Its official name is “Extreme Grilled Paella,” which is in my top ten list of dishes to cook. The name is my own brainchild, and my version is an adaptation to the traditional version created in Spain.
Let me tell you, people, this dish is one that should absolutely be shared with friends and family. And it is not that difficult to prepare. Although, I will admit your going to need a fair amount of time to pull it all together. It looks awfully complicated — it’s not, though. The actual steps are straightforward. A beautiful sunny weekend day is a perfect time for preparing this recipe.
Everything in this dish — from the grilled chicken to the spicy Spanish sausage, to the tender seafood to the flavorful rice it’s cooked in — is just delicious. When I say “Extreme Grilled Paella,” … on my, it refers to the copious amounts of seafood and meats in this dish. A seafood lover’s dream.
Before I share my fantastic recipe, there are a few things you should know. Warning! You will not want to stop eating.
Here’s how I make it.
Prepare your charcoal grill: Place a fair amount of charcoal in the center of the bottom of a large kettle grill, light the charcoal, and let it burn until it turns gray. Place the grate on and cover the grill. Let heat for at least 15-20 minutes before cooking.
Gather your ingredients. *Not shown in the photo, but listed in the recipe below is fresh littleneck clams and fresh mussels. See the recipe below for full list of ingredients.
First, rub the chicken thighs with a small amount of olive oil to coat, salt and pepper them, and place on grill skin side down. Cook until the skin is golden brown but meat is slightly rare.
Then heat a pot of water to boiling, and add salt, then blanche lobster tails for 1-2 minutes. Remove them from water setting them aside to cool, and them split each in half lengthwise.
Combine chicken stock, Old Bay seasoning, and saffron and place on stove to bring to boil. Add the clams, cover, and cook until the clams open. Remove the clams to a bowl. Add the mussels to the broth, cover, and cook until the mussels open. Transfer to a bowl. Add the crab to the broth, cook uncovered until shell is bright red. Transfer to a bowl. Do not overcook the seafood! Dispose of any shellfish that do not open.
Next, place the sausage on grill and cook for 2-3 minutes and grill marks appear.
Brush the shrimp, the cut sides of the lobsters with some of the oil and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning and pepper on all sides.
Lightly grill the shrimp and the lobster (cut side down). Place them on a sheet pan and set aside.
In a paella pan or large shallow pan, place directly on grill, and add 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add onions and cook until translucent. Next, add garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add the rice stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes.
Begin adding chicken stock 1 cup at a time, reserving 1/2 cup for later, and chopped tomatoes (1/2 cup) at a time. Allow the moisture to absorb some before adding more. Stir while adding, stir the rice occasionally. Cook the rice until al dente. Now add paprika, pepper sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Stir to mix. Then add sausage to the mixture. Stir for 1-2 more minutes.
Remove the sausage from pan and halve each one. Return the sausage halves to the pan, Halve the chicken thighs. Arrange the chicken, clams, mussels, shrimp, crab legs, and lobster into the rice. Pour on the reserved broth. Squeeze the juice from 2 of the lemon wedges over the top and nestle remaining into the rice.Sprinkle the parsley over the top.
OMG! Now, look at this! I mean… come on! What is not to love about my Extreme Grilled Paella?
According to The Paella Company “It’s a little confusing but ’paella’ or to be more exact ‘la paella’ is the name for cooking pan itself and not the dish. The word comes from old Valencian (in Valencia they have their own language somewhat similar to Catalan) and probably has its roots in the Latin ‘patella’ meaning pan.”
Extreme Grilled Paella
Equipment
- Paella Pan
- Large Kettle Grill
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken thighs skin on
- 5 links spicy sicilian sausage
- 1 pound shrimp medium size, tails on, peeled and deveined
- 2 clusters dungeness crab legs separated
- 2 medium lobsters par-cooked in salted boiling water, drained well and halved lengthwise
- 1 pound mussels de-bearded and scrubbed
- 1 pound littleneck clams scrubbed
- 2 cups bomba rice any short grain paella rice is acceptable
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cups chicken broth seafood or vegetable stock is acceptable
- 1 15 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 1 large pinch saffron threads
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
- 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
- 2 medium lemons wedged
- 1 large spanish onion chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup parsley roughly chopped
Instructions
- Put some charcoal in the center of the bottom of a large kettle grill. Light the charcoal, and place the grate on and cover the grill, let burn until the briquettes turn mostly gray.
- Place the sausage on grill and cover with lid. Grill for 3-4 minutes until grill marks appear. Remove to sheet pan.
- Brush the chicken with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the chicken skin-side down on outer edge of charcoal, and place the lid on. Cook the chicken until golden brown on both sides and leaving slightly rare. Remove and place on a sheet pan. Rest for 10 minutes and halve each thigh.
- Combine the chicken stock, Old Bay seasoning, and saffron in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the clams, cover and cook until the clams open. Remove the clams to a bowl. Add the mussels to the broth, cover and cook until the mussels open. Transfer to bowl Add the crab legs to the broth, cooked uncovered until the shell is bright red. Transfer to a bowl. Discard any shellfish that don't open.
- Brush the shrimp and the cut sides of the lobsters with some of the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper on all sides. Grill for 1-2 minutes. Remove the seafood and place on a sheet pan.
- Heat the remaining oil in a medium paella pan placed directly on the grate over the coals. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook a few more minutes.
- Add the rice and cook, stirring for a few minutes. Begin adding the stock 1 cup at a time (reserving 1/2 cup for later) and tomatoes 1/2 cup at a time and cook, stir occasionally, allowing some moisture to asorb before adding more. Add the paprika and hot pepper sauce. Stir to combine until the rice is al dente.
- Arrange the chicken, clams, mussels, shrimp, lobster and crab legs into the rice. Squeeze the juice from 2 of the lemon wedges over the top, and nestle the remaing wedges into the rice. Pour the reserved broth over the mixture, and sprinkle on the parsley.
