Ninja OG701UK Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker, 7-in-1
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker, 7-in-1 Outdoor Grill & Air Fryer, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Uses Woodfire Pellets, Weather Resistant, Non-Stick, Portable, Electric, Grey/Black, OG701UK
The video showcases the product in use.The video guides you through product setup.The video compares multiple products.The video shows the product being unpacked.
Elevate your cooking further
Enjoy perfect cooking results every time, with no guesswork. Get live cooking updates and finish times to your phone with the Ninja Pro Connect app.
Elevate your cooking further
Enjoy perfect cooking results every time, with no guesswork. Get live cooking updates and finish times to your phone with the Ninja Pro Connect app.
| Dimensions: | 46 x 46 x 34 cm; 12 kg |
| Model: | OG701UK |
| Part: | OG701UK |
| Manufacture: | Ninja |
| Dimensions: | 46 x 46 x 34 cm; 12 kg |
Is a gif
This item is a gift for my parents for Christmas so I am unable to comment but if it is anything like previous products I have ordered from Ninja it will be excellent.
All year round BBQ!
Love this! I use it most nights! However I did not receive any woodchips as stated on the box and product description and it was too much of a hassle to contact Ninja. I would still recommend the woodfire though!
Good quality item, compact, but big enough for 6 steaks. Roast potatoes better than the oven.
Have not used smoker yet. Glad I purchased this, as now I can ditch the b-b-q which is a pain to clean.
Genuinely one the of the best things I’ve ever spent money on! I don’t think the oven has been on since we purchased it. Every meal (so far) has been amazing and we’re finding new recipes and new ways too cook on it all the time from the Woodfire BBQ community. Easy to cook on, easy to clean and makes some great tasting grub! Highly recommended.
my wife is delighted
I really thought this would be a replacement BBQ/Smoker for me. I have baked bread in it but so far all the cooking and inventiveness has been my wife’s. A really good buy
The Mutts nutz
Used for the first time today. Cooked a breakfast. Sausages came out perfect and the hash browns were crisp on the outside and fluffy inside. Looking forward to using the smoker. Very pleased so fa
Love it! Smoked a pork shoulder and the grill was great. I used the robust blend which for me was a tad strong…you get a LOT of smoke flavour.
Used it as a smoker, a bbq and an air fryer and I just can’t fault it. If I’m being picky, cleaning inside the hood is very fiddly, so it takes a while if, like me, you like to clean things properly. Honestly, it’s the best thing I’ve bought in years!
Lives up to the hype!
Decent smoker / BBQ and everything else it does! Great piece of kit and easy to cook,clean and store.
Read the instructions but only as a guide, use your own intuition with the cooking, look on YouTube for loads of tips and recipes will help, and buy a good thermometer for internal temps.
We are happy with our purchase.
We use our Ninja regularly now that summer has arrived and we have been very pleased with its performance. Everything we’ve cooked so far has turned out to be well cooked and delicious. We would recommend this without hesitation.
Love this grille
Really like this product. Cooks great every time and we use it frequently while the weather is nice. Biggest shame is they slashed the price by about 50 around ten days after I purchased it. Still, that’s not the Ninja’s fault so I wont hold it against it lol. I think it’s almost paid for itself with the savings from not buying so many takeaways. Cleaning is a task. The grille tray is easy to clean but if you want to look after the inside of the hood it takes a good 15-20 minutes of cleaning with a fit for purpose spray cleaner and a rinse down. There a few sharp edges around the central fan mounting shroud which gave me deep cut on my finger so make sure your cloth is at least flannel thickness and watch out for those corner clamps. Happy eating!
Bbq
I love this bbq as it does so many things and to perfection. Still getting use to the different functions but it is very good and cooks to perfection. It much better than the standard bbq as you get great quality cooked food. I love the smoker functions as it really gives a good flavour to your food. Great value for money.
This is a great addition to our Ninja family!!
Im not sure where to start. We are a big user of the Ninja product line and have found then superb in every way. When the woodfire came up on a deal we decided to take the plunge and boy are we happy we did!! Does everything it says on the tin and has now replaced our gas BBQ as the garden cooking stove, just hope that the summer gives us the chance to use this as much as we can! The smoking option is brilliant and adds to the flavour of the chicken and ribs we have done so far. HAPPY CUSTOMER!!!!
