Paella is a rice dish from with roots from Valencia, Spain. There are so many variations of Paella. The saffron rice, infused with smoky Spanish Paprika, is the base of this dish. This recipe includes chicken, shrimp, chorizo and fresh clams. Cooking this dish on our Weber grill was fun to make, and not complicated. Our guests loved the smoky flavors of this Mediterranean dish.
The first (and only) time that I tasted Spanish Paella I was smitten. I love rice dishes. The spices and various meats, such as chicken and sausage was so delicious!
As luck would have it, America’s Test Kitchen published a video on how to make Paella on a Weber Grill (instructions are included if using a gas grill). SPOILER ALERT: The recipe was fabulous! The prep work took the most time. The grilling part went very quickly and was super easy to do.
There are two key spices that makes this dish flavorful with a “smoky” taste. Saffron (the most expensive spice in the world). I can find a small jar at Trader Joe’s for $5.99. It’s not the end of the world, if you don’t use it, but it adds a beautiful color and an earthy/floral note to the rice. Smoked Paprika adds… well, a lovely smoky flavor, so please use that, instead of sweeter paprika.
I bought a Paella Pan, but you can use a large roasting pan, if you wish. The key is that Paella needs a large surface for the rice to cook and to get that wonderful socarrat (crunchy rice layer).
To make the liquid for the rice, start with minced garlic. Cook until just turning golden, then add tomato paste, and paprika. Cook until dark in color.
Add chicken broth and clam juice and bring to a boil, remove from heat. Set aside.
The proteins are: seasoned boneless, skinless chicken thighs/seasoned shrimp, peeled and deveined/Spanish Chorizo, sliced/fresh littleneck clams. (Prep not pictured.)
The grill is ready with charcoal. Place the pan on the grill and add oil until shimmering. Cook diced onion and chopped roasted red peppers, then add the rice. NOTE: Bomba rice is most traditional for Paella. However, since Arborio rice is easily found at the grocery store, that is what I used (and was recommended by ATK).
Stir the rice until evenly coated with oil. Add the chicken around the perimeter of the pan.
Carefully pour the “broth” in the pan, and around the chicken. Make sure that the rice is completely covered. Here’s where I took a detour from the original recipe– rather than add the shrimp and clams as well, I waited until the rice was halfway cooked. My thought was that shrimp cooks very quickly, and I didn’t want rubbery shrimp. The grill was covered and the rice cooked in 14-18 minutes.
Halfway through the rice cooking, the shrimp, clams and chorizo was added, and then covered again.
The final ingredient was to add thawed peas to the Paella, then cover it and allow any remaining liquid to be absorbed. This is where the socarrat happens! That is, the bottom layer of the rice gets crispy– about 10-15 minutes longer.
It was fun to remove the Paella pan from the grill and present the dish to our guests. Not only was the aroma intoxicating, the presentation was impressive.
TASTING NOTES: A glass of Sangria is the perfect accompaniment for this dish. Each guest was able to serve their own portion. I figured that some people might be more prone to picking out the clams, or spicy chorizo. Myself, I went to the chicken and shrimp. The rice was so aromatic, flavorful and perfectly cooked. Our guests went in for seconds. Honestly, the prep work was the most time-consuming part of making Paella. The grilling part went really fast, and was actually a lot of fun to do.
Can you make this on a stove or in the oven? The 15″ pan would probably be too large for a stove top. In the oven, this might work, but you won’t get that crispy socarrat. Personally, I’d stick with a grill.
