Chicken, Ham, and Sausage Paella

Not a traditional paella, but nonetheless tasty.

For a more traditional paella recipe see our Seafood Paella.

Print Recipe

Chicken, Ham, and Sausage Paella

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Spanish

Keyword: Chicken, ham, Paella, Sausage

Equipment

• Paella Pan

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 pinch saffron – pulverized with a mortar
• 3/4 pound chicken – boneless, skinless thighs
• 1/2 pound ham
• 1/2 pound smoked sausage
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic -minced
• 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15-oz can artichoke hearts
• 1 15-oz can peas
• 2 cups rice – short to medium grain

Instructions

• Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces,  dice the ham into 1/2 inch pieces.
• Put the chicken and ham into a bowl and rub with the paprika.
• Slice the sausage into quarter-inch circles and set aside.
• Put the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Add the saffron and keep the broth at a simmer.
  
• Using a 13 to 15 inch paella pan, put 4 tablespoons of olive into the pan and heat it over medium heat.  
• Once the oil begins to smoke, add the chicken.  Cook for about 2 minutes.
• Add the ham and sausage and cook until the meat is browned.  About another 5 or 6 minutes.  Stir several times so the beat is browned evenly.
  
• Stir in the peas and artichoke hearts and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.  Then push everything to the sides of the pan.
• Add one tablespoon of oil to the center of the paella pan, then add the garlic and cook for about a minute.
• Add the tomatoes to the center of the pan and cook for 5 minutes.  Stir the tomatoes into the garlic as you cook (keeping the meat and vegetables on the sides).
• Add the rice to the paella pan and stir everything together until the mixture is uniform and the rice is distributed evenly.
• Pour 4 cups of the chicken broth into the paella.  Shake the pan to level the rice.  Do not stir again for the rest of the cooking.
• Cook over medium heat.  Rotate the pan to cook things evenly.  As the liquid cooks down to the level of the rice, add simmering chicken broth.  As the liquid gets absorbed, add broth, but don’t drown the rice in broth.
• Continue cooking until the rice is tender, but still a bit ‘al dente’.  About 20 minutes.
• I turn up the heat for a couple of minutes so I can get a nice toasty bottom or soccarat.   Do not burn it!  The goal is to get a nice crunchy layer of caramelized rice. 
• Turn the heat down, and try a taste. add a bit more broth if the rice seems too al dente.
• Take the pan off of the heat and cover it with foil for 10 minutes.  Then uncover and let it stand for another 10 minutes.  This is ‘resting’ the paella and lets the rice soak in more of the liquid and flavor.
• Serve with wine and a green salad.

Notes

Not a traditional paella, but nonetheless tasty.

A paella pan is not an absolute necessity, but it it is one of the things that makes a paella a paella. It adds to the presentation and the flat, shallow bottom ensures that it cooks properly.