By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Aug 08, 2023 at 12:00 PM

Female grillers are some of the most passionate and talented when it comes to weilding a tongs over an open flame.

OnMilwaukee and On The Rocks ready-to-pour cocktails teamed up and  tracked down a half dozen of local gal grillmasters. Grab your own OTR from a local store and get grilling! 

According to popular market research company NPD Group, only 19 percent of American women in heterosexual relationships assume grilling duties during a barbeque. These statistics have remained the same for at least 30 years.

Dubbed "the one and only male-dominated appliance in America," the grill is seen by many cisgender men as a socially-acceptable place to wear an apron. 

But despite the uneven ratio, female grillers are some of the most passionate and talented when it comes to wielding tongs over an open flame.

OnMilwaukee and On The Rocks ready-to-pour cocktails teamed up and tracked down a half dozen of local gal grillmasters. Each participating woman picked what they wanted to grill, where they wanted to buy their grillables, how they wanted to grill and the perfect OTR cocktail to accompany the process.

This is the third episode of this series, and Town of Lake's Jenn Turner – with some help from her son, Soren – show us how it's done. And scroll to the end of this article for the chimchurri recipe.

girls who grillX
girls who grillX

Number of years grilling: 15-16 years
Gas or charcoal: Charcoal
Chimney or lighter fluid: Chimney
Grocery store of choice: Outpost Natural Foods – Bay View
What you grilled for this series: Chimichurri chicken with veggies 
One grilling tip: It doesn’t matter what kind of grill you own, be a pit in the ground, a lil' Smokey, a big fancy gas grill – cooking meat over a fire is an ancient craft. If a caveman can do it, so can you! Just get out there and slap some food on the grate. You’ll never be sorry.
OTR cocktail paired with meal: Jalapeño Pineapple Margarita

girls who grill OTR
girls who grillX

Chimichurrri sauce

"Chimichurri is a piquant sauce of fresh herbs, vinegar, and olive oil from Argentina. Parsley makes up the bulk of the herbs, with some recipes excluding cilantro, basil, or mint in favor of just parsley. The herbs, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, and often aromatics like garlic and onion are worked with a mortar and pestle to make a thick, silky paste."

Ingredients:

  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 medium shallot, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Marinate the garlic and shallot. Combine the garlic, shallot, vinegar and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Process with the herbs. Transfer the garlic mixture (including liquid) to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment or blender. Add the parsley, basil and cilantro and pulse to finely chop.

3. Add the oil. With the motor running, drizzle in the oil in a thin stream. This should take about one minute.

4. Season. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Add the coriander, cumin and salt. Pulse once or twice to combine.

5. Use or serve. Use the sauce as a marinade, or serve over grilled or roasted meat.

girls who grill


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.