet for about 10 minutes.

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5. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the paella pan. Add the chorizo and cook until the chorizo is golden brown on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes, turning as needed. With a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a bowl. There should be rendered fat from the chorizo remaining in the pan. If not, add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Arrange the chicken in one layer in the paella pan and cook until colored on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes, turning as needed. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to the bowl with the chorizo. (The chicken will not be cooked all the way through at this point.)

6. If the pan is dry, add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the onion and sauté until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon paprika and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the grated tomatoes with juices and the wine, stir to combine, and simmer, with the lid closed, until the liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens and darkens slightly, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rice and 1 teaspoon salt and stir to coat. Pour in the broth, stir to blend, and smooth the rice in an even layer in the pan. (Do not stir the rice after this point!) Arrange the chicken and chorizo over the rice and drizzle any accumulated juices from the bowls over the rice.

7. Cook the paella, with the lid closed, until about 3/4 of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is exposed, turning the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking, about 15 minutes.

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8. Nestle the shrimp and mussels (hinge-side down) into the rice and continue to cook, with the lid closed, until the shrimp are cooked through, the mussels have opened, and the rice is making a crackling sound, 10 to 12 more minutes, turning the pan occasionally to ensure even cooking.

9. Remove the paella pan from the grill and discard any unopened mussels. Let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the parsley over the paella and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

Copyright © 2008 – 2023 This work by Lynda Balslev is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – Noncommercial – No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at .Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.

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Just a little longer, I want to get a really good socarrat for the photos. I said those words a little too confidently, and repeated them a few too many times, as my test batches of paella finished cooking over smoldering coals on an outdoor grill. I was aiming for that famed copper-colored crust of rice on the bottom of the broad paella pan, and I was sure I could nail it. Except I didn't. I burned it. And then I burned it again.

There are many things to know about paella, but one of the most important is this: Don't burn your paella in search of the ultimate socarrat. The socarrat is something you learn to do over time, as you master your own setup—the charcoal or wood you're using, the grill you're working on, the specific paella recipe you're making. It's not something you can casually pull off just because you think you know your way around a live fire. (That's a side-eye at myself, in case it's not clear.)

A few weeks later I was standing by the paella makers atMercado Little Spain, the New York City food court that is chef José Andrés's paean to Spanish gastronomy. They're not just making paella at Mercado Little Spain, they're doing it as close to a traditional al fresco Valencian paella feast as could ever be possible in New York. Despite being in an indoor concourse on the lower level of the new Hudson Yards development, Andrés's team is cooking huge pans of paella over roaring wood fires, all of it set up in a large rectangular fireproof box that looks vaguely like a shuffleboard court, if shuffleboard involved pushing around flaming strips of kindling instead of a bunch of plastic disks.

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The setup is important because it allows them to do things I couldn't do as easily on the kettle grill—namely, constantly manage the fire throughout the cooking process. In their traditional setup, the pans are positioned on large iron stands, and the fire is built beneath them. The cooks use thin strips of firewood, which light quickly and burn fast.

In a matter of minutes, they can make a fire so energetic the flames shoot up above the pans, then reduce it to smoldering embers just moments later. Using a spade, they can push those embers out from under the pan to prevent the rice from burning as the paella finishes cooking, then sweep them back under for the last 30 seconds of cooking for one final boost of heat and, hopefully, a good socarrat.

Using a kettle grill makes managing the fire harder, since you can't tinker with it once the paella pan is set down on the grill grate. Any adjustments to the fire would require lifting the

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