Drip tray/foil Question

I do not foil and never have, don't see the need, it is a smoker it is supposed to get dirty. When the build-up gets bad take it out and scrape it off with a paint scraper. It's very easy to do.
 
I am on the fence on the foil not to foil debate... I started with no foil and was convinced it was actually better. But i did end up with some real messes I didn't like to even scrape when grease mixed with ash and then burnt. So, i decided to go back to foil but not kill myself to make sure the tray was spotless each application.

With foil i used the wide rolls. They were perfect. Crimp a tad and they didn't block air. They did their job but i did hate to wrestle with it... ripples... cut too long or too short... Then i found (from a post here) the traegar liners.

If you hate wrestling with the foil these liners are GREAT. Perfect fit and they take honestly 2 seconds to apply. Lay them on the pan and bend a tab to hold them in place. Perfect and easy to use.

On Amazon - Traegar -

Traeger BAC410 Pellet Grills Pro 34 Tray Liner-Quantity 5, Brown/A

https://www.amazon.com/Traeger-BAC4...ds=BAC410&qid=1615354025&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-1


They are a little pricey at about $17 per 5 but i use them for 3-4 and even five cooks so whats a dollar or less per cook for this?

With each full clean i pull the pan... scrape any thing that got under the Traegar liner... Wipe it down with paper towel (ash on the back). And they throw the new liner on. Done! Takes 2 mins for this part. And i only change the liner when it needs it. I might vac the ash out a couple of times before i change liners. Just depends on what i cooked. Very quick and easy!
 
I am on the fence on the foil not to foil debate... I started with no foil and was convinced it was actually better. But i did end up with some real messes I didn't like to even scrape when grease mixed with ash and then burnt. So, i decided to go back to foil but not kill myself to make sure the tray was spotless each application.

With foil i used the wide rolls. They were perfect. Crimp a tad and they didn't block air. They did their job but i did hate to wrestle with it... ripples... cut too long or too short... Then i found (from a post here) the traegar liners.

If you hate wrestling with the foil these liners are GREAT. Perfect fit and they take honestly 2 seconds to apply. Lay them on the pan and bend a tab to hold them in place. Perfect and easy to use.

On Amazon - Traegar -

Traeger BAC410 Pellet Grills Pro 34 Tray Liner-Quantity 5, Brown/A

https://www.amazon.com/Traeger-BAC4...ds=BAC410&qid=1615354025&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-1


They are a little pricey at about $17 per 5 but i use them for 3-4 and even five cooks so whats a dollar or less per cook for this?

With each full clean i pull the pan... scrape any thing that got under the Traegar liner... Wipe it down with paper towel (ash on the back). And they throw the new liner on. Done! Takes 2 mins for this part. And i only change the liner when it needs it. I might vac the ash out a couple of times before i change liners. Just depends on what i cooked. Very quick and easy!
I just placed my order, thanks (y)
 
I went in a different direction for the drip pan. I bought a silicon oven liner on Amazon, cut to fit with scissor, just wipe off or throw in dishwasher. After 20 plus cooks as good as new. No foil or scrapping.
 
I use the Trager pans and love them. Only change when there is heavy build up on the pans. The other benefit is it reduces the build up in the bottom of the cooker.........and no this build up does not add flavor....that's the smokes job.
 
I have tried the foil method which works ok but I have switched to Traeger pan liners (which are a little more stout than foil) with a disposable cookie sheet directly below whatever I am cooking. Both make cleanup very easy
 

