Top Blog Recipes

2 Apr 2024

PAELLA VALENCIANA CRISPY CRACKLING CHICKEN AND PRAWN

Big Green Egg Cooking


Indirect cooking 200 C - 220 C.


Equipment: 

Paella pan for two or shallow casserole dish, lid or foil.


10 minutes preparation / 20 minutes cooking



Ingredients 

(serves 2)


100ml olive oil

1 knob of butter for the prawns

1 tsp sea salt

10 grinds pepper mill fresh black pepper

6 cloves garlic sliced (reserve one for the prawns

1 Spanish onion finely diced

3 chicken thighs skin on, boneless

3 large fresh prawns head and shell on

1 cooking chorizo diced

250g Spanish Calasparra rice

1.3 litres chicken stock

1 good pinch saffron (Spanish La Mancha)

1 tsp smoked paprika 

2 sprigs thyme leaves chopped

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley



Place your paella pan or a shallow casserole dish on the Big Green Egg, add the olive oil, season the chicken thighs skin side only with the salt, place the chicken thighs skin side down in the pan, Do Not Turn for 8 minutes, this will ensure you create crispy chicken crackling skin, turn over and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, remove from the pan, keeping all the chicken fat in the pan and reserve to one side, uncovered.


 To the pan add the onions, garlic and chorizo to the pan, soften for 10 minutes.


Add the saffron, smoked paprika, thyme and black pepper, stir once to combine.


Add the rice, stir once to combine.


Add the chicken stock and again stir only once to combine, this is so you do not release the starch and end up making the paella stodgy and more like a risotto.


Cook for 12 minutes until almost all the chicken stock has been absorbed, this will result in (socarrat) a crispy caught bottom of the paella, the best bit ! 


Place the prawns in a pan with a glug of olive oil, a knob of butter and sliced garlic, cook for 1.5 minutes each side, then nestle in the paella and push into the rice, take the paella off the heat and leave to rest for five minutes with a lid on or a foil tent.


Remove the lid, add the reserved chicken thighs and nestle into the paella, rest for a further 2 minutes then serve immediately.


Enjoy with family, warm fresh sour dough bread and a beautiful bottle of red wine. 


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