A halfway between science and art, Getting the socarrat (that toasted part, not burned) at the bottom of the paella for which we Spaniards stick —and which foreigners hate— is not always easy.
Make it uniform and all the grains of rice are at their point It is a complicated task, which is why it is very common for the grains that are on the edge of the paella to end up less ‘brown’ than those in the center.
Basically it is a question of exposure to the heat source, since it is more pronounced in the heart of the paella, while the peripheral grains always end up somewhat less golden than usual.
In addition, the trick of the socarrat is to know perfectly measure the amounts of broth, rice and time so that, once the broth has evaporated, our rice begins to brown and in a matter of a minute and a half it is more than ready.
Scorched does not mean burned
Although the word socarrat literally means ‘scorched’ in Valencian, it does not mean that a socarrat should be burnt rice. what it is a socarrat is a caramelized rice, where the key is to get the rice to undergo a Maillard reaction that allows it to reach that slightly sweet point during the toasting of its ingredients.
It is immediately noticeable at the smell —because the difference between burnt and toasted is noticeable— and we will also notice it on the palate, since one smell tends to be bitter and aggressive and another leaves a sweet aftertaste, which is the key in this reaction that puts fats and carbohydrates in a dance.
The trick of the Michelin star Quique Dacosta for the perfect socarrat
Although Extremaduran by birth, Quique Dacosta has become the great icon of Valencian cuisine, so much so that his Levantine journey translates into no less than five Michelin stars (three in the Quique Dacosta restaurant and another couple of them in El Poblet), in addition to later expanding his brand to London with Arròs QD or to Madrid, within the hotel Mandarin Oriental Ritz.
Dacosta, an innovator in rice dishes, has in turn managed to create a long imitated dish: socarrat rice. Beyond eating with a fork or spoon, the chef has achieved a rice that is rolled up and eaten with the hands, completely golden on its external face.
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Dacosta’s trick is in the ingredients and in an exquisite measure of time. In the case of the former, use a bomba-type rice, which will retain and expel more of the excess broth during that crucial process of socarrat.
The other is that the paella broth have a large amount of collagen, which will be what facilitates the union of the grains, making an amalgam so that later the socarrat is perfect. That is why the recommendation is that it has an abundant use of rock fish or whitebait.
However, in order to homogenize the socarrat, what the chef born in Jarandilla de la Vera does is add a trickle of raw olive oil over the entire surface of the paella, which allows the Maillard reaction to speed up by uniting fat with the carbohydrates in the rice grains.
This allows the crackling and sizzling of the rice to find its way into the oil. the surface you need to avoid burning, just a minute and a half of medium heat —never live fire in this final phase— to then be able to take off the entire socarrat.
At home we don’t want you to emulate this recipe perfectly, because you have to have a knack that we don’t always have, but it is a way of ensure a greater amount of char at the bottom of our rice dishes and that we don’t have to stick to the heart of the paella.
Pictures | QD
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