Chicken and Sausage Paella
★ Issue CMSC·22–014 · Published 03 Apr 2022
Cattle-DrivechickenMediterranean

Chicken and Sausage Paella.

Sear chicken and chorizo until golden, then let the oven crust the saffron rice with peppers and tomatoes

PREP 15 min
COOK 35 min
TOTAL 50m min
SERVES 4-6 people
HEAT medium
BLEND RATING 4.9 140 reviews · Chain Reaction®
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You'll need
14-inch paella panLarge oven-safe skilletWooden spoon

Sear chicken and chorizo until golden, then let the oven crust the saffron rice with peppers and tomatoes

Ingredients

For the Paella:

  • 2 large chicken breasts, chopped into 1 in by 1-inch pieces
  • 1 teaspoon Casa M Spice Co® Chain Reaction®
  • 1 teaspoon Casa M Spice Co® Cattle Drive®
  • 1 large dry sausage link or Spanish chorizo
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped or sliced
  • 1 Tablespoon Casa M Spice Co® Pecking Order®
  • 2 cups short grain rice, Valencia or bomba preferred, but Arborio is easier to find
  • 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • lemon sliced for garnish
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Method

  1. 01

    Preheat oven

    10 min

    Get your oven to 450°F so it's ready when you need it. This high heat finishes the rice with a nice crust and ensures everything cooks through evenly.

  2. 02

    Sear the chicken

    5 min

    Medium-high heat, 2 tablespoons olive oil, then in goes your 1-inch chicken pieces seasoned with Chain Reaction® and Cattle Drive®. Cook until the chicken's white all the way through, then pull it out and set it aside.

  3. 03

    Sear the sausage and build flavor

    4 min

    Slice that chorizo and let it hit the pan for a minute to render its oils. Add minced garlic for 1 minute, then onion and peppers for another minute or two — you're layering flavors, not making mush.

  4. 04

    Toast the spice

    2 min

    Stir in Pecking Order® and cook it 2 minutes to wake up all those spices and deepen the flavor before the rice goes in.

  5. 05

    Toast rice and build broth

    2 min

    Add your rice and stir it well to coat every grain with the oil and aromatics already in the pan. Pour in the saffron and broth together, stir it all up, and bring it to a boil.

  6. 06

    Simmer rice on stovetop

    15 min

    Lower the heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom. The rice is absorbing liquid and flavor as it cooks.

  7. 07

    Combine and move to oven

    1 min

    Fold the reserved chicken back in, then add your tomatoes and peas. Mix everything together, then transfer the whole pan to the oven uncovered.

  8. 08

    Finish in the oven

    15 min

    Cover and let it ride 15 minutes until the rice has soaked up all the liquid and is tender. You're looking for that golden, slightly crispy bottom layer — that's paella gold.

  9. 09

    Serve

    Bring it straight to the table with lemon wedges on the side. A squeeze of fresh lemon cuts through the richness and brightens every bite.

From Mike's Notebook

01

Don't stir the rice once it hits the oven—that socarrat crust on the bottom is what you're after.

02

Slice the chorizo thin so it renders fat into the rice instead of staying chewy.

03

Let the seared meat rest on a plate before adding rice; cold meat cools your pan down.

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