Simply the bes
This was a gift for my son who uses it both outside the house and more when he is touring in his caravan. He has told me that it is the best grill he has ever used and is so happy that I purchased it for him and I am so happy because it is simply the best.
I was weary about buying this oven because I don’t like BBQ food and it’s quite an expensive item to buy on a whim. I tried some burgers with the smoker function and..OMG the taste was amazing. So if you like tasty food and don’t like the BBQ burnt charred tastethis is perfect outdoor cooking device!
After a couple of months I feel I can now leave a review of the ninja wood fire grill. Most of the features on the grill are fantastic, especially the air fryer and the smoker, both of which create amazing tasting food (with the caveat about the fixed smoker temperature settings mentioned in another review below).
However, the big disappointment is trying to cook steaks. In my opinion, this grill simply doesn’t get hot enough in order to be able to cook a rare steak with a proper sear on the outside.
The smoking feature is great when smoking big joints, but otherwise it’s a little bit hit and miss. Sometimes it stays alight. Sometimes it goes out, you have to watch it. On short cooking times it’s impossible to relight if it goes out.
Overall it’s a great little grill and I especially appreciate the timer feature and the way it tells you when it’s reached the correct temperature start cooking. It’s really no faff and makes eating outside a lot easier.
Hopefully I can find a way to cook steaks to my liking, but so far this is the one thing I wouldn’t recommend this grill for. It needs to be able to get much, much hotter.
I’m loving this!!
Great to use. Delicious products, I feel like a pro. Easy to clean too.
I decided to go electric as we have solar panels so i thought it was actually the most environmentally friendly way to BBQ. Also I’ve wanted an air fryer for a while and this combo seemed perfect.
Only gripe is I wish you could switch the beeping off. It’s a bit loud and I don’t really need it. I feel a bit self conscious that it might be annoying the neighbours. I hear you can dismantle it , but don’t want to try that.
Not particularly portable, but doesn’t really need to be for us. Might need to build a shelter though as nervous about using in rain (even though it says it’s somewhat water resistant).
Great item
Big fan of ninja. This is another great ninja product. I find that you don’t need as much wood chip as they say. Put some ceramic stone in the bottom of the cartridge and then top up with woodchip.
It’s very wide and very difficult to store in cupboards. They could’ve made the handle smaller I think
I felt I needed to write a review because one other reviewer wrote incorrect information about cooking temperature, claiming the probe doesn’t work at a high enough value.
The probe works up to 80 degrees Centigrade. The government’s Food Standards Agency recommend 70C for two minutes as the correct temperature for meat. The Ninja price use guide also recommend up to 70C for well done meat.
The reviewer who said 95 was necessary is plain wrong.
I love this smoker. It makes brisket and pulled pork cooked to perfection, absolutely delicious. I follow American style cooking techniques with meat rubs that make sensational results.
It’s small!
Small & compact!! Ideal for cooking for 2/4 persons max.
It’s a great instant barbecue and cooks the food excellent. It has many great features on it for different types of cooking! Unable to comment on the ‘ food smoking’ aspect as not tried it out yet.
Definitely a good investment in my opinion.
I already use a Ninja grill in the house and decided to get this to use in place of a charcoal barbecue in the garden. I had one false run with a unit that triggered my power in the house to cut out, but the second unit worked fine.
There is a reset on the plug that seems to need to be set each time to get the grill to work, plus an annoyingly awkward on/off button located underneath the grill in what has to be the most illogical position – unless you have this on the stand (currently out of stock/unavailable), it is impossible to get to without turning the grill upside down.
Some minor self-assembly is necessary, but it doesn’t take too long to get it up and running. I chose to grill veggie burgers as the first use since that was straightforward and we were eating this within 20 minutes of the grill being switched on for the first time. Nothing sticks and it is wonderfully easy to clean up.
Food cooks well and with no need to turn, at least so far. The preheated griddle takes care of the underside and the grill does the top. The timer counts down and turns the unit off once it has completed and you then just serve up, noting that you can vary the timer during use by adding or subtracting minutes if you think you have under or over estimated how long it will take.
