A paella recipe for 100 people including chicken, pork and
seafood. It is made in a 115cm pan which is actually large enough to feed 120. I've also included quantities for 75 or 60 at the end. The method is the same.
This is a performance dish, and people want to stand
around to watch and talk. This increases the level of difficulty but it’s important
to provide a welcoming presence. That is what it’s all about, after all.
You could provide extra implements for people to get
involved in stirring the pan.
As soon as you complete one step, prepare to do the next.
It takes around 2 hours from the time you light the flame
till you are serving the paella.
Note that when serving you mentally divide pan into eights with each eighth feeding 12.
At the bottom of this page is a table showing pan and serving sizes.
Note that when serving you mentally divide pan into eights with each eighth feeding 12.
At the bottom of this page is a table showing pan and serving sizes.
Ingredients
10kg chicken thighs, diced. Have a chicken shop dice
them for you.
5kg chorizo, cut into ½ cm slices
5kg medium green prawns – some in rice, others on
top for decoration
3kg mussels in the shell
2kg calamari, cleaned and sliced (I use frozen)
3 heads garlic, chopped
10 tbs chopped parsley
2.5kg red peppers from a jar.
2kg frozen green peas
12 lemons, each cut into 8 pieces
8kg of paella rice either bomba or calasperra rice
100g smoked paprika
Saffron, as much as
you can afford. Puree in a spice grinder with sugar, pour over a little
boiling water and allow to stand at least 30 minutes.
400g tomato paste
1-2 cups brown sugar
1.5 litres olive oil
24 litres chicken/seafood broth
Salt to taste
To do before
Chop garlic finely
Dice chorizo
De beard mussels
Puree some red peppers, slice the remainder for decoration
Chop parsley
Make up saffron mixture
Equipment
Paella pan at 115cm in diameter, usually available for hire
Gas ring to heat the pan, available when you hire the pan
Wind shield for the burner
2 tables - one for the paella and another for ingredients etc
Spirit level to check the level of the table
Wedges of newspaper to balance the paella table
Alfoil to cover the pan. About 7 metres
Gas ring to heat the pan, available when you hire the pan
Wind shield for the burner
2 tables - one for the paella and another for ingredients etc
Spirit level to check the level of the table
Wedges of newspaper to balance the paella table
Alfoil to cover the pan. About 7 metres
Strong implements for stirring
Separate bowls for each ingredient
2 strong metal serving spoons
4 oven mitts to hold the pan to shake it
Scales to measure smoked paprika
Camera
Recipe printed out
Pen
Scissors for opening packets
Light for the table
Garbage bin
Apron
Method
Be prepared for people to watch you!
Make sure pan is level
Make sure pan is level
Heat pan with the flame as high as it can go
Add chorizo, fry and remove
Heat some oil
Add prawns, fry briefly and remove
Heat some oil
Add prawns, fry briefly and remove
Heat some more oil
Add chicken and fry for about 10 mins or until
cooked. Remove from pan.
Add more oil and then garlic, pureed paprika, sugar and
tomato paste.
Reduce this (it's called the sofrito) until thick and dark. Don’t skip
this step. It affects the flavour.
Pour in broth and saffron liquid. Add salt to taste. (With large quantities of paella you add the liquid before rice)
Bring to boil, leaving the flame high.
Add half the parsley.
Add rice and stir to combine.
Reheat. Stir rice. (Many recipes will tell you not to
stir the rice. I think this is risky with this quantity. The rice sinks to the
bottom of the pan and you could end up with undercooked rice on the bottom, and gluggy rice on the top. I stir. And I get a crispy crust and cooked rice.)
Return chicken, chorizo and most of the peas to pan.
Reheat and again stir rice up from the bottom of the
pan.
Smooth out by shaking the pan. You may need 2 people for
this trick!
Continue to cook until rice appears at the top of
the liquid and it no longer has a layer of water covering it.
Decorate with calamari, prawns, mussels and reserved red pepper in a
decorative pattern.
Reduce temperature to low heat and cover with alfoil.
