I don’t know if I really have a good solution. . . . it is tricky because those paella pans are very thin, so I’m sure it burned over the flame and not around the edge where there is less heat (or even over the burner if you have an electric stove). “Traditionally” i’m sure you know paella is cooked over a fire (though I rarely have seen this done even in Spain - full disclosure, not a Spain expert by any means but have been a few times). The goal would be to try and maintain as even a heat as possible across the bottom of the pan . . . . You could try one of those metal flame tamers and see if that spreads your heat out better (they are most typically used to reduce heat, but they work in high heat as well).
You could try moving the paella pan around over the flame every 5 minutes or so too . . that could help a lot too.
When I make paella inside now I have given up on the socarrat really - I save that for when I’m cooking outside and have “wider” heat.
Good luck! I love paella and it is a great dish for a crowd (I cook it in the oven when I do that). If you have more success that I typically do please let me know!