Although the unit is heavy, it is only a little heavier than my existing Ninja kitchen grill and manageable, even though I currently have an injury to my elbow. I am hoping to get the stand once it comes back in stock as it is too large to store outside and ideally I would like to place it in a shed, which will be easier with a stand. The box it comes in is far too large to use for day to day storage and makes it very unwieldy.
I found the grill easy to use and could have done so without reading the guide, although obviously you should go through that for the safety information, including the need to only use this outside. But if you have used other Ninja appliances before, you will have a head start as it definitely follows a similar theme and makes it easier. I am pleased to have this and it makes outdoor cooking so much easier, even the clearing up. Wish I had got one sooner.
Love this BBQ the flavours of the meat are a delight however can’t understand how you can post the appliance to N I but not a cover or some accessories thats really dissapointing.
Bought to replace gas BBQ & it hasn’t disappointed. Not used all the functions yet but so far everything has cooked & tasted great. Shame the plates/basket don’t go in dishwasher but that’s a minor thing. Must admit the lid area get greasy/brown very quickly & you do have to give it a scrub after use. Book that comes with it is useful & cooking times are accurate.
I use it as I would my oven/grill in the house cooking a range of foods, not just BBQ, in fact I baked mini egg custards one day.
Definitely recommend.
Not a replacement for a barbecue but very easy to use and no mess, the drip tray is a great idea. The smoker function is great, went on youtube and found some great recipes, highly recommend.
Our second Ninja appliance. This is built to the same excellent quality. Cooking steaks.to perfection is a doddle and med rare in 4 minutes. Just watch the smoker, doesn’t take much to over power with the smoke flavour. Only needs a small amount of pellets.
Normal barbecuing is such a pain that I dread it and try to delegate the task to someone else. There are a lot of moving parts and it takes time to get the heat right before you can begin cooking. This thing doesn’t need any other prep apart from being plugged in and have the wood pellets added if you wanted the extra flavour. It heats up faster than a traditional bbq, doesn’t require coal, fuel or wood chips added which makes the process much faster and easier for me.
As said before the grill thingy is plug and go. The lcd screen makes it clear on the settings and when doing a bbq it will tell you when to flip the food over. With normal barbecuing I never know exactly when to do this so the meat ends up overcooked however, this is a thing of the past! I’ve tried chicken and pork sausages on this will great results. I love that there’s an option to add a smokey flavour to the meat though, the pellets are quite expensive and you can’t use normal “fuel” pellets in here, you need special ones specifically for flavour.
Assembly was fine in hindsight. At the time I was a bit annoyed that there was any assembly involved since its an expensive unit but it’s not a big deal. Also initially I thought it would have been so much better for the power switch to be positioned at the front or back but I thought it might get really greasy and dirty from cooking so perhaps having it on the underside isn’t so bad.
I think it’s a really cool gadget but the cost for the unit won’t work for everyone. If you’re an avid griller and looking for a multipurpose unit for different food items then this could be perfect. If you only grill occasionally maybe once a year if that, it might be too high of an expense. That being said I like that I can cook different things and I’d love to try the dehydration setting with fruit or kale to make some healthy crisps! Only thing to be aware of is this grill is for outdoor use only as the grill may produce carbon monoxide, so please don’t use this indoors. It’s expensive but I’ve really enjoyed it 🙂
Well bbq queen here a Smokey joe gas bbq now this beast who tells you to flip your food over and even says goodbuy
The bad boy is amazing however 4 attempts and frustration as woodfire pocket would not open I did 3 times before but was always same problem going insane as jammed as was locked so tonight called ninja said oil the area I did and fine again to start with would not switch on there is a little button under bottom near front to turn on make sure after one test you press it til clicks then works
This steak was filled 8oz medium rare only 6 mins on timer after being told to flip after 3mins press steak down to get the grill marks it tells you done
Ok another tip do not buy tbe wood pellets as so expensive and not very tasty so I brought 9kg hickory pellets on Amazon exactly same but strong flavour 24 ! Will last forever I brought Italian charcoal rub on Amazon also best steak ever
This baby sits in my kitchen however I take outside if smoking make sure cold before you bring in otherwise house smells of bbq . It weights 2 stone so dragging it around I guess is a work out
Be patient with it trial and error till used of it
Look at cooking times on packets stick to temp but reduce time
To grill turn to grill add wood press smoker dial to ign then will pre heat and set timer start I have only used grill and smoke
Good luck
No sunshine, no worries! Or at least that’s what i’m saying. I managed to find a bit of kitchen space for this electrical genius and i’ve been using it almost daily since. Whether a cheese toastie ( make sure to butter the outer bread slices ) on grill mode. Whether a hearty full chicken on roast mode or delicious chunky rump steaks and mushrooms this Ninja cooks all with perfect results every time. Of course this is without using the optional but awesome woodfire flavour technology which understandably should only be used outdoors due to the creation of smoke. It is amazing that in summer i can use this Ninja outdoors and in winter i can use it too but in the kitchen!
