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Costco Traeger Drip Tray
Traeger grills have a drip pan or grease plate in the bottom of the primary cooking chamber to help protect the firepot and other sensitive components.
It helps trap grease, rendered fat, and other drippings that might escape the grease management system.
A lot of people use drip pan liners to make cleanup easier and reduce the risk of corrosion issues on their Traeger’s drip pan.
Costco sells drip pan liners for around $12 to $15, but you can just as easily improvise the same thing with some heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Cleaning your Traeger’s drip pan starts with carefully removing the grates while avoiding any contact with the temperature probe.
Then pull out the drip pan and discard the liner or replace the aluminum foil.
If you need to clean stuck-on debris off the drip pan or grease plate you can use Traeger All-Natural Cleaner, or a mixture of diluted dish soap, water, and vinegar.
You should never use a chemical cleaner or degreaser to clean the interior of a Traeger wood pellet grill.
Can You Put a Drip Pan in a Traeger?
Traeger sells drip pan liners for most of their wood pellet grills on their website, as well as through affiliated retailers like Costco.
They add an extra layer of protection to reduce the risk of errant drippings causing corrosion issues in the bottom of the Traeger’s primary cooking chamber.
What Are Drip Pans Used for in Traegers?
The drip pan in a Traeger is designed to catch rendered fat, grease, excess marinade, and other drippings that are released from meat when it is smoked.
If you have a bad habit of not deep cleaning your Traeger, all this liquid material can cause corrosion issues or even a dangerous grease fire.
One way to minimize the cleanup of a Traeger drip pan is to put down a pan liner.
Traeger sells liners that match most of their models, though you could easily improvise one with some heavy-duty aluminum foil.
How Do I Clean My Traeger Drip Tray?
Cleaning your Traeger’s drip tray or grease plate starts with first cleaning and removing the grill grates, to release any grill debris for the tray to capture.
You can then clean the drip pan with Traeger All-Natural Cleaner, or some other type of non-chemical cleaner such as a mixture of diluted dish soap, water, and vinegar.
You can then install a Traeger drip pan liner, or cover the drip pan or grease plate with heavy-duty aluminum foil to protect it in the future.
When you need to deep clean your Traeger the next time, all you have to do is throw away the pan liner or foil.
Should You Buy a Drip Pan from Costco?
The Traeger drip pans sold at Costco are made from thicker material than simple heavy-duty aluminum foil and can be reused up to five times.
They have tabs that help hold them in place better than foil, but they can cost up to $15, compared to around $1 for aluminum foil.
Final Thoughts
Traeger wood pellet grills typically have a greased plate or a drip pan at the bottom of the primary cooking chamber to keep grease and other drippings from fouling the firepot.
Installing a simple drip pan liner, like the ones sold at Costco can make cleanup easier, while also reducing the risk of corrosion problems.
The drip pan liners sold at Costco vary in price from $12 to $15.
However, you can just as easily improvise your own drip pan liner with a folded sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, which costs less than a dollar.
Traeger recommends cleaning your drip pan after at least five cooks, or anytime you deep clean your wood pellet grill.
This calls for removing the grates and pulling out the drip pan to be cleaned by Traeger’s All-Natural Cleaner, or a mixture of diluted dish soap, water, and vinegar.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.