You will not get everything handed down to you on a silver platter in life.
You might love your tender and juicy brisket and grill but not cleaning the machine after you are done cooking.
So why is the Camp Chef ash cleanout stuck?
If you are facing problems with your leftover ash for whatever reason that could cause it, this is the perfect place to get your answers from.
Even if you aren’t facing this problem, you should know how to solve it once you face it.
There could be several reasons for occurring this issue such as inconsistent temperature, use of flammable liquids.
This problem also arises due to unclean skewers or stick or cooking meat too close to the flame.
So, get your gears on because it is time to deal with your Camp chef ash cleanout problem.
Do You Need to Clean the Ash Out of the Pellet Grill?
Every time you grill meat, fish, or a simple slab of vegetables, you do it over the metallic pellet grill in your Camp Chef.
Metals are good conductors of heat, and that is also why these pellet grills are the most essential part of the Camp Chef grilling machine.
If you do not clean the pellet grill at regular intervals, the life expectancy of the grill decreases.
There are plenty of other reasons to clean up the pellet grill.
One of the most important reasons is due to hygiene issues.
If you do not clean up the grill, the ash from previous grilling sessions that are stuck to the pellet will end up causing any new food to be scorched and dirtied.
In addition, keeping your pellet grill clean will also result in better airflow, allowing you to keep the temperature under control when you are grilling something on top of the grills.
No matter what degree of smokiness you want the meat to show, proper temperature control is vital to produce the required result.
Reasons For Camp Chef Ash Cleanout Stuck
If you have been cooking for a long time, you could identify the causes of the ash sticking to the grill by yourself.
Here are some common mistakes that people make, which causes the Camp Chef cleanout stuck problems.
Using a flammable liquids
If you think that buying flame-producing fluids from the supermarket are the best answers to getting a quick and easy supply of flame for grilling- then you are wrong.
While you might think that the flame will start as soon as you hold the match to the pellet, the reality is harsher.
The truth is that a more complicated process starts, which causes a mushroom-like cloud of fire to erupt and disperse unless you keep supplying more energy to keep the fire running.
All will seem well, but the amount of ash produced will be unnatural, and the gasoline smell will be stuck to your food.
Most Grill manufacturer warns that never gasoline, gasoline-type fuel, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, or similar liquids to start or “freshen up” a fire in this appliance.
So, if you have been using any flammable liquid avoid using it.
Inconsistent temperature inside the grill
If you want the perfect grilled meat, you need to have the patience to set the pellet to burn properly.
Many people, especially those who do not know about this, make the mistake of turning the pellet before it can turn grey, producing inconsistent heating.
The inconsistent temperature within the pellet causes the heat to run amok, producing a lot of ashes while also ruining the smokiness flavor of the meat.
In addition, you could get some other unpredictable reactions as well.
Unclean skewers or sticks
If you use skewers or sticks for your grills, you should have them cleaned regularly before and after you use them.
If you do not clean the skewers properly, the old carbonated bits of food from a past dinner will burn out even more and produce grey ashes.
In fact, they will further react with the flame so that the flame, instead of heating and grilling the new meat, starts to burn it producing even more ashes.
Even if this doesn’t burn your food, the meat will not taste quite the same, nor will it look appealing.
Cooking meat close to the flame
If you think that cooking the meat as close to the fierce flame as possible will have to make it grill faster, you are completely wrong about this.
This will only ruin both the meat and the Camp Chef grill.
The flames will completely engulf the meat leaving charred deposits everywhere.
The soot produced will deposit in the astray and could cause a lack of oxygen in the meat, further ruining the taste.
Camp Chef Ash Cleanout Stuck Fixes
If you want to clean out the ash from the bottom part of the machine that could easily get stuck, there are plenty of ways that you could do so.
For an easier method, you could choose to hit the bottom of the grill with a rubber mallet.
The rubber mallet will produce pressure on the inside of the ash pot to come off easily without causing any more problems.
You should do this while your machine is still hot since this will decrease the time you will need to complete the task.
The second method is more technical since it requires you first to unscrew all the parts that are fixed together with the pot to get the pot out from the machine.
You could also shake the pot so that it comes off.
Other than waiting for the Camp Chef ash cleanout stuck situations, you should instead aim to minimize the number of ashes produced from each of your usages.
Some of the common ways that you could ensure that a lower amount of ashes are produced are:
Install a chimney
Install a chimney starter along with the grilling machine.
You could do this by packing some old newspaper beneath the coal that you will be lighting.
Light the newspaper when you need to burn the coal.
The oxygen produced by burning the paper will start burning the coal efficiently.
Clean skewers and sticks
Make sure to clean all the auxiliary parts or skewers you are using.
The old carbonized leftovers from your previous session would cause the new meat to burn, producing more soot and ashes.
You could prevent this by cleaning all the skewers and the grill properly.
Use antiseptics and alcohol rubs to remove any bacteria.
In this way, you could also prevent any germ from entering your body while retaining the original grilled taste of the meat.
Evenly spread heat
If you have a pellet grill that has hot spots, the you have to reduce the hotspot for even heat.
To reduce hot spots, you need further heat dissipation.
For this, you can add extra heat deflector plates to be placed over the burn pot.
Another way is to add thicker grease trays to tackle the hot spots.
Both of these methods can potentially help to reduce hot spot issues and you will get even heat distribution inside the grill chamber.
However, the simplest way is to buy a set of GrillGrates for a pellet grill.
GrillGrates are interlocking hard-anodized aluminum panels that are positioned on top of the existing cooking grate of your grill.
They are primarily promoted as a way to provide better searing performance on a pellet grill.
However, they also have the additional advantage of more evenly distributing heat across the cooking area as a way to tackle hot spots.
You can even create an oven-like setting inside for grill-roasting large cuts of meat like prime rib or a leg of lamb.
Use a moderate amount of pellets
Control the amount of pellets that you are adding to the flame.
The pellet is the main source of energy that will keep the flame running.
In addition, some of the fat that will probably drip out of the meat will also contribute to the flame as fuel.
You need to take all these factors into consideration before providing the amount of pellets.
More ashes will be produced if there is an extra energy source for the flame to burn.
Add sauce when your meat is done
If you are going to add some sort of sauce into the meat, you need to wait for the meat to grill properly before adding the sauce into the mix.
Sauces tend to attract flame.
If you add the sauce prematurely, this will cause the meat to catch flame and start burning slightly.
You should wait till the last 5 minutes before your meat is done to pour the sauce over the meat.
You could also use a brush to spread the sauce evenly.
How Do You Empty Ash in a Camp Chef?
Camp Chef makes use of an exclusive mechanism that you can use to pull the ash pot from the bottom of the grill.
All you need to do is pull the lever, and the ash-filled pot will fall.
Of course, there are cases where the pot stays stuck and doesn’t fall out.
You can apply pressure to the pot with a rubber mallet while the machine is still hot, and it will fall.
Final Thoughts
As Camp Chef Pellet grill is an appliance and these may go through some issues like ash clean out stuck.
With aforementioned fixes, you should know the best route to take when you face Camp Chef ash cleanout stuck issues.
Of course, there are plenty more ways to settle this but do remember prevention is the best cure.
Sources:
https://www.campchef.com/frequently-asked-questions
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/camp-chef-ash-amount-after-1st-cook.274178/
https://www.seriouseats.com/grilling-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them
https://energex.com/news/pellet-grill-maintenance/
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Camp Chef Pellet Grill Not Smoking?