As you can see in my photos the cooking area is nice and large. I could easily cook four toasties on here with standard sized Warburtons bread as seen in my toastie photos. The chicken was a size medium but this could handle a large chicken no problem. It’s hard to burn anything in this Ninja thanks to the countdown cooker timers, auto shut off and even flip reminders. The Ninja does require pre-heat time but this doesn’t take that long. Flicking between the cooking modes is simple via the knob. The grill on this Ninja gets sizzling hot!!! Our steaks turn out delicious when cooked on this ninja!
I love Ninja! This is my favourite machine yet! It’s BBQ fun in the sun and a Kitchen delight!
When I say this thing is a beast of a machine it really is a beast! In both size and functionality. It has so many different uses it’s amazing. It took a little while to set up and work out but nothing too strenuous, the manual is super helpful. We bought a small table for it to go on outside and a cover so we can keep it outside year round, though you could just keep it in the garage until spring.
It’s super easy to clean and I love the added bonus of the recipe book.
Like others have mentioned the on/off button is in an odd place but I don’t find it to be too much of an issue.
I have given it a test drive with chicken and chips and they came out perfectly crispy and juicy! My next exciting adventure will be in the summer to use it as a BBQ!
I genuinely think this is worth the money for the level of functionality you are getting.
I used my ninja grill today for the 1st time, chosen chicken legs to start with.
Reading the instructions and times I followed them as I’m not sure myself. I found that the temp was too high and within a few mins the chicken was going black so I adjusted the temp. ( keep checking temp of chicken with thermometer)
I applied the woodfire pellets and opted for the smoke fire flavour combined with the salt and chilli rub I bought. The flavours was really Smokey you can taste the wood flavour throughout the chicken.
The grill is really easy to operate it has preset temps built in. (Adjusting is easy)
The drip tray I lined with foil so less cleaning.
The grill pan was a quick wash with warm soapy water and cleaned easily.
I can’t wait to try more features of this but so far I’m loving it!
Oh I used mine in the passage of my back door with the door opened and the inside door closed, it does say for outdoor use but the weather is a bit rubbish but it did no harm. The smoke from the smoker is overpowering so would defo not use this function Indoors.
excellent uni
Arrived safe and well presented an extraordinary Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker 7 in one, grill, smoke, air fryer, roast, bake, reheat and dehydratate.
Arrived in a huge box, comes with two bags of woodfire pellets and a quick start guide.
The machine is very heavy, i didn’t expect that, but makes it very sturdy and well made.
It has non sticky surfaces which are easy to clean, but need to pay atention to not use metal utensils as you may damage the surface.
The accesories and pellets for this unit are expensive from the same brand, but I think you can use a sturdy table and cheaper pellets.
I like that is not noisy while working although it has a fan inside, it is quiet and works perfectly.
If you are not a fan of outdoor proper BBQ, smoke and everything, this item is perfect for you, especially that you can use it for multiple purposes.
I am happy with this item and I will highly recommend it.
Easy, quick and safe to use. Gives great results and the excellent cooking guide is invaluable.
I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of ‘doing’ barbecues, but I do like barbecued food. It’s the mess you see, and the excessive smoke, and the welded-on grease, and the almost caveman-like fascination with naked flame that some people seem to have. Oh, and annoying inebriated guests who stand over you just to critique your grilling skills and offer unwanted advice like ‘needshmore glaze.’ If you could remove at least most of the mess and annoying traits of traditional barbecues, I’d be happy and since this Ninja electric barbecue seems to do that, I was delighted to give it a go.
