Seafood paella

Ingredients

Stock

• 9 cups low-sodium chicken or seafood stock
• ½ tsp saffron threads

Meat

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1½-inch pieces
• 1 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; ½ tsp if Morton)
• 6 oz Spanish-style cured chorizo, sliced ¼ inch thick

Sofrito

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 ripe tomatoes, grated on a box grater, skins thrown out (or ¾ cup canned crushed tomatoes)
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf

Rice

• 3 cups Spanish short-grain rice (bomba or Calasparra)
• 2 tsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; 1¼ tsp if Morton), plus more to taste

Seafood

• 18 to 24 littleneck clams
• 1½ lb large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined
• 2 lb cooked Dungeness crab sections and claws (about 1 large crab, cleaned)
• 1 cup frozen peas

To serve

• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges

Steps

At home

1. The night before, bring the stock to a simmer, take it off the heat and crumble in the saffron. Steep it 15 minutes, then cool it and refrigerate it in jugs or jars.
2. Dice the onion and red pepper, mince the garlic and grate the tomatoes. Pack each in its own lidded container. Slice the chorizo. Measure the rice into a zip-top bag.
3. Toss the chicken with 1 tsp salt and seal it in a bag. Seal the peeled shrimp in a second bag. Crack the crab shells lightly with the back of a heavy knife so they're easy to open at the table, and bag them.
4. Scrub the clams under cold water. Throw out any with cracked shells, or any open one that doesn't close when you tap it. Keep them in their mesh bag or an open bowl; live clams shouldn't be sealed in plastic.
5. The chicken and shrimp ride double-bagged at the bottom of the cooler at 40°F or below. The clams ride in their bowl beside them, covered with a damp towel and kept out of meltwater. The crab, stock, peas, vegetables, lemons and parsley ride above.

At the lot

6. Set the burner on flat, level ground away from the tent and foot traffic, with a wind screen if it's breezy. Set the pan on it and heat the oil over medium-high. Brown the chicken 6 to 8 minutes, turning, then push it to the edge of the pan. Add the chorizo to the center and cook 2 minutes.
7. Add the onion and pepper to the center and cook 6 to 8 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomato and paprika, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until thick and darker. Stir everything together.
8. Pour in the stock, add the bay leaf and 2 tsp salt, and bring it to a boil over high heat, about 8 to 10 minutes from cold. Taste the broth. It should taste a little too salty; the rice takes it up.
9. Scatter the rice evenly across the pan, nudge it under the liquid with a spoon, and stop stirring for good. Boil it hard for 8 to 10 minutes, turning the pan a quarter turn every couple of minutes so it cooks evenly over the flame.
10. Turn the heat to medium-low. Scatter the peas. Push the clams into the rice hinge side down, tuck the shrimp in around them and lay the crab on top. Cover the pan loosely with foil and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed, the rice is tender, the clams have opened and the shrimp are opaque and read 145°F. Throw out any clams that stay shut. Check that the thickest piece of chicken reads 165°F and the crab meat reads 165°F.
11. Take off the foil. For the crisp bottom, turn the heat up to medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes, until you hear the rice crackle and it smells toasty, not burnt.
12. Take the pan off the heat, cover it with foil and rest it 5 minutes. Scatter the parsley, set the lemon wedges around the edge and serve it from the pan. Paella sits out no more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F.