Paella on the Barbecue
Serves 2-4
Chris Shenton
2005-07-10

Paella originated in the fields and on the beaches of Spain: they cooked
outside over open fires.  I wanted to get away from the stovetop and
oven-finishing of modern recipes and see if I could get a smoky flavor from
cooking over wood on the barbecue.  I used some lump charcoal to start the
fire, then fed it with wood and added dried stems of rosemary and other
herbs from the garden.  It turned out rather well and it was fun to use the
BBQ like as stovetop.

Our paella pan is 9.5 inches in diameter at the bottom, 11.5 at the top.
This recipe is scaled for that size -- you need plenty of surface area so
the liquid evaporates.  It feeds two generously, or four at a push.  The
pan is the traditional thin metal, not the bogus pricy ones you find at
"gourmet" stores in the U.S.

This recipe succeeds also because of the restrained amount of "toppings".
We used what we had on hand and like the snails; the pork we had wasn't
very flavorful so we boosted it with the bacon fat.  You want to use as
little fat as you can because you're trying to get a crunchy crust on the
bottom.  If I were using squid, shrimp or other fish, I'd probably use a
different fat, use fish stock and add some saffron.

4	C	Chicken Stock
1/2		Onion, chopped
1		Bay Leaf
1/4	tsp	Thyme, fresh
1	sprig	Parsley, fresh
3		Peppercorns

7	oz	Canadian Bacon (Pork loin; could use chicken, rabbit, etc)
1	Tbs	Bacon Fat (you could use olive oil)
1/4		Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1/4		Tomato, finely chopped
2	clove	Garlic, minced
1 1/2	C	Rice, short-grain like Arborio
1	tsp	Paprika
1/4	Lb	String Beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
24		Snails, from a can, drained and rinsed

6		Scallions, chopped, with some greens
1	stick	Rosemary

On stovetop (I cheated here) bring Stock, Onion, Bay, Thyme, Parsley,
Peppercorns to boil. Simmer 30 minutes, strain, reduce to 3 Cups; the ratio
of liquid to rice is important.  Bring Enriched Stock to warm part of BBQ
to keep hot.

On the BBQ, heat the paella pan over coals and wood; you'll be using this
like a skillet on the stovetop.  Add the Fat and saute the Pork until it's
cooked through and lightly browned. I closed the cover to keep in the smoke
when possible. Remove and reserve the Meat.

Add the Red Pepper and cook until softened. Add the Tomato and Garlic and
cook to dry off most of the tomato's liquid.  Stir in Rice and cook until
translucent, about 5 minutes; sometimes I am able to get this translucency,
other times not.

Add Paprika, enriched Stock, Green Beans.  Bring to boil, season with Salt
and Pepper, stir to evenly distribute everything.  Boil 7-10 minutes, until
no longer soupy but some liquid remains; do not stir so you don't disturb
the formation of a crust.

Bury the Snails and add the Meat.  Continue cooking until liquid
absorbed/evaporated but rice not quite done (al dente).  Remove to a warm
location, garnish with Scallions and Rosemary sprig, cover with foil, and
let stand 10 minutes to finish the rice.  Serve.


$Id: paella_on_bbq.txt,v 1.1 2005/07/10 18:36:44 chris Exp $