Not cooking properly

Josquatch · Sep 27, 2020

Just purchased a 440 Tailgate, second attempt cooking today. Had to finish chicken last night with direct heat as the meat does not seem to be cooking on top, at all. Attempting to smoke at 225. Top of meat seem to not be cooking at all, no color change, appears raw. Is this an issue with the convection? It seems to be in good working order and temps read correct. Temp gauge on lid never reads as high as it should either. 1.5-2 hours for chicken breast that I had to finish over direct heat. Please help!

DaveXDm9 · Sep 27, 2020

How I smoke my chicken breast at 225 to reach an internal 160 remove it from the grill then wrap it in foil until it reaches 165. I never care how long it takes as long as the temp reaches 160 and I take it off the grill I am fine.

I always smoke my chicken breast on the left side of the grill. Now if your fan is not working properly your temps will be all over the place.

Josquatch · Oct 1, 2020

The top of the chicken is remaining raw in appearance, nothing is taking on the color or appearance of having been cooked, much less smoked. I believe it may be an issue with the fan that is supposed to circulate the heat as the temp gauge on the lid never climbs above 150-200 when set at 250. How do I trouble shoot the airflow issue? It is a brand new grill and this is disheartening to say the least. Thanks for the reply.

MikeInFla · Oct 2, 2020

I would call customer support 1-877-303-3134 and leave a call back number. Do you hear the fan running? You should be able to hear it.

Josquatch · Oct 2, 2020

Yeah, I hear it running. Online recipes say 1.5 hours for chicken and after that time it still appears raw on top. Is there a way for me to check the circulation or effectiveness of the fan?