Grilled Paella

Name: Grilled Paella
Total time: 3600 s
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 Tbsp olive oil; 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, halved; 1/2 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp Chipotle powder; 1 lb Spanish style chorizo; 1-2 lbs mussels, scrubbed; 1 onion, diced; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 1 cup roasted red peppers, chopped; 3 cups arborio rice; 4 cups chicken stock; 8 oz clam juice; 1 Tbsp seafood soup base (Penzeys); 2/3 cup dry sherry; 3 Tbsp tomato paste; 1 cup frozen peas; 1 lemon, wedged; 2 sprigs rosemary

Lance Wilson @lance_wilson

Nyack, NY

This paella is a crowd pleaser. The grill imparts a subtle smokiness you can't achieve in an oven. The lemon wedges perfume the spicy rice and the mussels release their briny liquor. It's not a recipe to take on on a weeknight. The cook time is about an hour, but coupled with starting the grill and prepping the ingredients the whole ordeal is more like 4 hours. This is one of those Sunday meals, started mid day with copious sangria while you're over the grill.

Lance Wilson @lance_wilson

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Ingredients

60 mins

8 servings

6 Tbspolive oil
1 lbboneless skinless chicken thighs, halved
1/2 lbraw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tspgarlic powder
1 tspsmoked paprika
1 tspChipotle powder
1 lbSpanish style chorizo
1-2 lbsmussels, scrubbed
1onion, diced
6 clovesgarlic, minced
1 cuproasted red peppers, chopped
3 cupsarborio rice
4 cupschicken stock
8 ozclam juice
1 Tbspseafood soup base (Penzeys)
2/3 cupdry sherry
3 Tbsptomato paste
1 cupfrozen peas
1lemon, wedged
2 sprigsrosemary

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Steps

60 mins

1

Combine the paprika and the chipotle. Half the seasoning between two small bowls. In one half portion, add the garlic powder, along with a tsp of salt. Use this garlic/pepper seasoning to season the chicken and shrimp. Scrub the muscles or clams, and discard any that are open (they're dead).
2

Prep everything before hand. Start a full chimney of charcoal.
3

Evenly lay out your chimney of coals. Add 10-20 unlit briquettes on top of the lit coals. You'll need this extra fuel to keep the cook going. If you're roasting your own peppers, now is the time to blacken them on the grill.
4

Grill your chicken only until it starts to show grill marks.
5

Remove the chicken and roasted red peppers. The peppers steam and are peeled and roughly chopped. You can just use jarred roasted pepper if you want.
6

Place a large roasting pan on the grill. Add the oil and heat until shimmering.
7

Add the onions, minced garlic, and red peppers to the pan. Place the chorizo on the edges to sear. Remove them as soon as they brown.
8

When the vegetables begin to stick to the bottom add the remaining half portion of paprika/chipotle. Stir to combine.
9

Add the rice and stir to coat. If needed add a little more oil. Continue to cook until the rice begins to toast.
10

Add the stock all at once. Follow by placing the chicken around the edges of the pan. Followed by the sausages moving to the center. Place the shrimp in the middle in a layer. Wedge the lemons into the broth and place the rosemary into the broth. (I added the mussels here, but they should be added later). Cover and cook with all vents fully open for 20 min. I had a few cherry tomatoes and threw them in too.
11

After 20 min, wedge the mussels (or clams) into the rice. Sprinkle with frozen peas, and cook another 20 min. The mussels should open and release their juices. Adding them later will ensure they're not overcooked. Serve in big bowls.