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How to Clean Grease Trap on Traeger Timberline
The Traeger Timberline and the Ironwood have an upgraded grease trap system that keeps all the drippings, rendered fat, and grease conveniently stored away in a lower compartment.
This is a much cleaner and easier alternative system compared to the exterior collection cups on older Traeger wood pellet grills.
The grease trap system on a Traeger Timberline has several components, including an angled grease plate, the tubes of the grease collection system, and the collection cup itself.
All of them need a modest amount of cleaning after every grilling session, and the grease collection cup needs to be poured out and thoroughly washed.
Traeger also recommends that you give your Timberline a thorough deep cleaning after every 20 hours of use.
This might be every two to three cooks if you are primarily using your Traeger Timberline as a smoker.
A thorough deep cleaning should also be scheduled as part of your seasonal grill maintenance.
A deep cleaning calls for cleaning out the chimney, as well as disassembling some of the internal components out of the primary cooking chamber to give them a good cleaning.
Some parts, like the porcelain-coated grill grates, the drip cup, and the lid of the chimney can be washed in warm soapy water to release any grease or stuck-on food debris.
Just make sure to dry them thoroughly before reinstalling them.
Time to Clean Grease Trap Traeger
Ideally, you should clean and empty the grease trap on your Traeger Timberline or Traeger Ironwood after every cook.
This calls for scraping down the grill grates and wiping down the lower grease plate while the grill is still warm enough for rendered fat to be liquid.
Yet not so hot that it could burn you in the process.
Then wait a few minutes to let any liquid debris settle into the grease trap.
At that point, you can remove the grease trap collection bin, pour it out, and hand-wash it with warm, soapy water before reinstalling it.
How To Deep Clean a Traeger Timberline
Traeger also recommends giving our grill a good deep cleaning after every 20 hours of use or 2 to 3 cooks.
This is a multi-phase process that will take around 15 to 20 minutes, but it is well worth your time for optimizing the grill’s performance as well as maximizing its lifespan.
This starts with turning the grill off, unplugging it, and letting it cool down to the point you normally would before performing a standard cleaning.
You can then use the following steps to deep clean your Traeger Timberline or Traeger Ironwood.
Step One: Carefully unscrews the chimney cap.
Then use a piece of wood like a disposable shim to gently scrape any soot or buildup from the interior vertical rise of the chimney.
If it is exceptionally dirty, you can wrap the piece of wood in a clean cloth rag to give it a once-over.
Step Two: You can clean the underside of the chimney cap with a little biodegradable degreaser or gently handwash in some warm soapy water.
Let it thoroughly dry before reattaching.
Step Three: Use a stiff-bristled nylon grill brush to clean the grill grates.
If the porcelain coated grill grates are overly messy with stuck-on food bits or caramelized marinade, you can gently wash them in warm soapy water and thoroughly dry them.
Step Four: You can use the same sort of disposable shim, wrapped in another clean rag to gently wipe off the lower grease plate.
Give it 5 to 10 minutes for everything to settle into the lower grease trap.
Step Five: Remove the drip plate and any heat baffles.
Then vacuum out any ash from the firepot with a shop vac.
Just make sure that all embers are thoroughly extinguished first.
Step Six: Wipe down the lower interior surfaces of the grease management system. Then thoroughly hand wash the grease trap’s drip cup in warm soapy water.
Step Seven: Allow all components to thoroughly dry before reassembling the rest of your Traeger grill in reverse order.
What Is the Grease Trap on the Traeger Grill?
The grease trap on a Traeger Timberline or Ironwood is an updated grease management system from the older Traeger models that had an often-messy grease collection cup on the outside of the grill.
The internal grease trap is less likely to spill or overflow and is very easy to pour out and wash after every use.
How Often Should I Clean My Traeger?
You should give your Traeger grill a basic cleaning after every use and give it a thorough deep cleaning after every 20 hours of use or 2 to 3 cooks.
Basic cleaning only takes 5 minutes or so and calls for scraping down the grates and emptying the grease trap.
If the previous cook was a long session, you might need to vacuum the ash out of the firepot.
Deep cleaning can take 15 to 20 minutes or more and calls for more vigorous disassembly of the internal components. Deep cleaning should also be performed as part of your seasonal maintenance process.
Final Thoughts
New Traeger wood pellet grills like the Timberline and the Ironwood have an updated grease trap system that keeps all the rendered fat, grease and other drippings, nearly contained in a convenient lower compartment.
This grease trap system has several components, including an angled grease plate, the grease collection system, and the drip cup.
Each of which needs a modest amount of cleaning after every cook.
The grease traps drip cup also needs to be poured out and thoroughly washed.
Traeger recommends that you give your Timberline a thorough deep cleaning after every 2 to 3 cooks or 20 hours of use.
You should also plan a thorough deep cleaning as part of your seasonal grill maintenance in the spring and fall.
Deep cleaning a Traeger Timberline or Ironwood takes around 15 to 20 minutes.
It starts with removing the chimney cap and cleaning soot out of out the chimney.
You also need to remove some of the internal components from the primary cooking chamber to give them a good cleaning.
You can hand-wash some components like the porcelain-coated grill grates, the drip cup, and the lid of the chimney in warm soapy water if you need to release any grease or stuck-on food debris.
Then thoroughly dry them before reinstalling.
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.