How To Clean A Traeger Grill- QUick and Easy!
Traeger Grills are these amazing cooking machines equipped with technological advancements and while they do great, owning one also means you should know how to clean a Traeger Grill.
These grills are usually a lifetime investment, so buying them means that you will be grilling with ease for the rest of your time.
They are great because the grills are durable, and so you can cook almost anything in them without having to worry about too many expenses in the future.
The problem with grilling is that you often leave grease or unnecessary residuals from the fuel you are using.
Especially with the Traeger Grills since they use wood pellets for cooking.
Burnt food and grease create a lot of smoke that combines with your food and create that nasty flavor that we would not want with our steaks or barbecues, even.
That is why you also need to clean and maintain the Traeger Grills to make the most of it.
They perform well when they are at their best, and they certainly lighten up the job.
They have WiFi features that are harder to fix, but we will be talking about cleaning the physical part of the grill so you can maintain it for as long as possible.
Here, we will take some guides and tips on cleaning your Traeger Grill and ways for properly storing this fantastic grill.
Invest in the right Accessories
Sure, Traeger sells many cooking accessories, and you should also invest in them because although the grill is easy to use, you can never go wrong with some help from the accessories.
Aside from that, you will need to invest in grill covers.
Traeger also sells covers that fit each model in its grill series.
The Traeger Grills are made with high-grade stainless steel to protect them from the sun and the rain, but the covers keep them dry.
You will also need covers since the grills are set outside the house.
The Traeger Grills also have wirings for the WiFi feature, so you will need to prevent those from getting wet.
To not waste wood pellets, you will also need to cover the grill to keep the extra pellets left in the grill reusable for the next grilling session.
But if you do not want to invest in any additional accessories, you can just make sure to cover the pellet hopper so the wood pellets would not expand and clog the auger mechanism.
How do you clean a Traeger grease trap?
There is so much confusion on how do you clean a Traeger grease trap and I think this should help.
You need to scrap the grease off from the inside and use a wooden spatula.
It helps if the grill is a little hot since the grease comes off easily then.
Speaking of accessories, you have to keep an eye on and clean the Traeger grease trap on time.
How do you clean Traeger Grease Drip Pan?
Cleaning the grease drip pan means changing the aluminum foil that catches most of the grease and cleaning underneath it as well.
Scrap off the grease using a wooden bristle brush and that should help in removing the grease.
How do you clean Traeger Grease Drip Bucket?
The Grease Drip bucket is a small bucket on the grill’s side that catches all the grease from the food.
Using the Grease Drip Pan, you can spray some vegetable oil in it so the grease will slide more easily when cleaning it.
If not, you can use a conical foil and place it inside the bucket to catch the dripping grease. When you want to clean it, you can just remove and replace the foil.
You can then dap up the remaining oil or food from the bucket and throw away the foil with grease. Replace the foil with a new one, and you are good to go.
How to clean the Exterior of Traeger grill
The exterior of most Traeger Grills has smooth stainless steel in them, so you can use a damp cloth to wipe it down and clean it easily.
For the powder-coated finishes, you can use a clean cloth, wet it with warm water, and then carefully scrub off stubborn bits as well as the oil off the shell.
Remember not to use harsh or rough cleaning materials such as steel wool and sponge to maintain the grill’s beauty.
Always use a Traeger grill cover, as that would save you a lot of time from cleaning the exterior by protecting it from dust and rain.
How to Clean the interior of a Traeger Grill
First, you will need to brush off all the food residuals from the grill grates.
You can use a stiff-bristled brush to get rid of the stubborn dirt and then remove the grates.
With the same cleaning procedure, clean the heat shield and remove it from the grill.
Ensure that the drip trough is also clean from any dirt by brushing the dirt into the grease bucket.
You can also remove all the loads from the pellet hopper to ensure no pellets are stuck in the auger mechanism.
Vacuum out all the dust from the pellet hopper as well as the insides of the grill.
Ensure that the entire interior of the grill is clean, especially the corners and ledges inside it.
This is one of the easiest ways to clean the interior on the Traeger clean.
