Best 3 Lobster Paella Recipes

SAFFRON-SCENTED LOBSTER PAELLA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a very large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat. Add the head-on shrimp and sear on each side until they turn orange and have lightly browned (they should still be raw on the inside). Remove the shrimp and set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and stir in red onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the onion has softened and turned translucent. Stir in Arborio rice until coated with oil. Pour in the fish stock and season with saffron, paprika, lemon zest, and oregano. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat then stir in sea salt to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Decoratively nestle the mussels and head-on shrimp into the rice, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Next, push the red snapper and deveined shrimp into the rice, recover and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Finally, add lobster and sprinkle with diced tomatoes. Cover and simmer until the mussels have opened, the rice is tender, and the lobster is hot; about 5 minutes more.
• Serve in the paella pan garnished with lemon wedges.

GRILLED LOBSTER PAELLA

Steps:

• Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill. Let burn down to red-hot coals; rake to edge of grill. (For backup, start a second round of coals in a charcoal chimney on pavement nearby.) Put a 16"-18" paella pan on grill grate; heat 1/2 cup olive oil. Add 3/4 lb. Spanish chorizo, sliced into 1/2"-thick rounds, and 6 stalks green garlic, thinly sliced, or 2 finely chopped leeks, white and light-green parts only; cook until golden, 3-4 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 2 1/2 cups short-grain rice (such as bomba, Valencia, or calasparra); cook, stirring often, until rice is coated, 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads to 7 cups hot seafood or chicken stock. Add stock to pan and season to taste with kosher salt; stir to distribute ingredients. Let cook, undisturbed, until stock simmers and rice begins to absorb liquid, about 10 minutes. Rotate pan every 2-3 minutes to cook evenly.
• Arrange 3 1-1 1/4-pound lobsters, halved lengthwise, claws cracked, over the rice. Continue cooking, rotating the pan often, as the rice swells and absorbs the stock. Add more coals from charcoal chimney to maintain even heat under the pan. Cook until the rice is almost tender and the lobster is cooked through, about 10 more minutes.
• Scatter 2 cups shelled peas or frozen peas, thawed, on top. (If the liquid evaporates before the rice is tender, add more hot stock.) Cook without stirring, allowing rice to absorb all of the liquid, so that a crust (the socarrat) develops on the bottom and the edges begin to dry out and get crusty, 5-10 minutes, for a total cooking time of about 40 minutes.
• Remove pan from grill. Cover with large clean kitchen towels and let rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and serve with 3 halved lemons, making sure to scrape some of the socarrat from the bottom of the pan onto each plate.

LOBSTER PAELLA

Steps:

• Bring 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a large stockpot. Add lobsters, cover, and cook 13 minutes. Remove lobsters and cool just enough to handle. Crack shells and remove meat. Keep claws whole and chop remainder of meat into large pieces; reserve.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a 12-inch ovenproof skillet or paella pan over medium-high. Add oil and saute onion and bell pepper until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add linguica and cook 3 minutes. Gently stir in rice and cook a few minutes to lightly toast.
• Add broth, saffron, and salt; bring to boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover with a lid or sheet of foil, and place paella in oven for 10 minutes. Uncover; scatter clams on top of rice. Cover; cook until clams are open and liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes more, adding codfish and lobster in the last 3 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open. Garnish with parsley; serve.