Mine arrived in a gigantic outer box but once unpacked, it became apparent that this appliance was actually a manageable size to use. Mind you, I didn’t think I’d get that far as mine looked like it had fallen off the top shelf at the warehouse prior to being packaged up. It’s definitely an ‘open box’ item, with some re-taping and wildly ripped internal packaging and had I paid for this, I’d have sent it back.
Moving on. The minor contents of the box were very well packaged and the actual equipment was in unmarked condition. The main body of the grill itself is quite weighty and feels of a high quality but made easier to cart about with the side handles which you have to fit yourself. It’s an easy task; four screws attached with an Allen key which is included with the grill. The tray, basket and grease receptacle are all very sturdy and easy to attach or fit to the grill. The smoker box is removable – more on that later.
There is a 1.5M power cord complete with power breaker (RCD) which you need to reset each time you use it. Using an RCD is essential although I’m not convinced that having it moulded onto the power cord is the best idea since these frequently fail and you’d be unable to use the grill. I presume that this, along with the sealed on/off button on the underside of the grill, is to maintain the unit’s IPX4 rating. This rating means that it’s splash-proof but may not be subjected to jets of water or driving rain. You can buy a cover for the grill along with a stand, but these are quite costly extras.
The grill is actually very easy to use and after a look at the quick setup guide, you’ll soon understand what all the functions are for and how to use them. This booklet really is excellent and contains enough recipes to get you through a British summer, along with a very comprehensive guide to cooking pretty much anything you’re able to use this grill for. If you were unsure of how to use it beforehand, you certainly won’t be after reading it! I’ve added a few example photos which show the level of detail the guide goes into.
So, the unit takes between 5-12 minutes to heat up, depending upon the heat level you require and will maintain its temperature for as long as you keep the lid closed. Since it’s fan assisted, cooking times are a bit faster than normal. The smoker function is optional but may be used in varying ways depending upon what you’re cooking and the result you want to achieve. The wood chip basket does smoulder whilst in use (no smoke without fire!) and this is obviously one area you’d have to be careful with when you’re finished cooking. Fortunately, the basket is removable so you can either lift it out with tongs or with heat-proof gloves, prior to safely extinguishing and disposing of the embers. I didn’t find that the smoker gave off a large amount of smoke, but you can definitely tell that it’s there flavouring the food. I like this conservative approach to smoking and since it’s less carcinogenic, it’s healthier too.
The grill function cooks food evenly and thoroughly. You’ll find some video reviews online making reference to unreliable integrated temperature probes. This particular grill doesn’t come with them and in fact, you’re probably best using your own and preferably ones you keep attached to the food and which you can read remotely, if only to avoid having to keep opening the grill cover and losing heat. Some cooking times are really fast – air fried chips for example. You could be cooking these in the time you’re resting the cooked meat.
When you’re finished cooking, you’ll find that the grill plate and basket are easy to clean, as they both have a non-stick coating. However, the inner surface of the lid has a standard steel coating and since it attracts grease and crusty ‘stuff,’ is a bit more of a challenge if you like to keep things pristine. Ninja advise wiping it down with a damp cloth after each use, but there are some unreachable areas, like the fan mechanism for example.
However, this is a very worthwhile purchase. If you can’t have a traditional barbecue or if, like me, you like the end results but not the mess, then this is definitely for you. I was a bit sceptical at first but after reading the cooking guides and experimenting with it, it’s something I’ll use a lot more once the temperature outside is a bit more than 5 degrees! Since there’s no naked flame, I might even get some peace to get on with it!
The size is better than I was expecting. It is Just a 46cmL x 46cmW x 34cmH. That means it is easy to store. This Ninja Woodfire electric BBQ grill & smoker. My husband loves it so much! First, We try out to put the wood pellets and cook with beef. The taste is so amazing! It is so easy to handle. That is one of our favourite points. You only need to put these wood pellets inside the smoke box. Then Just wait. The result impressed us. The Material of this electric BBQ is weather-resistant. Even raining, we do not need to worry about it. Just extra buy a cover, then I could put it outside! The Grill Pan is easy to clean. Also, it is an air fryer cooking, so it doesn’t have much smoke. Overall, We love it so much! We planning to buy one for our best friend too.