Attachments

  • RecTec w-drip tray.jpg
    RecTec w-drip tray.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 165
When I had my old T I Foiled the drip tray religiously. I found it a very tedious process so I did it as infrequently as possible.
Also. I found foil trapped moisture and condensation so it accelerated the deterioration of the internal parts of my grill. Now RT grills are made of Stainless... but I can't help but wonder if there aren't still parts that could deteriorate with moisture (otherwise why even bother to make covers for them?)
When I got my RT 590 I read a lot about the Great Debate regard #Foil #NoFoil.
With my experiences... I decided to try No Foil... its so much easier. Seriously ... every other cook I hit it with my scraper from the old BBQ brush... it literally takes a minute and then I just scoop up the bits of scrapings and toss into the trash.
Is my drip pan shiny like new? No... but why would I need a shiny drip pan? I need a functional drip pan. A drip pan that is clogged up with junk because I don't want to fuss with cleaning/wrapping is not functional. If you don't get your foil down properly, BBQ goo is going to pool and get underneath anyway... causing a potential fire hazard.
Meh.... you do you... but as for me, I'm a proud member of team #NoFoil
 
I use a wide restaurant grade foil from Costco on my RT-700. It’s a little wider than the drip tray but not too much. I can easily crimp the edges so as to not block air flow. Works great.
What Frosty said. And about every third cook I will take it off and put on fresh and of course clean the fire pit at the same time. I think it's important to keep up with the cleaning. Once you get behind it's very difficult to catch up.
 
I still foil my drip pan. The heavy-duty foil in the grocery store is wide enough to cover the pan. I apply the tin foil when the pan is in the grill. This way the wind does not affect installing the tin foil. I think it makes clean up easier
 
Proud member of team #NoFoil. After the grill cools I just hit it with a hard plastic paint scraper. I don’t even take out the grates, just put one on top of the other. hit that side, slide them over, get the other side done. Done ☑️
 
I am at a loss concerning use of foil to cover the drip tray and reduce the drip tray cleaning required.

Normal width foil does not cover the tray surface with just one piece, two overlapping pieces are required. Invariably drippings run under the overlapped foil creating a tray cleanup problem.

The wider foil rolls are difficult for me to get placed properly without overhanging the edges and potentially restricting air flow.

Wondering what others do - regular width foil, wide foil, no foil, something else?

Suggestions greatly appreciated.
Costco sells a long and wide roll that easily covers the tray.
 
I use a wide restaurant grade foil from Costco on my RT-700. It’s a little wider than the drip tray but not too much. I can easily crimp the edges so as to not block air flow. Works great.
I also use the wider foil from Costco and do the same thing with the crimping of the edges and I have never had a problem.
 
I am at a loss concerning use of foil to cover the drip tray and reduce the drip tray cleaning required.

Normal width foil does not cover the tray surface with just one piece, two overlapping pieces are required. Invariably drippings run under the overlapped foil creating a tray cleanup problem.

The wider foil rolls are difficult for me to get placed properly without overhanging the edges and potentially restricting air flow.

Wondering what others do - regular width foil, wide foil, no foil, something else?

Suggestions greatly appreciated.
i use wide foil heavy duty sams / restaurant depot pull it long then set on drip pan and find the edge and fold over i never have trouble Mike
 
I have been foiling for a bit now, but I'm still a novice RT user. I have debated about seeing what would happen if I cleaned the hell out of my drip pan and laid down a light spray coating of food grade silicone (CRC makes one) that would not off-gas, smoke, etc. and may possibly make clean up super easy. The foil approach isn't bad, so I'm not super motivated.

Reynolds makes wide heavy duty foil which fits my drip pan perfectly. It's just a matter of smoothing out any big wrinkles that collect drippings.
 
I actually have a system to foil, and I violate everything RT says about it. I fold the edges over, etc. No problem with airflow.
 
I am at a loss concerning use of foil to cover the drip tray and reduce the drip tray cleaning required.

Normal width foil does not cover the tray surface with just one piece, two overlapping pieces are required. Invariably drippings run under the overlapped foil creating a tray cleanup problem.

The wider foil rolls are difficult for me to get placed properly without overhanging the edges and potentially restricting air flow.

Wondering what others do - regular width foil, wide foil, no foil, something else?

Suggestions greatly appreciated.
Here is what I do
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top