Seafood Paella With Chorizo On The BBQ

This seafood paella recipe with chorizo is a fantastic balance of sweet shrimps, squids, and mussels with spicy sausage. The rice is flavored with a sofrito of onion, peas, peppers, and artichokes and cooked on an open fire in a chicken stock flavored with saffron. This Spanish paella is the perfect dish to make at a garden party, either on a barbecue or on a gas grill. The cooking process is much simpler than the classic barbecue as it doesn't require any stirring. It presents well and feeds a crowd.

Jump to:

• Why this paella recipe is easy
• Ingredients for paella
• Grill vs open fire
• Making Paella Step by Step
• Substitution
• What to serve with it
• 📋Seafood Paella With Chorizo

Paella is a rice dish originating from Valencia, it is cooked on an open fire, seasoned with saffron, and can have various types of meats, seafood, or vegetables.

Let's be clear from the start, my paella pan is from Valencia, but this is not the authentic Spanish Paella recipe.

I am sure the purists will have some comments to make, but this is a tested and proven delicious recipe we have made plenty of times and all our guests have enjoyed and loved.

Why this paella recipe is easy

If you have guests, this seafood paella is a better alternative to seafood risotto.

My husband's favorite dish was seafood risotto, but risotto is not a convenient dish to make when you are entertaining as it requires stirring for at least 20 minutes.

The Paella instead does not require any stirring. Once the ingredients are ready, the process of cooking the paella on an open fire is relatively easy.

Actually, I found paella is even easier than the classic barbecue.

For a classic barbecue, you need to continuously monitor all the meats and vegetables while they roast on the charcoal.

In the paella instead, most of the ingredients are cooked at once for 20 minutes and any stirring is strictly forbidden.

I practiced this dish so many times, I can assure you this is the best paella you will ever have.

For more seafood rice recipes you can also check:

• Scallops And Risotto With Peas And Bacon
• Lemon Shrimp Risotto
• The Perfect Carnaroli Risotto Recipe

Ingredients for paella

There are a few important factors that make this paella superb, one of them is the outstanding ingredients, the base for any successful dish.

For quantity check the recipe card.

How to choose and cook seafood in a paella

When it comes to seafood I am very picky. I grew up by the sea and I am used to eating fresh seafood that tastes like the sea. I carefully choose where to buy my fish and even if frozen I always look for quality.

The seafood I use in this paella is:

• Squid/calamari rings and legs: I buy my calamari already cleaned. I only need to rinse them, remove the beaks, and cut the tubes into rings. You can also use only the calamari rings without the legs. To find out more about Calamari you can read my article: What Are Calamari Squid Cuttlefish and Octopus
• Shrimps, prawns, or langoustines: Either one is fine. The shrimps are smaller, the prawns slightly larger and the langoustines (also known as Dublin Bay Prawns) are like small lobsters with long claws. Whole langoustines are usually laid as sun rays over the paella to give it a festive look.
• Mussels or other shellfish: I prefer to cook shellfish separately as they can be full of sand and some may not open. If a shellfish doesn't open when cooked it means it is dead and can be poisoning. I discharge all the unopened ones and filter the water released from any sand residual. I then add the water to the chicken stock to give flavor to the paella.

You can use all the seafood above, only some of them or other types of seafood you like. However, whatever seafood you decide to use in a paella these are the important points to consider:

• Generally, seafood only needs to cook for about 10 minutes. If cooked longer it becomes tough and flavorless. It should be added toward the end.
• The best way to cook seafood in paella is to pre-cook it in the paella pan with olive oil so the oil absorbs its flavors. Once the seafood is slightly cooked it should be removed and the rest of the paella cooked in the oil flavored by the seafood. Once the paella is cooked, the seafood is added on top.
• Shrimps, prawns, or langoustines should not be peeled. Do not remove the heads as they release a sweet juice flavoring the oil. Keep them in their shells and pre-cook them in the oil to bring out their sweetness. Their shells will protect their meat from overcooking too fast.

The rice

The quality of the rice is also essential, do not buy any rice. The rice for the paella should have around grains that absorb liquids and do not overcook.

• Spanish rice Bomba, (Calasparra or Delta del'Erbo)
• Spanish rice Calasparra Balilla x Sollana
• Spanish Bahia rice
• Italian rice for risotto like Carnaroli, Aborio or Vialone Nano
• DO NOT USE SUSHI RICE: sushi rice will not hold firm, it will quickly overcook resulting in a mushy and sticky paella.