I have only used this indoor for saussage so far due to the fantastic British weather but I can already tell it is of the highest Ninja quality!
We already own the dual air fryer and are very impressed with that.
This unit is so solid and weighs a ton.
Every part is premium, the hinged lid is rock solid and you can hear the switches inside clicking when you waise theblid turning the heat plate off.
It comes with smoker pellets you can put in the side and add smoked flavour to any meal you cook or you can use the dedicated smoker function.
I honestly can’t wait to get a massive joint in there and get some brisket cooked low and slow.
The timer lest you pick the amount of time and temperature you are smoking for.
The unit itself.isnt noisy with the fan inside but would have been nice to be able to use it as a normal BBQ with the lid open, unfortunately if you are doing burgers you will have the lid shut as it switches the hotplate off when you open the lid.
Also do not use metal utensils on this as it will damage the non-stick surface and don’t even think about using some sort of fry-light oil and this peels the non-stick away, only use proper oil.
I will update this review once the sun comes out this spring but I have a limited time to do these reviews on vine.
If you like smoking food and you want top quality with none of the hassle of guessing temperatures then this is the unit to get!
A great, versatile, unique ove
This is a unique and excellent take on what is essentially an oven. It has a few unique selling points: it is designed to work outdoors; it can add a smokey flavour or even hot smoke food; and it has multiple functions including air frying and dehydrating.
This is especially useful for a barbecue where you can’t have a barbecue. It gives the barbecue flavour through the smoke pellets.
The main plate is ceramic coated, so non-stick that is durable and without the environmental disaster that is normal non-stick.
The air fry basket is powdered metal. It works amazingly. Chips come out crispy and still have potato inside – if you try to get that crispness in a normal oven the chips end up as dry husks.
My first meal was a half leg of lamb (life hack: buy half legs, they are better value as the weight is made up of more meat and less bone). I cheated and used a meat thermometer. Mine is Bluetooth, but I also have a wired one. If you want to save money, I can confirm that the wired one fits fine – jab it in the meat and close the lid on the wire – the seal on the Ninja door wraps around the wire just fine. That way you can monitor the meat temperature.
Without a meat thermometer (do buy one with a wire – 15-30 on Amazon and it’ll revolutionise your cooking, but don’t bother for sausages and burgers), you can use the instructions in the Ninja booklet. I can confirm these work well – they have put a lot of thought in to this from meats to vegetables to frozen foods.
The only assembly you need to do is add the carrying arms which are labelled left and right underneath and they supply the tool (Allen key).
It light to moderately heavy, essentially easy to maneuver, but without a sturdy table you may want to buy their stand.
It comes with an RCD plug, which is a nice safety feature.
Oven temperature is accurate – you can see from my meater app (not part of the Ninja, this is for my meat thermometer) that the oven temperature is spot on, it does reduce when I put in the meat, but slowly recovers. This is expected and fine.
In summary:
Pros
Very easy to use
Non-stick with ceramic (which is way better than Teflon – ceramic is more durable and won’t put microplastic in your food)
They’ve put a lot of thought into the recipe book and quick start guide
Multiple oven functions especially the smoker
Air fry is amazing
You can cook big cuts of meat – a lamb leg fits fine.
Cons
I don’t think you could fit a huge turkey in there, but that really isn’t what this is for. You can fit a small one, a chicken, or a Guinea fowl.
Overall, if this one from Amazon Vine were to break I would buy another one – that’s really one of my tests – if something from the Vine program is good enough that I buy them again or would if it broke, then I know it’s a great product. I am already converted. Whilst I have a barbecue, I will still use this.
I’ve wanted an air fryer forever so when Ninja announced they were releasing this, I asked them to take my money.
It may be too ambitious a gadget for a first-timer, but I think I’m a little underwhelmed, and there are definitely some issues here and there.
I will say, we’ve only used the air fryer function so far but next is the Smoker function and I’ll update this as and when we use the other functions (there are 7, including dehydrate, which is pretty cool.)