But the next step takes you to how to deep clean the Traeger grill using the pyrolyzing technique.
Pyrolyzing
Once done with cleaning the grill’s interior, assemble all the parts back together inside the grill and then load it up with a few pellets – just enough for the grill to heat up in an hour.
Fire up the grill and let it preheat for a few minutes. Once it reaches the maximum temperature, let it stay on that heat for at least an hour.
This process will burn all the food residuals left on any surface inside the grill. Make sure to keep the grill closed while doing this.
Open the grill once done and let it cool down. Check for some stubborn dirt, and then secure all bolts and screws around the grill.
Traeger All-Natural grill Cleaner Alternatives
A grill clean alternative that I think helps remove all the grease and grime is white vinegar mixed with water.
This mixture is best to clean the grill grates on the Traeger grill.
The Traeger all-natural grill cleaner is to be used ONLY on the outsides of the grill but if you can clean your grill with vinegar and water mixture.
Don’t spray this mixture directly on the grill, spray it on a cloth, and then work with the cloth on the BBQ grill.
How to clean grill grates on a traeger grill
If you want to clean the grill grates on a Traeger grill then use this wooden brush to easily remove all the grease and gunk stuck on it while the grill is still warm.
Even then, if you are not happy with the grates, you can spray some vinegar and water solution on a cloth, and wipe them down.
Make sure that the grill grates have cooled down completely before wiping them with a cloth.
This will make your grill grates clean and once done with this, you can start cooking on the grill grates.
Since you used white vinegar and water mixture, there is nothing toxic and hence you do not need to worry about toxins in your food.
Also, make sure to wipe down your grill grates with oil, this way, the food won’t stick to your grill grates.
Do this after every wash down that you give your grill grates.
How often to clean your traeger grill?
I usually clean my Traeger grill after every cooking session.
It may not always be a deep clean, but I wipe down the grill grates and the drip pan to keep everything clean.
Maybe Pyrolysing might not be something I do after every cooking session and I might do that once in two weeks.
Pyrolysing depends on how often I use the Traeger grill to cook meat and other greasy foods.
SEASONING THE TRAEGER GRILL
It is important to season a Traeger grill after you have cleaned it so that the food does not stick to the grill grates.
You can take some cooking. oil, olive oil, or any oil of your choice and brush it on the grill grates and that is how you season the grill grates on a Traeger grill.
If you want some seasoning oil recommendations then check out the best oils to season a griddle post where I talk about this in detail.
I season the grill grates after every wipe down just to make sure that the grill grates still have a coating of oil that makes them non-stick.
Final Steps
After putting all the parts back into the grill and the screws are secured, plug the grill back and turn it on to check if it is functioning properly.
Once you have confirmed that it is working properly, turn it back off. Refill the pellet hoppers and then make sure they are covered so they do not get wet.
Use the Traeger Grill cleaner and spray it around the grill. Let the solution soak for at least 2 minutes, and then wipe off the grill with a clean, dry cloth.
Tips on cleaning a grill
If you bought the model where the grates have porcelain-coated grills, you could clean them more thoroughly and efficiently using aluminum foil.
Get an aluminum foil and then rub it around the grids. This method is most effective when the grids are still warm so that the dirt on the grates will be softer.
Just make sure to use protective gloves so you won’t burn yourself.
You can also use a yard debris sack to clean the grates. Put them in the bag and add a half cup of ammonia and seal the bag close.
Lay them down on a flat surface and leave them in the solution overnight. Get the grates out of the bag the next day, and then rinse them with warm water.
Conclusion
Traeger Grills are a very simple grill in a way, and you can easily clean them. They are complicated in terms of having a WIFi feature.
I recommend calling a professional when the WiFi features and other electronics are damaged to prevent further destruction.
Just keep in mind to always wear protective gloves and other measures so you would not burn or hurt yourself in any way when cleaning the grills.
Since the Traeger Grills are all stainless steel, you can use soap and other solutions on the external of the grill and the removable grill grates.
Just make sure to rinse the solution off thoroughly to mix with the delicious flavor of your food.
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