Paella with Snails and Pork on the BBQ

Paella originated in the fields and on the beaches of Spain: they cooked outside over open fires.  I  wanted to get away from the stovetop and oven-finishing of modern recipes and see if I could get a smoky flavor from cooking over wood on the barbecue.  I used some lump charcoal to start the fire, then fed it with wood and added dried stems of rosemary and other herbs from the garden.  It turned out rather well and it was fun to use the BBQ like as stovetop.

Dinner is served outside as night falls, with a Martín Códax Albariño wine.

Our paella pan is 9.5 inches in diameter at the bottom, 11.5 at the top. This recipe is scaled for that size -- you need plenty of surface area so the liquid evaporates.  It feeds two generously, or four at a push.  The pan is the traditional thin metal, not the bogus pricy ones you find at "gourmet" stores in the U.S.

This recipe succeeds also because of the restrained amount of "toppings". We use what we had on hand and in the garden, and like the snails; the pork we had wasn't very flavorful so we boosted it with the some porky fat (bacon fat works well).  You want to use as little fat as you can because you're trying to get a crunchy crust on the bottom.  If I were using squid, shrimp or other fish, I'd probably use a different fat and use fish stock.

It's critical to use the proper rice: Bomba. It absorbs the flavorful stock but unlike Risotto, doesn't turn creamy -- each grain should be separate. 

Bomba rice: note the short, round grain; spring onions from the garden.

Small heads of garlic from the garden.

Flat "roma" beans from the garden. "Dork" fat (duck and pork) we used to saute the pork.

Snails with proper breeding.

4 C Chicken Stock
1/2  Onion, chopped
1  Bay Leaf
1/4 tsp Thyme, fresh
1 sprig Parsley, fresh
3  Peppercorns

7 oz Canadian Bacon (Pork loin; could use chicken, rabbit, etc)
1 Tbs Bacon Fat (you could use olive oil)
1/4  Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1/4  Tomato, finely chopped
2 clove Garlic, minced
1 1/2 C Rice, short-grain like Arborio
1 tsp Smoked Paprika (pimenton)

1 pinch Saffron

1/4 Lb String Beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
24  Snails, from a can, drained and rinsed

6  Scallions, chopped, with some greens
1 stick Rosemary

On stovetop (I cheated here) bring Stock, Onion, Bay, Thyme, Parsley, Peppercorns to boil. Simmer 30 minutes, strain, reduce to 3 Cups; the ratio of liquid to rice is important.  Bring Enriched Stock to warm part of BBQ to keep hot.

Mise en place for ingredients by the BBQ.

On the BBQ, heat the paella pan over coals and wood; you'll be using this like a skillet on the stovetop.  Add the Fat and saute the Pork until it's cooked through and lightly browned. I closed the cover to keep in the smoke when possible. Remove and reserve the Meat.

Sauteing the pork in Dork Fat; the enhanced stock says warm by the fire

Add the Red Pepper and cook until softened. Add the Tomato and Garlic and cook to dry off most of the tomato's liquid. 

Stir in Rice and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes; sometimes I am able to get this translucency, other times not.

Cooking the rice a bit.

Add Paprika, Saffron, enriched Stock, Green Beans. This evening, I added the beans later, since they were so fresh, they didn't need so much time to cook. I also waited to strain the enriched stock until adding it to the rice mixture -- once less thing to clean, and a bit longer for flavors to develop.

You can strain the stock right into the cooking rice.

Bring to boil, season with Salt and Pepper, stir to evenly distribute everything.  

Simmer 7-10 minutes, until no longer soupy but some liquid remains; do not stir so you don't disturb the formation of a crust.

The liquid is starting to be absorbed.

Adding the fresh roma beans late, it all depends on how much time they need to cook.

Bury the Snails and add the Meat.  If you were doing (say) rabbit and squid, or sausage and mussels, you'd do that now too. Pre-cook meats but add things that don't need much cooking right at the end.

Snails and cooked pork added to the pan.

Continue cooking until liquid absorbed/evaporated but rice not quite done (al dente).  Remove to a warm location, garnish with Scallions and Rosemary sprig,  cover with foil, and let stand 10 minutes to finish the rice.  

We've lost our light, but the rosemary kicks off a great fragrance.

Serve.