Okay, from the very beginning: it arrives in a huge box; it’s much bigger than it looks in the photos. It comes with some minor assembly needed – you just need to use the wee Alan (Allen?) key to attach the two handles on both sides. The handles aren’t quite flush, which is a bit lame. It just makes it feel like the quality isn’t quite there.
You’ll also need to slide the grease tray into the back slot at the very bottom – this will catch all the run-off oil and guck.
A really annoying thing is the On/Off button – it is in the stupidest place imaginable: under the unit itself, behind the right leg. It’s all but impossible to get to without flipping the whole unit upside down. It’s also ever so slightly sticky, so we weren’t sure if we had actually turned the unit on.
Because that was another issue. When we turned everything on, nothing happened. We tried different plug sockets; we hit the Start button again; we turned it off and on again… nothin’. Husband then hit the Reset button on the actual plug and it came on. I don’t know whether we’re going to have to do that every time – we’ll just have to see. EDIT: I have an update with this, I’ll add it at the bottom.
Another issue is the recipe book and instructions provided. We wanted to make chicken wings for our first attempt and the recipe book is covered in photos of them so we assumed the recipe book would include air fried chicken wings. It does not. It’s daft. We had to look at a YouTube video for timings.
For the record, we set it to 200 degrees, let it pre-heat, and then let them cook for 20 minutes.
It beeps to let you know when it’s pre-heated, by the way, so there’s very little faff involved there. At the 10 minute point, it told us to flip the food over, which we dutifully did. They looked yummy but a bit anaemic so I had my doubts, but we let them cook for the full 20 minutes. I took a photo of the end results – they are lovely chicken wings. I prefer them a little crispier so I guess we’re going to have to experiment with timings and temperatures but they’re lovely.
The instructions say to only use it outdoors but we used it in the kitchen with the windows and doors open and the fan going – the manual says it can put out carbon monoxide so I think being safe with this thing is really important.
I do have one major complaint, though: I registered the unit with Ninja and almost straight away started getting scammy phishing emails – I have to think one precipitated the other because most of the subject titles mention Ninja and the timing is just too strange not to be connected. So either Ninja sold my email address or their customer data was scraped – I don’t know enough about this stuff to know for sure but it’s worth bearing in mind.
It’s all really easy to clean, by the way. We put the chicken wings on the grill tray instead of in the air fryer basket, and it’s very non-stick. Then we just gave a wipe down to the rest of it to remove any oil or residue.
So there you have it.
Oh! You get two packs of wood pellets for the Smoker (they go in the the little mail slot on the left side) and Ninja say you can ONLY use the Ninja wood pellets. I’ve been looking into that a bit and it’s nonsense. You can use any food-safe wood pellets with the Woodfire Grill.
So, yes, I don’t think I’m as impressed as I thought I’d be… the slight build quality issues and the stupid On button and the loudness of it as it’s cooking the food, and the expense, and the fact that it didn’t start first time and being inundated with annoying emails from phishers… I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t think I would buy it again, especially at full price. But maybe as we get to know it better and use the Smoker and Grill functions this summer it will really come into its own.
I’ll definitely update this as we use it more so you can get a better idea of it all before spending that much cash on something that might be a bit disappointing.
EDIT: so we used it again and, once again, the unit didn’t switch on until we hit the Reset button again. That just doesn’t sit right with me, somehow, so we called Ninja to ask if that’s a fault. After about half an hour of answering questions, we were told that if you unplug the unit from the wall, next time you use it you’ll need to press Reset; if you leave it plugged in and just turn it off on the unit itself, however, it will store your settings and turn on normally.
Thing is, I don’t think it stores any settings (?) so I honestly don’t know if we were being fibbed to there. But there you have it. No clarity whatsoever!
To be quite honest I wouldn’t have considered buying this myself. I mean, it’s just a fancy BBQ and being a bit of a BBQ extraordinaire why do I need it?
Well…
I have to say, it does cook a mean steak which is surprisingly hard to do especially on a barbie. If it can manage that then it’s a good cooking tool.
So, despite the time of year I figured I’d give this a go. And to be clear, this is an outside cooking device not one of those fancy chef smokers you see on TV. You could use it inside but your missus might stick something large and pointy in your head if you try it.
Thus I trotted up to my local supermarket and bought a grass fed sirloin steak. A nice thick one which always seems to taste better. If you are going to make a balls up then make it an expensive one….
