Paella on the XL Egg

[R2Egg2Q]

That looks amazing What is soccarat

This is from the Naked Whiz's paella page:

"Soccarat is the caramelized crust of rice that will form between the rice and the pan. Every recipe or instructional piece on paella will talk about the soccarat, but we think it should be added as the sixth pillar of making paella. It has been called the "prize in a well-made paella." The flavor of the rice will change and improve dramatically once the soccarat has formed, so it is well worth the effort to see that your paella forms one. "

 

[big brother smoke]

Farking jaw dropping!

 

[deguerre]

That looks absolutely beautiful. Thanks for a wonderful post. That has been on my To-Do list for over a year. You didn't mention the saffron.

Spanish saffron I hope.


Beautiful presentation John. Paella is one of those dishes I'll probably never make due to the complexity and my sheer laziness. Too bad though.:becky:

 

[Bill-Chicago]

Do you scrub the pan after it was done, or are you working on a more "seasoned" finish?

.

 

[R2Egg2Q]

Spanish saffron I hope.

Yes it was and at about $15/gram, I think I could buy some illegal drugs at a lower cost/gram! I realize it is because picking this stuff is so labor intensive and not for fat-finger folk like me.

Do you scrub the pan after it was done, or are you working on a more "seasoned" finish?

.

We were seduced by the shiny side and bought the stainless pan. After scrubbing the heck out of the pan to restore the shine, I wish I had bought the more traditional carbon steel pan so I could just let it build up the seasoned finish.

 

[landarc]

John :tsk: you must know, once you go black you never...wait a minute...

Sooo, even though I have never made paella in a paella pan, I am very familiar with soccorat from my attempts making various dishes in various pans or cooking vessels. Indeed that looks very fine for soccorat, the key is caramelizing the sugars in the rice, which gives you a crunchy sweet crust, which infuses into the rest of the paella once you lift and mix it. This is just like cooking rice in a clay pot (a la Vietnam), rice in a stone pot (a la Korea) or rice in a wok (a la China) as well as the various versions of deep fried arancini in Italy. It can be done in varuious devices, but, carbon steel works the best. I do like clay pot cooking for this as well, but, the pots break. Stainless steel is not as good for making paella in large part due to wanting the surface well seasoned for getting a nice soccorat color. Carbon steel is also a little denser and more evenly colors the rice layer. Much the same reason a cast iron skillet is better for steak than a stainless steel pan.

 

[fnnm358]

That is just Pharkin AWESOME
I would love to try and make this dish but the price and time is what is holding me back

Keeep it going you are well on your way to becoming a master at it

 

[R2Egg2Q]

Thanks everyone for the compliments!

John :tsk: you must know, once you go black you never...wait a minute...

Sooo, even though I have never made paella in a paella pan, I am very familiar with soccorat from my attempts making various dishes in various pans or cooking vessels. Indeed that looks very fine for soccorat, the key is caramelizing the sugars in the rice, which gives you a crunchy sweet crust, which infuses into the rest of the paella once you lift and mix it. This is just like cooking rice in a clay pot (a la Vietnam), rice in a stone pot (a la Korea) or rice in a wok (a la China) as well as the various versions of deep fried arancini in Italy. It can be done in varuious devices, but, carbon steel works the best. I do like clay pot cooking for this as well, but, the pots break. Stainless steel is not as good for making paella in large part due to wanting the surface well seasoned for getting a nice soccorat color. Carbon steel is also a little denser and more evenly colors the rice layer. Much the same reason a cast iron skillet is better for steak than a stainless steel pan.

Thanks for the info Bob. Looks like I should have asked you which version I should get!

 

[martyleach]

So how did I miss this post?? Geez John that looks simply awesome and I can see that you did indeed do some serious homework.

I am still kicking myself for turning down you offer for a taste!

 

[Will work for bbq]

Fark........ that looks amazing for me I think yours looks better than the one pictured on the naked whiz.

What did you think about the linguica in the dish? You can also get Portuguese Chourico. Goularts and Fernandez are two good local brands, not sure who carries it in Livermore though.

 

[R2Egg2Q]

Fark........ that looks amazing for me I think yours looks better than the one pictured on the naked whiz.

What did you think about the linguica in the dish? You can also get Portuguese Chourico. Goularts and Fernandez are two good local brands, not sure who carries it in Livermore though.

Thanks Paul!

I liked the linguica! It wasn't exactly planned but it tasted good. I'll need to keep an eye out for those brands.

 

[deguerre]

Yes it was and at about $15/gram, I think I could buy some illegal drugs at a lower cost/gram! I realize it is because picking this stuff is so labor intensive and not for fat-finger folk like me.

This is probably why my saffron rice is usually more expensive than the entree it's served with. :roll:



Gotta have the Spanish though. No comparison.

 

[JMSetzler]

My mouth is watering after looking at those photos...

<= adds paella pan to wish list...

 

[NS Mike D]

Glad I read this thread, I've been doing my paellas started the stove and moved into the oven for years on two different paella pans, one is a small, caphalon with lid, the other was a goft from a friend during her visit to spain.

I can't wait to to make this on the WSM.

 

[Frankbbq]

Great looking! That is a lot of work. Someone mentioned Gerard. Attached is a picture of his set up.

 

[R2Egg2Q]

Great looking! That is a lot of work. Someone mentioned Gerard. Attached is a picture of his set up.

Thanks for the pic. If you look up Gerard's Paella on facebook and look at his photos you'll find the REALLY BIG pan he has. My guess is it is at least 8 feet in diameter!