The flavors of this Ultimate Paella are layered and all came together perfectly. A pinch of saffron goes a long way and perfumed the entire dish-like magic. This is no cheap meal, by any means, so indulge on good product.
We used a 13 inch paella pan, and with some research, it does matter how much rice: liquid ratio and other ingredient amounts you chose to put in, according to your pan size.
We used shrimp, mussels, clams and lobster for seafood. When you put them in at the right time, the natural flavors of the shellfish melt through the rice and broth. Then you get that bite of spicy authentic chorizo, which you can't go wrong with in any way. Top with sweet peas and fresh squeeze of lemon. Are you drooling yet?
Just a reminder to save all of your discarded seafood shells for my Simple Homemade Seafood Stock.
How to clean clams/mussels before cooking
Now before we get into the steaming, let's talk about how to properly clean clams and mussels first. Honestly, it takes longer to clean clams then to cook them, but worth it so you don't bite into a hard piece of sand.
- Once you bring home the shellfish, place them on ice and leave in the fridge until you're ready to cook them later (usually on the same day).
- If you haven't worked with mussels before, it's pretty easy. Each mussel comes with a little "beard". Pull that out (it may be a bit hard at first).
- 30 minutes before you're ready to cook, place the clams and clams in a large bowl of cold tap water. This help shellfish spit out any sand that may be inside.
- Right when you're ready to cook, use a clam brush or something similar and scrub the outside of each clam and mussel. Then, you're ready to cook!
Method:
1) Begin by marinating the chicken in paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for about an hour.
2) Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned. Once cooked through, reserve to a plate.
3) Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. You don't need to cook chicken all the way through since it will cook through again in paella. Just brown well. Once browned, remove and reserve to a plate.
4) In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat until onions begin to caramelize.
5) Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors come together, about 10 minutes.
6) Next, add the rice to the tomato mixture and stir well allowing all the rice to be coated.
7) Pour in stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir gently at first, the the rice and liquid cook evenly.
8) Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron to rice mixture. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.
9) Add the clams, shrimp and lobster tails, tucking them into the rice. Allow everything to simmer together for about 15-20 minutes. We decided to lightly cover the pan with foil to allow everything to cook evenly. Then remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes so the crusty socarrat can form.
As you can see, we may have overdone it with the sea food (but is that really a bad thing?) After I took the pic, we fixed the fish and tucked them more into the rice. Next time, less seafood and/or smaller chicken pieces.
10) Once done, garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.
More great seafood recipes
The Ultimate Paella
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
- 2-3 pieces of chicken bone in, skin on (thigh and/or leg)
- 1 chorizo sausages thickly sliced
- ½ onion chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
- 1 ½ cups short grain Spanish rice
- 3 cups chicken stock
- Generous pinch saffron threads
- 6 dozen littleneck clams cleaned
- 6 mussels cleaned
- ½ pound jumbo shrimp peeled and de-veined
- 1 lobster tails cut in half
- ½ cup sweet peas frozen and thawed
- Lemon wedges for serving
- Fresh parsley chopped (for garnish)
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Salt and pepper to taste
Spice Rub for Chicken
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Begin by marinating the chicken in paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Refrigerate for about an hour.
- Heat oil in a paella pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chorizo until browned. Once cooked through, reserve to a plate.
- Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. You don't need to cook chicken all the way through since it will cook through again in paella. Just brown well. Once browned, remove and reserve to a plate.
- In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat until onions begin to caramelize.
- Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors come together, about 10 minutes.
- Next, add the rice to the tomato mixture and stir well allowing all the rice to be coated.
- Pour in stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir gently at first, the the rice and liquid cook evenly.
- Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron to rice mixture. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add the clams, shrimp and lobster tails, tucking them into the rice. Allow everything to simmer together for about 15-20 minutes. We decided to lightly cover the pan with foil to allow everything to cook evenly. Then remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes so the crusty socarrat can form.
- Once done, garnish with peas, parsley and lemon wedges.
FamilyCook says
The Ultimate Paella is in our TOP 5 recipes from this website. Every family member has favorite but different bite. The kids love the chicken thighs that become infused with the wonderful flavor from the saffron and spices. The shellfish and especially the lobster are so juicy because they kind of Poach in this great recipe. Scrub the shellfish for a better result!
Julie Yates says
Looks amazing! Had to push that buzz button!
rhonda shapiro?Hedgar says
I think I would grill the shrimp as well. Just beautiful, did you use fresh peas?
Also can you leave out skin on chicken?
FreeSpiritEater says
I LOVE paella! This looks like a pro made it, wonderful for your first time. Congratulations! Buzzed ya!
Bill C says
We went to a demo/tasting of paella by Jose Garces at the Amada in Atlantic City a few weeks ago., Your idea to cover the pan with foil is exactly the method he uses. One difference though was that he grilled the shrimp and lobster and then added them in with the clams, etc. for the last few minutes of cooking.
Samantha says
Hi Bill...I saw another recipe that also grilled the shrimp and I think I will do that next time. What a great idea! I really like the flavor and texture of grilled shrimp. When I added it in raw, it took longer than I thought as well. Thanks!
Carla says
If one does not have a paella pan, would you recommend another one? Or is it like angel food cake where you must get that pan or it won't work? Anyway, beautiful! You have some leftover for me right haha
Samantha says
I think a shallow pan would work? However I did notice that the paella pan got hot pretty quickly! I wouldn't use non-stick though...
Jenni says
Sounds amazing! and the peas just set the whole thing off. So fresh and lovely!
Alicia says
Looks super awesome!!!