However, despite my deep scepticism this Ninja BBQ nailed it. Really. I was completely surprised to be frank because I figured I’d end up with something either over or undercooked with little smoke flavour. Well, not a bit of it. I ended up with a perfectly cooked steak that had a proper oak smoked flavour in just 6 minutes. Yum yum.
Backtracking a bit what you get is a fairly substantially made electric griddle that’s fitted with a fan at the top and a small container at the side into which you decant wood pellets.
Once you have done that you set the Ninja up to cook your preferred option and for me with a steak that was grill with a high smoke level. The enclosed book states that a well cooked steak is 8 minutes and so reduce to suit your preference. I decided to take a punt on 6 minutes and that was perfect for a medium rare steak.
It can also slow smoke if you are doing something bigger and want to have a smokey large joint of pork or beef. And something that I will definitely try is a dehydrator. That means I can make my own biltong which I love.
So, onto the actual machine. First off this is a well made bit of kit that apparently can stay outside although Ninja recommend that you use a cover on it. You can also buy a purpose made stand for the full Ninja cooking look.
It’s heavy. really. I’m no weakling and I noticed that this has some heft about it. That’s bad if you are not built to lift but it does add to the overall perception of being solidly constructed.
The power cord is about a metre long and has an integral RCD for safety. What Ninja have done is think about that as well because the RCD is orientated such that the bulk of it is lower down than the pins which means it will fit into a standard UK outside socket with a weather cover – although you can’t shut it when connected I may add.
With Ninja BBQ comes a basket that can be used for air frying such as making chips. Nice extra touch. There’s also a small drain tun dish to collect oils and fats that drain off the main griddle plate.
The front control panel is well set out and easy to use but you really do need to read the book to get to grips with it. I guess once you’ve used this a few times it will become instinctive but right now I needed to admit I failed as a bloke and had to actually read the instructions. I’m a worm of a man, I know.
There’s one small irritation which is the on/off button which is buried under the bottom of the unit somewhere near the middle. It’s a pain to find and turn on or off.
So, who is this for? Well, I guess if you live in a built up area or in a high rise building having a BBQ might not be possible. However, if you have a balcony then this would work for you, no problem. The smoke output is well controlled so no real problems there. It would also work as something you could take on holiday if using your car if you have access to power wherever you end up. You won’t need to carry loads of charcoal and this can be used for more than just BBQ food.
Overall, I’ve gone from sceptic to believer. I didn’t expect that.
I got this because I really don’t like the whole hullabaloo around barbecuing food.
Get the coals, light them, wait ages for them to heat up and keep them properly topped up for a long party. Finally getting rid of all the mess and having to clean the whole thing for next time
Pros:
-This electric grill is simply plug in and get heat going.
– add a smoky taste with the wood pellets according to your requirements
-Can cook whole chickens or large cuts of meat in it
-multi use with ability to airfry chips or other sides
-Even baked things like pizza and apple crumble
-Pretty easy to clean by popping the plates out and bringing inside to wash
Cons
-The pellets can be a bit pricy if you get the own brand. I’ve used some generic ones which are much cheaper
-the on/off switch is in a awkward position
-You will need to carry this in and out and place it on a stand or surface. I wouldn’t leave it outdoors. This does have an optional stand you can get too but it’s expensive
-The price makes this more of a considered purchase
-for camping you will need to be able to plug it into a proper outlet at a camping park, don’t assume you can power it with your car
Overall thoughts
This is convenience and multi use that you are paying for. It lets you cook practically anything you can think of. There are so many recipes available on YouTube for you to watch and follow.
This ninja is a ultimate bbq it has a air fry and Wood-fire technology included . The design is good and it’s not too heavy to move around . The set up was easy as eve thing is labelled like each handle has a sticker to say weather it’s left or right . The on switch is a little tricky to find but they had stickers with arrows on to help . All accessories fit well . Used the air fry first to gy used to the whole thing . Was very easy to set time and temp and this is quieter than my ninja foodie air fry . This has a pre heat first so that’s good that it gets warm. My chicken cooked very well I will get use to times but it did come with a handy guide and also a recipe book . All instructions include can’t wait for I’m hosting bbq I now need to get the stand .