We’ve been without a functioning kitchen for the last nine weeks. It hasn’t been all bad, and if there is a season to abandon your oven and dine al fresco every evening, you can’t go wrong with summertime.  

Having a grill has undoubtedly come in handy over the course of the last nine weeks, and while I love having Joe cook dinner while I relax with the kids, I’ve been itching to try out a few recipes. The only problem: I don’t know how to grill nearly as well as I’d like. 

I’ve always been intimidated by the lack of control I have when grilling. There are too many variables for me when cooking on a grill—coal temperature, timing, and placement, to name a few. From afar, grilling has always seemed to require patience and a focus that I don’t have, nor one that I’ve been interested in acquiring. Besides, Joe likes grilling, and I enjoy taking a night off from cooking. Win-win. 

However, staring down an entire summer without a kitchen, I knew that it was high time I learned how to grill.

Traeger designed grills for people like me. I never thought grilling could be so easy and unintimidating. Traeger is a wood fire grill (which smells amazing, even before you add anything to it) but with the ease of gas. I was pleasantly surprised to learn the Traeger works almost like an oven; you set the temperature, and it heats up.

Another convenient feature of the Traeger is the internal temperature monitor, which alerts you when your food reaches your desired temperature—no more guessing when the coals are ready and no more guesswork over where to place your food so it doesn’t overcook. For example, I put a few chicken breasts on the grill over the weekend, set my temperature reading, and walked away to play with the kids and dog. When the chicken breasts were at temperature, I got an alert on my phone letting me know it was time to take them off the grill—no more hockey puck hamburgers for us.

What inspires me even more than the simplicity of the Traeger are the possibilities for all sorts of flavor combinations. My Traeger Ironwood 885 is a wood fire grill and a smoker. I can add different wood pellets to my Traeger, which add additional flavor notes to the food. I’ve used Signature wood pellets with veggies, and Signature with our burgers. It smells heavenly getting up to temperature, even before we add food.  

Our Traeger has opened up a whole new world of opportunity for cooking for me beyond meat. I’m currently exploring how to grill different fruits, veggies, and homemade pizzas on the grill. It’s empowering to have another culinary skill set up my sleeve. Here are a few items that I plan on cooking this summer on our Traeger:

• Grilled Pizzas Topped with Harissa and Herb Salad
• Sticky Chicken with Pineapple and Shallots
• Spicy Grilled Mexican Street Corn 
• Grilled Fish Tacos
• Grilled Radishes from our CSA

Editor’s Note: This post was sponsored by Traeger Grills. The compensation we receive in exchange for placement on Wit & Delight is used to purchase props, hire a photographer, write/edit the blog post, and support the larger team behind Wit & Delight.

While compensation was received in exchange for coverage, all thoughts and opinions are always my own. Sponsored posts like these allow us to continue to develop dynamic unsponsored content. Thank you for supporting our partners!

Kate Arends

Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. She is currently learning how to play tennis and is forever testing the boundaries of her creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.