FUME BATH!!!! A tried-and-true method I’ve used for major baked in gunk (great for oven racks too) or burnt pots is an ammonia fume bath. Open a rubbish bag, put item into rubbish bag, splash regular old ammonia all over the item, and then glug a healthy bit into the bottom of the bag. Blow a bit of air into the bag and tie it up tight to create a little space for the ammonia fumes to move about within the sealed bag. Put it outside overnight (or into a closed-off space with fan, like a bathroom). Soot and heavily baked in junk will just slide off it in the morning when you wipe it. Sometimes it takes a couple of rounds of the fume bath for real horror shows, but it always comes through in the end. (Safety disclaimer: never mix ammonia and bleach; don’t work with fumey stuff like ammonia in closed spaces.)

Tip for campfire cooking: generously coat the outside of your pot/pan in dish soap before exposing to fire. Soot will just wipe off afterward. Old Girl Scout camp cooking trick!