I always use Carnaroli Rice from Riso Gallo (this is not an affiliate link and the post is not sponsored) one of the oldest Italian rice growers. I know I can always rely on its quality.

The Vegetables

The vegetables I use are onions, peas, red peppers, and artichoke hearts. I found this combination of vegetables to go very well with the rest of the ingredients. You can choose any other vegetables you like, just make sure they cook around the same time as the rice.

The Chorizo: a controversial Ingredients

I don't claim to be an expert on Spanish cuisine and some might find the Chorizo and the saffron stock not original to the paella recipe, but they work for us and they do add flavor to the dish.

Here in France, I use merguez, a spicy sausage made of lamb. It is a good substitute for the Chorizo and it complements well with the sweetness of the seafood.

In Italy, I use 'Nduja, a spicy creamy sausage made with fatty cuts of the pig: lard, bacon, and guanciale (jowls bacon) originally from Calabria.

If you cannot find the Spanish Chorizo, you can use your local spicy sausages.

You can also add chicken thighs on the bone. They are much better than chicken breasts as the breast tends to get tough while the thigh remains juicy.

The stock and the seasoning

Another important point for a successful paella is the homemade chicken stock and the seasonings.

• Homemade chicken stock is full of gelatin from the chicken bones which adds creaminess to the rice.  Do not use cube stock, it does not have the same creaminess. I make my chicken stock in my pressure cooker and it only takes me 30 minutes. If you are buying it, make sure it is a natural chicken stock
• Seasoning: I adjust the stock for salt and add 2 packages of saffron. Saffron gives the paella its distinctive yellow color and adds to the flavor.
• Additional seafood flavor: to my chicken stock I also add the water released by the mussels and some fish stock if I have it in my freezer.
• Parsley and lemon wedges: once the paella is done, I add some fresh parsley and lemon wedges to add color and flavor. Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds depth and contrast to the sweetness of the seafood and the spicy Chorizo.

Grill vs open fire

While many cook the paella on a gas grill, the Paella is traditionally cooked on an open fire.

We have both a grill and a barbecue, so we tried both options. I must say that the Paella cooked on a barbecue is way superior.

The intense heat cooks the rice to perfection creating that crunchy crust around the edge which is typical of traditional paella.

If you don't have a charcoal barbecue, a gas grill will be fine anyway.

Making Paella Step by Step

Preparing the ingredients

1. Before you get started, prepare all the ingredients, the shrimps, the squid rings, and cut the Chorizo into bite sizes.
2. Stir fry the mussels separately with some garlic and filter the water as there is always some residual sand.
3. Add the water from the mussels to the chicken stock as well as the saffron. Keep warm. Dice the peppers and the onions

Flavor the rice

1. Set up the fire, either on the barbecue or gas fire
2. Pour some olive oil into the pan and start by cooking the shrimp. Once they are cooked remove them from the pan.
3. Stir fry the squids and remove them once they are cooked.
4. Stir fry the Chorizo until they are brown
5. Add the rice and mix so that it absorbs all the juices left from the previous ingredients
6. Add the peas, the onion, and the pepper and pour in the saffron stock

Cooking

1. Settled the rice but do not stir and cook for 15 minutes. Add more stock if needed
2. After 15 minutes add the squids and stir
3. After a few minutes add the shrimp
4. and the mussels
5. Remove from the fire and cover with aluminum foil until serving
6. Decorate with parsley and arrange the lemon quarters all around the pan

Substitution

Feel free to substitute any ingredients you might like, as long as you follow my 3 rules for making the best paella and I am sure you will be pleased:

• buy the best ingredients
• cook it on an open fire and
• use homemade chicken stock

Prepare all the ingredients, set the fire, serve a glass of wine with some appetizers and enjoy preparing the Paella outdoor with your friends.

I am sure they will be delighted to learn about your paella secrets.

What to serve with it

Paella is a complete meal so you don't really need t serve anything else with it.

If you have guests over you can prepare some appetizers that you can eat while the paella is cooking. I like to have finger food like Deep-fried eggplant balls, Sicilian caponata on bruschetta, or fried zucchini flowers.

For dessert a fruity tart like Peach Tarte Tatin or a Lime sorbet with vodka. To close a lavish meal always serve a homemade liquor Limoncello, Nocino or Curacao.

If you are making this Seafood Paella With Chorizo, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.