Grilled Seafood Paella

This past weekend, Jeff and celebrated our milestone birthdays. Rather than dwell on the disappointments, inconveniences, and fears caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, Jeff and I decided to spend our time cooking together, eating delicious food, drinking wine, listening to great music, and enjoying the weather, our home, and our family. What did we make that would be that perfect celebratory dish for us? You guessed it: Grilled Seafood Paella.

. Simply put in English…a paella pan.  Check out my blog post on how to season your paellera here: How to Season a Paella Pan.

Seafood

I started with tossing the shrimp in salt, pepper, oregano and sweet paprika, and set that aside so the flavors could meld.

Read Easy Grilled Seafood Paella Recipe Online

First, I used whole, peeled tomatoes, so those needed to be hand crushed and set aside. SEcond, I also cut up the chicken, chorizo, onions, and garlic to have them on hand. Third, I took out the spices that I would need (

Saffron) as well as measured out the rice. Finally, I made sure to cut up the garnish (lemons, parsley). I did this all while Jeff was outside tending to the coals.

While I was doing the prep in the kitchen, Jeff fired up the grill.  One of the reasons that I wanted to make this dish over the grill is that the pan is so huge, I was convinced that my stove top burners would not be able to cook the food evenly.  I’m glad I did it outside.  I think it added to the fun.

Seafood Paella Recipe From Pitmaster Marcio

Once the grill is nice and hot, you can begin. Place your (seasoned) paella pan on the grill and add a bit of oil.  Then start adding the meats to brown them up, starting first with the chorizo.

Once the chorizo is lightly browned, take it off with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl covered with foil or lid.  Set aside, and then start in on the chicken, browning lightly.  When the chicken is done, put it in the same bowl with the chorizo, cover, and set aside.

. The sofrito is the onions, garlic, tomato and olive oil sauce you are preparing as the base for the paella. Start with sauteing the onions. If the pan needs a bit of olive oil, go ahead and add it.

Grilled Seafood Paella Valenciana ~yes, More Please!

When the onions are caramelized a bit (a few minutes sauteing over the hot coals will do the trick), add the garlic and toss around.

A word on the tomatoes…I used quite a bit…a whole 28 oz can. I like a strong tomato taste. The extra tomato makes my paella look more orangey than the sunny yellow of more traditional paellas. This might be an area where you might want to hold off on this amount, maybe half that amount, in order to let the main flavor profile—the saffron—shine through a little more.

The best type to use is Valencian rice (also called “bomba” rice) because it quickly absorbs the broth.  You can find it at well stocked, higher-end grocery stores. For my paella, I used bomba rice, but if you don’t have it, you can easily substitute the cheaper—but no less worthy—Arborio rice (risotto rice) or Calrose rice (regular short-grained white rice.)

Seafood Paella |

When the Grilled Seafood Paella still looks wet, but you can start to see the rice, you’re ready to add the seafood.

Start by adding the lobster first.  Then add the shrimp, nestling into the rice as you go. Next add the mussels and clams.  Be careful on the placement.  I found that the mussels opened up nicely, but I had nestled the clams too far into the rice, so they didn’t open up as easily.

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Notice that simply by laying them in the rice that they shellfish already are starting to cook. The lobster is starting to turn that fantastic deep orange-red, and the shrimp are already turning pink.

Seafood Paella Recipe

Now’s the time to garnish. Add the peas, slices of roasted bell pepper, and parsley, placing them where you want. Also add the lemon wedges.

This dish can serve six adults easily. Make sure you really enjoy each other’s company, cause the shellfish and the lobster may require you to roll up your sleeves and eat with your hands unless you have some way to divide the lobster meat up for serving separately.

Paella is actually a rustic dish that you throw together. If you’re a newbie cook trying this…just have fun. If you enjoy wine and aren’t sure which to have, just go with the wine you like best. I drink red wines, and although I would have liked to serve something lighter, all I had on hand was a rich cab. You know what? It was still fantastic. The richness of the chicken and the spiciness of the spanish chorizo held up well. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself and have fun with it.

Grilled Paella With Shrimp, Mussels & Clams Recipe

The first time I had paella was when I lived in San Francisco and Jeff and I would go to our favorite brewery, Thirsty Bear. (It’s still there!) Over the years, we’ve had it a few other times, mostly around our birthdays. Global pandemic be damned…we found a special way to enjoy our birthday together anyway and I’m so thankful. There’s no one else I’d want to spend this day with.

One last thing…one of the hallmarks of a good Grilled Seafood Paella is the crispy, caramelized crust that the pan makes at the bottom of the paella, called the

Grilled

. You get this if you’ve seasoned your pan properly and have watched the process to make sure the pan was evenly heated. I’m relieved to say that my work paid off, and that my paella had a delicious socarrat. During the cooking process, you can sometimes hear the paella crackling as the socarrat is being formed. I didn’t hear that, but I got that crust anyway. The following photos shows some of the toasty bits of socarrat.Seafood Paella is a fantastic dish to cook for a small gathering or dinner party. It’s a one pot dish that has all the ingredients of an amazing feast, from hearty and aromatic rice, to a mix of seafoods and meats that please the palate. Our take on Paella is packed with fresh seafood and herbal flavors.

Grilled Paella Mixta (mixed Paella With Chicken And Seafood) Recipe

Paella is a dish that can instantly transform me to Spain. I remember distinctly the ginormous pan our group was served at a lunch I attended several years ago in the region of Murcia (south of Valencia where this dish has its origins). It was enough to feed over 25 people, and a meal that has remained in my memory since. It’s a dish I now love to make for friends back at home. Not only is its presence a show stopping centerpiece at any dinner table, it’s surprisingly an easy one pot dish to make and can easily be scaled down for a small family, or made in large quantities for a group dinner or event.

Paella can seem intimidating when you first look at a list of ingredients, but it’s actually quite easy to make and worth the effort. The flavors and aromatics from the saffron and chorizo are amazing together, and the steamed seafood balance out the rice for a bountiful, colorful, and festive meal. Add a little charcoal infused flavor from the grill and you have a great combination for seafood paella.

In this recipe we’re not using a paella pan. Instead we’re substituting for a pan most people already have in their kitchen, and we’re cooking this pot of deliciousness on the grill! No specially supplies needed.

Grilled Spanish Paella

Paella (a word that translates to “frying pan” in Valencian) originated in Valencia, Spain. It is a dish that began as a farmer and field hand dish, consisting of rice, stock, and meat, and whatever else was available to cook. Basically a one pot dish.

Today, Paella can take on a number of culinary flavors, from chicken, seafood, and even vegetarian. Saffron is a key ingredient that gives Paella that signature rich red color, and earthy and floral flavors, while other spices have been added over the centuries for unique flavor, like turmeric.

Skillet

Depending on where you go in Spain the dish will present different regional variations, but the heart of the dish has humble origins.

Grilled Paella Recipe

For a flavor profile, paella is aromatic and the rice is cooked slightly al dente or even with some caramelization on the bottom of the pan for a crispy bite.

Traditional Paella is cooked in a steel shallow and wide pan. The metal is important for cooking over fire. When making this seafood paella recipe, consider at minimum a 12-inch wide, shallow, stainless steel pan. The steel, versus it’s cast-iron cousin, does not retain the heat as efficiently and helps to prevent burning when cooking on the grill.

Cast Iron can be used (especially if that’s all you have), however it retains heat so well that it can burn the rice at the bottom as you simmer the stock and rice. So it is important to monitor your temperatures and cook over indirect when making Paella on the grill, especially with cast

Seafood Paella (on The Grill)