How to make Spanish Paella on the Grill
- 1 Paella pan or light-colored 16 by 13.5-inch tri-ply roasting pan
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs trimmed and halved crosswise
- Salt and pepper
- 12 ounces jumbo shrimp 16 to 20 per pound, peeled and deveined
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided; (4 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp)
- 6 garlic cloves minced; divided (5½ and ½)
- 1 ¾ teaspoons hot smoked paprika divided (1½ and ¼)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 8-ounce bottle clam juice
- ⅔ cup dry sherry
- Pinch saffron threads optional
- 1 onion chopped fine
- ½ cup jarred roasted red peppers chopped fine
- 3 cups Arborio rice or traditional Bomba Rice
- 1 pound littleneck clams scrubbed
- 1 pound Spanish-style chorizo sausage cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup frozen peas thawed
- Lemon wedges
- Place chicken on large plate and sprinkle both sides with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss shrimp with 1 tablespoon oil, ½ teaspoon garlic, ¼ teaspoon paprika, and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl until evenly coated. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add remaining garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic sticks to bottom of saucepan and begins to brown, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and remaining 1½ teaspoons paprika and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until dark brown bits form on bottom of saucepan, about 1 minute. Add broth, clam juice, sherry, and saffron, if using. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside.
- For a Charcoal Grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter mounded with charcoal briquettes (7 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Using tongs, arrange 20 unlit briquettes evenly over coals. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
- For a Gas Grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Leave all burners on high.
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Place chicken on grill and cook until both sides are lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes total. Return chicken to plate. Clean cooking grate.
- Place roasting pan on grill (turning burners to medium-high if using gas) and add remaining ¼ cup oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add onion, red peppers, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Add rice (turning burners to medium if using gas) and stir until grains are well coated with oil.
- Arrange chicken around perimeter of pan. Pour broth mixture and any accumulated juices from chicken over rice. Smooth rice into even layer, making sure nothing sticks to sides of pan and no rice rests atop chicken. When liquid reaches gentle simmer, place shrimp in center of pan in single layer. NOTE: Since shrimp cooks quickly and overcooked shrimp turns tough, I waited to add the shrimp until the last 5 minutes of cooking the paella.)Arrange clams in center of pan, evenly distributing with shrimp (see note) and pushing hinge sides of clams into rice slightly so they stand up. Distribute chorizo evenly over surface of rice. Cook (covered if using gas), moving and rotating pan to maintain gentle simmer across entire surface of pan, until rice is almost cooked through, 12 to 18 minutes. (If using gas, heat can also be adjusted to maintain simmer.)
- Sprinkle peas evenly over paella, cover grill, and cook until liquid is fully absorbed and rice on bottom of pan sizzles, 5 to 8 minutes.Continue to cook, uncovered, checking bottom of pan frequently with metal spoon, until uniform golden-brown crust forms, 8 to 15 minutes longer. (Rotate and slide pan around grill as necessary to ensure even crust formation.) Remove pan from grill, cover with aluminum foil, and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
How to Make Paella on the Grill
FAQ
Can you use a paella pan on a gas BBQ?
Can you cook paella on a gas stove?
Do you cook paella on high heat?
Can you cook paella on a fire pit?
Can you cook paella on the grill?
Above: Lan Lam takes notes during one of her recipe tests for paella on the grill. We’ve always been a little obsessed with paella. Traditionally, in Spain, the richly flavored rice dish is cooked in a large pan over an open fire, a process that requires skill and good timing.
How do you cook paella on a charcoal grill?
Light a charcoal grill with about a large cereal box’s worth of charcoal. Return the paella pan to the stove and set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, then add the rice and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Can you cook paella in a metal pan?
“With paella, it’s no different.” The Valencian dish is cooked in a wide, shallow metal pan that can accommodate whichever proteins (squid, mussels, sausage, rabbit legs) you choose to include. Like a great lasagna, it can be brought to the table and served straight from the cooking vessel.
How do you cook chicken thighs in a paella pan?
Once hot, lower the heat and keep warm. In an 18-inch paella pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. (A large, wide, shallow, flameproof saucepan may be substituted — or, in a pinch, an enameled Dutch oven.) Season the chicken thighs all over with salt and pepper and brown on all sides in the hot oil. Transfer to a plate.