A popular and iconic dish of Spanish cuisine, paella comes in a multitude of recipes, shaped by tradition and personal or family customs. Whether it is prepared with crustaceans, meats, or vegetables, paella offers great freedom in the choice of ingredients. The choice of meats seems obvious, yet some are less common, while others divide cooks. Let’s see which meats pair harmoniously with paella and what other ingredients they go with!
Choosing Your Paella’s Flavors
Paella exists in different recipes, sometimes containing meat, seafood, vegetables, fish, or only one of these categories of food. In the UK, the most well-known recipe is the “Paella Royale.” It is a “surf and turf” dish containing both seafood and meat. The traditional paella recipe is Paella Valenciana. It comes from the Valencia region, a few hours south of Barcelona. This recipe does not use fish, only certain types of meat and vegetables. The type of meat to add to a paella depends on the recipe you want to make. Don’t forget to season each meat well!
Meats to Use with Paella
Chicken
Chicken is a commonly used meat in paella recipes. The wings, drumsticks, thighs, or even chicken feet are generally used. The skin is always kept on to be browned in the pan to take advantage of the juices it produces. Juices play an essential role in cooking by adding rich flavors and improving the texture of dishes. If it is well-browned, the skin also adds a bit of crunch. It is browned well when cooking the ingredients.
Pork
You can add pork to a paella. Generally, the fillet, chops, loin, neck, ribs, etc., are used. The chosen pieces are cut into small chunks. The bones and fat are kept if there are any. Pork is a meat rich in flavor. It brings a lot of taste to a paella. In Spain, some families do not hesitate to add butifarra. This is the Catalan fresh sausage made from minced pork seasoned with salt, pepper, and sometimes other spices.
Rabbit
In the traditional paella recipe, called Paella Valenciana, rabbit is added. This is often a whole rabbit cut into several pieces. Be careful of small bone fragments that can detach when cutting and cooking. They are always unpleasant when you are eating your dish.
Chorizo
Chorizo is a very widespread sausage in Spain. It is made of pork meat, sometimes pork and beef, seasoned with pimentón (paprika of varying strength). This spice is the source of its particular taste and reddish color.
Chorizo is well-known to the French in paella! However, no Spaniard puts chorizo in a paella. It never appears in traditional Spanish family recipes. If you discuss this with Spaniards, they will tell you that it’s a heresy to add chorizo to a paella! If you want to respect traditional Spanish paellas, you should not add it. The photo below is not a paella, but a rice dish with a chorizo base!
Other Meats
Generally, other meats are rarely used in paellas. However, a paella can be prepared as you see fit. There are indeed original recipes, but the origins of this typical Spanish dish show that it was made from the ingredients available on the day of preparation. Indeed, paella was prepared by peasants in the Valencia region. It was a popular dish to which seasonal ingredients were added.
Duck
Recipes using duck are sometimes found, but they are quite rare. Be careful with the amount of fat produced by duck meat. You must limit the amount of oil so as not to drown the rice in a broth that is too rich in saturated fat.
Beef
Although there are no real rules, beef is not recommended in a paella. It is not ideally suited for cooking in broth… It risks being overcooked. It is better to cook it separately and add it at the end of the rice cooking, to keep the meat medium-rare.
Mutton / Lamb
It is possible to use mutton or lamb meat. Be careful, like duck meat, it is quite fatty. You have to be careful about the amount of olive oil used. It is also a meat with a strong flavor that can overpower the other ingredients. So be careful not to add too much!
Snails
In the Valencian recipe, you find snails. The flesh of snails is not considered meat; however, we chose to mention these mollusks. Snails are part of the mollusk class and should therefore be on the page dedicated to seafood.
Everyone can create their ideal recipe, provided they are familiar with the specific characteristics of each ingredient. It is essential to consider each ingredient, its taste, its fat content, and its cooking time. Paella is a dish that gives cooks free rein to express themselves. Aside from the Paella Valenciana recipe, which has a DO (Designation of Origin), other recipes are not subject to rules. In the end, only the cook’s creativity counts!
