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Interior and Designer: Karmen Lizzul
Art Producer: Sara Feinstein
Editor: Gurvinder Singh Gandu
Production Editor: Nora Milman
Production Manager: Martin Worthington
Photography 2021 Darren Muir. Food styling by Yolanda Muir. Illustration Paul Girard. courtesy of Samantha Noble.
Cover Recipe: .
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-63807-200-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-63807-971-2
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1:
Getting Started with Your Traeger Grill
F irst of all, congratulations on your brand new Traeger Grill! My name is Cheri and in addition to being a food blogger and recipe developer at CooksWellWithOthers.com, I am also a teacher. In this book I combine my experience teaching with my passion for food to show you everything you need to know with easy step-by-step directions.
Over the years, I have had several different Traeger models and have been impressed with each one. Im excited to show you what your new Traeger Grill is truly capable of! If youre new to grilling, it can feel overwhelming at first, but no worries. I will be with you every step of the way, and youll be a Traeger pro in no time.
I have owned just about every type of grill and smoker you can imagine. When my husband suggested getting a Traeger a few years ago I sort of rolled my eyes, like we really needed another outdoor cooking appliance. But let me tell youmy first Traeger changed my life. That may sound a bit overdramatic, but Traeger really is wood-fired cooking at its finest.
I used to save grills and smokers for special occasions because the previous ones I owned just werent very user-friendly. But the Traeger is so simple that, paired with the easy-to-follow instructions in this book, it can easily be used every day. Soon youll be on your way to making yummy tried-and-true recipes, most of which even can be cooked quickly on busy weeknights. Youll also find low-and-slow recipes for when you have more time on your hands. Sitting outside with friends and family when the smoke starts rolling is one of my familys favorite weekend activities.
Many of the recipes in this book are for large cuts of meat like pulled pork, rack of lamb, whole chicken, and ribs. But anything you can cook in the oven, you can grill on the Traeger. It adds more flavor and that amazing kiss of wood-fired smoke to all of your food. As youll see, many of these recipes are for meals that you might not think of when you think of smoked foodlasagna, calzones, and even soup! You can do it all thanks to the Traeger being so easy to set and regulate for perfect results every time, from quickly smoking a chicken to slow-roasting a brisket.
Traeger, the original wood-fired grill, has perfected the art of wood-fired cooking over the past 30 years. There is a reason they are the worlds number-one-selling wood-fired grill, and youre about to find out why. Lets get started!
In this chapter, we will cover the basics of getting your Traeger Grill up and running. Once you understand how your grill works and the basics of starting it up and shutting it down, youll be grilling stress-free in no time.
How Your Traeger Grill Works
A Traeger uses hardwood pellets that come in different flavors. To get started, youll fill the hopper with the pellet flavor of your choice. Once you turn the grill on using the controller, the pellets are moved from the hopper to the firepot by the rotation of an auger.
Once the pellets are ignited by the ignition rod in the firepot, the smoke starts rolling. The smoke created by the pellets is what gives your food that unique, incredible smoky flavor. The conduction fan circulates the smoke, distributing the heat evenly and cooking your food to perfection.
You might be asking yourself, Is my Traeger a grill or a smoker? Well, in my opinion, the answer is both. You have the ability to cook at a lower temperature or on a dedicated smoke setting that smokes your food low and slow. You also have the option to crank that heat up to 500F for more of a quick, grilled meal.