Spanish Paella & Outdoor Spanish Cooking

Why Orce Serrano Hams is going rustic and taking inside, outside... Spain has over 300 days of sunshine annualy and good weather is the cooks best friend when cooking outdoors whether it be the traditional barbeque, the paella or a simply a table spread of tasty Spanish tapas.

Now we understand that our customers in the UK don't get as much sunshine as Spain, however when the sun does decide to get his hat on and the Spanish food enthusiasts among you decide to cook outdoors then thats when some rustic cooking comes in... The good old paella was traditionaly cooked over an open fire and still can be, forget that bag of charcoal from the supermarket, DIY store or local garage and go find yourself a few kindling sticks...

Cooking over a naked flame is how its done in rural Andalucia, the smoke adds a real rustic "campo" flavour as well as a fire being a focal point for outdoor eating. Gas burners are good, metal tripods do the job but the problem is its all a bit too modern. For a real paella it needs to be cooked over a fire. We are not talking about November the 5th here either, that tin barbeque sitting in the back of the garage or at the end of the garden will do quite nicely, a metal tripod that sits over the flame actually "in" the fire will support your paella pan leaving you to simply add a few kindling sticks to generate some heat when required.

There is no need for a layer of hot coals, using kindling sticks is actually a very good way of regulating the heat, add more or take them away, what the paella needs is flame under the pan, hot coals are simply too hot. Other dishes that can be cooked in the same way are Spanish "migas" and also anything that can be cooked in a terracotta cazuela - the versitile clay dish that is perfectly at home over a fire (gambas al pil pil is delicious over flame)

Our aim here is to get back to good old fashioned rustic Spanish cooking and as such we have created a very different paella and bbq page on the online deli. Catering for the adventurous cook you can now discover a range of outdoor cooking utensils including paella pans, tripods, terracotta cookware, migas pans and few other, typically Spanish table top accessories designed to complete your outdoor summer dining experience in real Spanish style. Designed for paella lovers and barbeque enthusiasts everywhere we hope that the new and ever growing "rustic range" may tempt the authentic Spanish cook among you. Afterall, when its outdoor eating weather why not do it the Andalucian way?

Visit the new page

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