Ninja Woodfire Pro XL Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker
Ninja Woodfire Pro XL Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker with Digital Probe, Large 4-in-1 Outdoor Grill & Air Fryer with Smart Cook System & Woodfire Pellets, Weather Resistant, Portable, Grey/Black OG850UK
All-Purpose Blend
Mild, bright, and sweet flavours derived from cherry, maple and oak hardwoods. Delicious with fish and vegetables.
Robust Blend
Hickory, cherry, maple, and oak hardwoods give rich, classic BBQ flavours that pair perfectly with beef, pork and chicken.
Grill Cover
Lightweight, weather-resistant, anti-fade material keeps the elements out.
Universal Grill Stand
Fits all Ninja Woodfire products. Additional side table sold separately.
Flat Plate
Sear, sauté and unlock even more grilling possibilities.
Grill & Flat Plate
Combined plate lets you grill and sauté at the same time.
Rib Rack
Grill or smoke double the ribs. Fits up to 4 full racks at once. Place directly on top of your grill for increased airflow around meat, creating more caramelisation.
Grill Cleaning Brush
Powerful, flexible nylon bristles help to remove stuck-on food residue and grease.
| Dimensions: | 34 x 46 x 46 cm; 12 Kilograms |
| Model: | OG850UK |
| Manufacture: | Ninja |
| Dimensions: | 34 x 46 x 46 cm; 12 Kilograms |
We brought and ninja smoker for when we go camping with electric hook up, it is an excellent piece of kit which we used for breakfasts and dinners. I love that it has different settings and also tells you when to flip items inside and takes that into consideration for your cooking times. The smoker feature is an excellent addition and we have had a great experience experimenting with smoked chickens. We were really impressed as they came out really juicy, with a tasty crispy skin. The smoker is really easy to clean with removable plates and the handles to carry it are also really useful. I was really surprised to see a lot of people using it whilst we were away and look forward to using it again this year. It is a smart piece of kit that looks really stylish and easy to store in a good sized cupboard, it is really easy to use in comparison to our cadac.
I have good selection of various gas and charcoal BBQs so this was a complete change I can recommend, however if you cater for lots of friends buy the next model with a bigger grill and crisping basket.
I love my Ninja woodfire electric burner. So much easier and cleaners to use than a gas or coal BBQ. Love the multi-functions it has and the food tastes great. Ideal for small families or couples, ideal for 1- 4 people could stretch to cooking for 6 but no more.
Haven’t been able to use this as much as I would like due to our amazing Welsh weather lots of rain. When I have used it what I have cooked as been amazing. Got this when there was 100 off on an Amazon sale so we’ll worth the money.
Having got a Ninja air fryer already it seemed that this would make a good Xmas present to send to the family as an alternative to them using their old Hindenberg gas version. It’s an outdoor air fryer so it must be good. Also excellent value on Amazon.
I would really have liked to give this 5 stars, but the smoker doesn’t work on the grill setting. It works on all the others, just not when I’m grilling. Which is the setting I use most.
It was just too much aggravation to send it back, so I have kept it with that one flaw. Apart from that I think it’s superb and use it all the time.
Get one!
So far I’ve used this to make great, burgers, corn on the cob, sausages, halloumi, seared vegetables, onions, bacon, chips, baked potatoes, pizza and chicken. Top tip: Never use the grill function on anything above the Low setting. 2nd tip: Buy the optional smooth grill plate as the corrugated one is a nightmare to clean. Final nugget: Don’t fret over cleaning inside the lid, this is just wasting your time, it may or may not add to the flavour but it certainly does no harm.
It isn’t the largest cooking surface but once it’s pre-heated up you can churn out a constant supply of food, faster than it can be eaten. With the inbuilt timer and temperature control BBQs are a doddle.
The answer is, simply, YES!
I have now used the Ninja woodfire on separate occasions: I have made smoked pulled pork, smoked brisket and a couple of BBQs, as well as having used the air fryer function. In the subsequent paragraphs I will consider the things I was really wondering prior to purchasing this appliance: will it be big enough? And, most importantly: will the food be as flavourful?
FLAVOUR
Perhaps the most important but of info you are looking for: is the taste as good as a charcoal BBQ? Absolutely yes, and I dare say when it comes to smoking meat even better! Not sure how to explain it, but the smoked brisket and pulled pork I made on the Ninja are just as smokey and flavourful as the ones I made in the past in my old kettle BBQ/oven. What’s the difference then? Smoking a brisket or a pork shoulder (for pulled pork) is as simple as putting an already seasoned piece of meat in the Ninja and let it do its thing… No messing about with adding charcoal, worrying about the temperature of the inside, is it too hot/too cool? These days are gone! I can now put the meat in there, sit next to it and enjoy a cool IPA!
