Chefs share tips for perfect paella at home
FORGET hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks and chops. If you want to treat your family and friends this summer, whip up a backyard paella.
What you put in it is important but don’t load it up, experts say. More ingredients don’t make a better paella, and besides, it’s not about that stuff.
“Paella’s all about the rice,” said Luis Montesinos, executive chef of Jaleo at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
“It’s the rice, the socarrat,” said Julian Serrano, a native of
Spain and executive chef of Picasso and Lago at Bellagio and Julian Serrano Tapas at Aria.
The socarrat is the crispy, golden layer of rice that forms in the bottom of a deftly prepared paella. Jose Andres, another native of Spain and the power behind Jaleo and China Poblano at the Cosmopolitan and Bazaar Meat at SLS Las Vegas, has been quoted as saying: “When a paella is done just right, you hear that crackling of the rice at the end. It’s because you are forming this tasty, caramelized, goldenbrown crust … everybody’s favorite part.”
“Caramelized” is a key word in the production of a good paella. It refers to the conversion of a food’s naturally occurring sugars through browning, a process that deepens flavor.
“Jose says the paella will talk to you,” Montesinos said of his mentor of 10 years. “Once it comes to a boil, we’ll leave that fire medium-high for about 15 minutes, and then I’ll just let the fire dwindle down. You start hearing that crispiness starting to form in the bottom of the pan.”
Montesinos compares it to the storied “snap, crackle and pop” of Rice Krispies.
To create the best paella, and the best socarrat, you’ll want to use a short-grained Spanish rice, such as bomba. But don’t neglect the other ingredients. Jose says the paella will talk to you. Once it comes to a boil, we’ll leave that fire medium-high for about 15 minutes, and then I’ll just let the fire dwindle down. You start hearing that crispiness starting to form in the bottom of the pan.