Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

First Paella

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Id hike anywhere to get a plate of that.
    Great job. Years back I made Paella often and wss actually good at it.

    Comment


      #17
      Looks so good. The majority of my family is not a fan of spicy food though so I don’t think i could make this for the crowd. Or maybe they just need to get over it.

      Comment


      • Mudkat
        Mudkat commented
        Editing a comment
        I agree. Doesn't need to be spicy. Although I was surprised that my wife even ate it let alone loved because the Mexican Chorizo added heat. I'd call the heat mild close to medium.

      • Dr. Pepper
        Dr. Pepper commented
        Editing a comment
        Mudkat I buy Spanish chorizo. Whole foods makes it in house, and in the Pike Place Market in Seattle Uli's Sausage hand makes it.

      • Mudkat
        Mudkat commented
        Editing a comment
        Dr. Pepper. I'll have to check it out.

      #18
      Great looking meal, even better scenery!

      Comment


        #19
        Socarrat is what I was taught to call Concon in another dish. Making that perfect crispy crunchy layer is an art. That I sadly am still hit and miss on.

        You need to add more oil for sure, carefully monitor temps, be careful as you stir not to break it up.

        ETA: and there's no shame in leaving some rice in the bowl and making the layer by itself afterwards.
        Last edited by TNPIGBBQ; October 7, 2019, 01:11 PM.

        Comment


        • Mudkat
          Mudkat commented
          Editing a comment
          Hadn't thought of that. The flavor was great and the cook and meal were enjoyable. Definately doing it again soon.

        #20
        Love paella. Yours looks on point.

        Comment


          #21
          Looks good, Mudkat!

          Comment


          • Mudkat
            Mudkat commented
            Editing a comment
            Thanks Jonny!

          #22
          Like a few others have said, getting soccarat is an art. I compare it to browning a rue for gumbo, how dark can you go befor it burns and you have to throw it out.

          Ive made paella quite a bit, and at times I get a beautiful carmelized rice and others I have got to the almost burnt black color. It wasn’t an off flavor, but not that Carmel brown color. But even when I have had it turn out nearly perfect, I don’t necessarily recall the rice being a sheet like you mention. Just great color and maybe some rice together.

          But from experience, I’ve had to use more than just one chimney full of briquettes to keep the heat consistent throughout the cook. And that is what I think helps get the soccarat at the end. Just enough moisture left in the pan with the right amount of heat from below to finish it off. So I usually add that second layer of unlit briquettes on top after I spread the lit coals around. Maybe another half a chimney at least. But this was cooking a full 17” pan, where all the ingredients together nearly were overflowing. So I needed the extra heat and time.

          But, your finished paellea looks wonderful! I don’t have a photo of soccarat, but I can add a photo of a finished pan if you would like.

          Quick question - When you spread the rice throughout the pan, did you leave it alone until you served it? As in Undisturbed cook until finished? That is also a key.

          Again, great paella!


          Comment


            #23
            barelfly Thanks for your thoughts on this. I think you've answered my question about the "layer" of soccarat vs. soccarat pieces. I would love to see some pics of your paella (in fact I bet I already have).

            I did not stir at all which is in MH's instructions.

            I think my charcoal was the right amount since I did not fill the pan up, rather spread the ingredients across the pan with a thin layer. The oil was hot enough to brown the chicken, and the heat through out the cook stayed hot enough to simmer the liquid out. Maybe I was closer than I thought since I didn't have anything to compare it to.

            Let's see those pics!

            Comment


              #24
              Mudkat sounds like you did it perfectly! One other question, what type of rice did you use?

              but here are a few photos, not to take away from your great post. But, more of the process I used. First is of the rice added in with my grated onion, tomato and garlic mixture to give it a nice coating and develop some flavor. This was after cooking the Spanish chorizo to get some fat added into the oil and then browning the chicken thighs on each side. A great mixture of fat flavor that is picked up.

              Click image for larger version

Name:	EE2C6F5F-77C8-4982-B01A-A2CD4B9DBDFB.jpeg
Views:	150
Size:	161.6 KB
ID:	754486

              next is nestling of the seafood, just about finished. You can see the browned chicken and chorizo from what I mention above. But if you look close, near the edges, you can see some of the carmelized color soccarat.

              Click image for larger version

Name:	46FF3122-508C-4770-95FF-740C43404C46.jpeg
Views:	146
Size:	168.2 KB
ID:	754485

              And the final dish, hard to see the carmelization I mention earlier because it’s not served, but next time i make this I will grab a pic of the soccarat. But the edges are where you can see some soccarat.

              Click image for larger version

Name:	97685A9C-15A0-45A2-835C-D3709406687D.jpeg
Views:	177
Size:	114.0 KB
ID:	754484

              I still need to do my write up for paella, I’ve combined a few recipes I’ve found over years and it’s great.Sounds like you did it perfectly, though.

              Did you add add any wood chunks? This also adds a nice smoke flavor that accompanies the paprika. Such a wonderful dish to prepare, its in my top 5 to prepare.

              Comment


              • fzxdoc
                fzxdoc commented
                Editing a comment
                Oh please do write up your recipe, barelfly . I'd love to have paella turn out like yours does.

                Kathryn

              #25
              barelfly. Thanks for the pics and explaination! It helps a lot!

              Question: Is the first pic after the rice iscooked with the juice cooked out or did you put down the layer of rice tomato and onion with the liquid to follow? In other words do you cook your rice layer before adding the other ingredients back in?

              Rice was Arroz Cebolla Bomba. Very cool looking rice!

              I hope you do post your recipe cause that paella looks like I need to have some!
              Last edited by Mudkat; October 12, 2019, 07:02 AM.

              Comment


              • barelfly
                barelfly commented
                Editing a comment
                First pic is just rice taking on the tomato, onion, garlic and fat flavors. I do this prior to any liquid, similar to what you would do with a risotto.

                I’ll get my paella write up done this week to explain each step.

                But, yes, Bomba Rice is the best in my opinion. Allows for more liquid with out getting mush.

                With your process and pictures, you have great paella by everything you mention!

              • Mudkat
                Mudkat commented
                Editing a comment
                Thanks barelfly !

              • barelfly
                barelfly commented
                Editing a comment
                Mudkat I posted my recipe. Enjoy!

            Announcement

            Collapse
            No announcement yet.
            Working...
            X
            false
            0
            Guest
            Guest
            500
            ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
            false
            false
            {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
            Yes
            ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
            /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here