Cook 10 minutes.
When rice is aldente (it is mostly cooked, but has a little bit of bite in the centre), turn off flame and let it rest
for 10 mins.
Test a few grains to ensure it’s properly cooked, then uncover. (If
it’s not properly cooked either leave longer, relight flame, or the worst, add
extra water to the top.)
Decorate with lemon quarters.
Sprinkle with extra parsley.
When serving, mentally divide pan into eights, and
each eighth feeds 12. Leave 4 serves in the pan if you need to make it exactly 100.
A note on scaling recipes
- Allow 75g-100g (1/3 to 1/2 cup) uncooked bomba rice per person.
- For every 200g of bomba rice, (1 cup) use 3 cups broth. I have tried this with water and was disappointed in the results - it tasted thin and flavourless.
- I allow 100g to 200g (3.5-7 oz) of protein per person. However since the pan gets wider without getting much deeper, you'll end up suffocating the rice if you try to scale them up together. So consider removing some of the chicken and serving it on a separate platter.
- A pinch of saffron threads efficiently infuses a hot liquid, even in large amounts. So you don't need to scale up this ingredient as much as you might think. Use less rather than more, at least until you taste the broth.
Quantities for 75
Ingredients
7.5kg chicken thighs, diced. Have a chicken shop dice them for you.
3.75kg chorizo, cut into ½ cm slices
3.75kg medium green prawns – some in rice, others on
top for decoration
2kg mussels in the shell
1.5kg calamari
2 heads garlic, chopped
8 tbs chopped parsley
1.8kg pureed red peppers from a jar.
1.5kg frozen green peas
8 lemons, each cut into 8 pieces
6kg of paella rice either bomba or calasperra rice
375g smoked paprika
Saffron, as much as
you can afford. Puree in a spice grinder with sugar, pour over a little
boiling water and allow to stand at least 30 minutes.
300g tomato paste
1cups brown sugar
1 litre olive oil
18 litres chicken/prawn broth
Salt to taste
Quantities for 60
6kg chicken
thighs, diced. Have a chicken shop dice them for you.
3kg chorizo, cut into ½ cm slices
3kg medium
green prawns – some in rice, others on top for decoration
1.5kg
mussels in the shell
1.5kg
calamari
2 heads
garlic, chopped
6 tbs
chopped parsley
1.5kg
pureed red peppers from a jar.
1kg frozen
green peas
8 lemons,
each cut into 8 pieces
4.8kg of paella rice
either bomba or calasperra rice
300g smoked
paprika
Saffron, as much
as you can afford. Puree in a spice grinder with sugar, pour over a
little boiling water and allow to stand at least 30 minutes.
240g tomato
paste
1 cups
brown sugar
1 litres
olive oil
14.5 litres
chicken/prawn broth
Salt to taste
Pan and serving sizes
Pan Size
Servings
24cm
1
26cm
1-2
28cm
2
30cm
3
32cm
3-4
34cm
4
36cm
4-5
38cm
6
42cm
7
46cm
8
50cm
9-10
55cm
11-12
60cm
15-16
65cm
17-19
70cm
18-21
80cm
30-35
90cm
40-45
100cm
70-75
115cm
100-110
130cm
170-180
Pan and serving sizes
|
Pan Size
|
|
Servings
|
|
24cm
|
|
1
|
|
26cm
|
|
1-2
|
|
28cm
|
|
2
|
|
30cm
|
|
3
|
|
32cm
|
|
3-4
|
|
34cm
|
|
4
|
|
36cm
|
|
4-5
|
|
38cm
|
|
6
|
|
42cm
|
|
7
|
|
46cm
|
|
8
|
|
50cm
|
|
9-10
|
|
55cm
|
|
11-12
|
|
60cm
|
|
15-16
|
|
65cm
|
|
17-19
|
|
70cm
|
|
18-21
|
|
80cm
|
|
30-35
|
|
90cm
|
|
40-45
|
|
100cm
|
|
70-75
|
|
115cm
|
|
100-110
|
|
130cm
|
|
170-180
|