BBQed meat is also as good – though the ninja makes it so much easier! since the temperature is even throughout the grill, there is no thing to worry about when it comes to whether or not your meat will cook evenly.
SIZE
If you are like me you may be asking: what about the size – is it big enough? Isn’t that always the most important question?
For me the answer is – YES. I can cook smoked brisket (and similar) for up to 15 people at a time. I can make BBQs for up to 10-12 people at a time (this is because I’m willing to cook meat in batches and keep it warm in the oven – a step that also allows the meat to rest and the juices to flow).
The photos are of a BBQ I made for 8 people and 3 kids – not how much space there was left! Also we had quite a bit of leftover. It took me in total one hour of very chilling labour, and the results were great!
EASE OF USE/CLEAN
As you may have gathered if you read the previous paragraphs, this thing practically looks after itself once it’s been set, and the controls are extremely intuitive to use. In the box you will also find a quick recipe guide, with instructions and timings for a lot of different preparations. Online there also seems to be quite a big community of people who use this. I have find a very reliable blog “girlscangrill” with plenty of recipes for the ninja woodfire, but once you learn the general principles/cooking times, you will probably just be able to use it as you would a more traditional charcoal BBQ.
It does get a little dirty after use, though the grill and grease tray are really simple to remove and clean. The internal surface of the ninja get’s as dirty as an oven would, but provided it you wipe the grease away after each use you will be fine. Also you can deep clean it every once in a while using the right products (such as oven cleaner and what not) but to be fair you won’t need to unless you are bothered by it. All I’m trying to say is: you will want to deep clean it as often as you deep clean your oven.
One last hot tip: the instruction say to only use it outdoor, and in case you are thinking “I will open the window and switch the extractor fan on, it will be fine!” …don’t. I speak for personal experience. Unless not with the smoke function on. Without smoke function I used the air fryer inside and it was fine, but the smoke option is way too Smokey to be used inside!
Why the 4 stars then, rather than 5?
Our unit arrived with a broken fuse in the plug – meaning that I got worried for about 5 mins at the prospect of having to return it because it wouldn’t work!
Once I changed the fuse it was good to go. This doesn’t, however, give me a great deal of confidence when thinking that this unit probably wasn’t QCed before leaving the factory, therefore I think this enough to make me remove one star.
In a nutshell: buy it, try it, love it! You will not regret it! Initially I kept my old charcoal BBQ just in case I got cold feet, but I’m now confident I won’t need it ever again!
Secondly it’s worth noting I have owned all sorts of bbqs and a dedicated smoker in the past and I genuinely did not have high hopes for it.
Nothing prepared us for the results or it’s capacity.
1.65kg of smoked pulled pork in 4 hrs.
24 chicken wings smoked in 20 mins
Flat bread pizzas coming out every 3 -4 mins .
Everything cooked wow….Yes really.
But what sort of construction is it?….well for a start its deceptivly heavy and well built which for me comparing prices against a new bbq was a surprise.
This is a machine that can be used indoors but only on smoker mode under exceptionally good extraction ( normally best outside) it’s vertatile it will grill ,bake, smoke slow cook air fry ,in fact just about everything all with the ability to smoke under any setting.
Chances are this will push aside any existing bbq already already have and add functions you never thought of.
What’s more it’s electric is very frugal on wood pellets, easy to clean heats up very quickly, holds its temperature and is very easy to use.
Got to hand it to ninja….This product has no real competitors and more than a few traditional bbq manufacturer’s must be shaking their heads at the ability of this machine……watch you tube vids and believe.
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.
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.
The instructions are very clear so easy to understand. We used tonight for burgers. The grill option selected and wood fire button pressed, it ignited the pellets and preheated for 10 minutes, then the display beeped and displayed to add food. 10 minutes to cook the burgers, it tells you to flip half way but you need to be aware the timer doesn’t stop when you open the lid. When the ten minutes were up the display read done. The burgers were charred on both sides, I did think maybe a little too much, but after resting and finishing our burgers, I cut into it and it was perfect inside. Has to be the best burger I’ve ever cooked, really juicy and just how I like. You can change the time settings if you prefer a more pink burger. So impressed. I can’t wait to try out other food and the other cooking methods. You can smoke, airfry, roast, bake, dehydrate, grill, reheat. You can add the woodfire option to any cooking method. The ninja comes with 2 packs of wood pellets.
Easy to clean when cooled, just remove the grill tray to clean, wipe over the ninja and empty the used pellets. Is advertised as being able to withstand the weather to store outside but I will use a cover.
So much easier and quicker than using a traditional barbecue, less mess and you get that authentic barbecue smoky flavour from the wood fire pellets. A really impressive appliance
It may be too ambitious a gadget for a first-timer, but I think I’m a little overwhelmed, and there are definitely some issues here and there. But, look, if you want a tl;dr – it’s amazing.
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!