Paella on the New to Me Weber 22" (PrOn)

So I have been using a cheaper 22" Kettle since Christmas, as I was just getting in to real BBQ, and I finally found a used 22" Weber in good conditon on Kijiji (similar to craigslist) listed at $40 and picked it up for $30.

I gave it a pretty good scrub and clean early in the week and did an inagural cook and season last Thursday with some pork chops (sorry no pron).

I have made Paella a few times before, always over an open fire with a 24" paella pan and last time I did it I was able to serve roughly 20 people, which was pretty cool.

I was in cookware store last week and they had smaller paella pans on sale that would work great on the weber I had just bought, and the plan was hatched for last night's dinner.

I loaded the Weber up with Kamado Lump and Apple and Cherry chunks to add some extra smoke.


While the lump and wood was settleing in I gpt most of the ingredients layed out ready to go.

I fireroasted some red peppers and roma tomates to add back later.

Then I added the paella pan and browned the Chicken, and once browned I removed and put it in the oven to finish cooking thru

Then I Fried up the Chorizo to release the oils and get it all crispy, and removed from pan.

Next I added the Onions and Garlic to get happy in the pan.

and after an minute or som added the rice, wine and saffron infused chicken stock.


Then I put the lid on and let the rice do it's thing for about 15-20mins, in the meantime I opened up a batch of Marubozo Pickles I made Friday Night and cracked open my 2nd beer, and watched my best buddy fish his 3yr old kid out of my pond(sorry no pic), good thing his mom packed an extra set of clothes.

At just before Al Dente, I added the chorizo back to the pan and go the prawns, mussels and clams arranged, and then put the lid back on for another 5-10 mins until all the mussels and clams opened up.

After about 5-10 mins with the lid back on and all the shellfished opened I added back the chicken peppers and tomatoes, and then added peas and parsley and dinner was ready.


And a close up:

Sorry, don't know why some of the pics didn't load, here is the photobucket album http://s1036.photobucket.com/user/jamie_ker1/library/Paella?sort=3&page=1

Thanks everyone for the kind words, thanks for looking.

J-Rod said:

That looks and sounds wonderful! I've never had paella, but would love to try making that dish!

Click to expand...

My favorite thing about making Paella, is being able to cook it outside and the that all the different colors produce a vibrant looking meal, and it tastes pretty damn good too. Rice was cooked perfect this time around, with the base just starting to go crispy and the the top still very moist.