So you bought the cool, new Ninja Woodfire Grill, but how do you cook on it? Here’s how and when to use the different cook functions.
Table of Contents
Initial setup and preheat stage
Cooking on the Ninja Woodfire Grill is easy. That’s one of the features I love about it most.
- Start by inserting the accessories you plan to use (either the grill plate, griddle or crisper basket.
- If you plan to use the smoke feature, add wood pellets to the smoke box.
- Select your cook function.
- Press the Woodfire Flavor Technology button, if you want to add smoke. (This ignites automatically if you choose the smoker function.)
- Set your cook temperature based on the recipe.
- Set your cook time based on the recipe. (I always add a few extra minutes, so the grill doesn’t turn off too early)
- Wait for the grill to preheat. When it says “add food,” place your food in the grill. Close the lid.
- Cook your recipe according to the directions or preferred doneness, flipping or stirring as instructed.
- Remove your food from the grill and enjoy.
Ninja Woodfire Pro Grill
If you have the Pro or Pro Connect grill, you also have the option of cooking your food to a desired temperature or doneness instead of cooking based on time. To use the pro features, follow these steps.
- Insert the Ninja thermometer probe into your meat through the thickest point. Be sure not to touch the bone.
- Insert the other end of the thermometer into the jack on the grill.
- Follow steps 1-4 above.
- Instead of selecting the time, adjust the temperature. Either enter a manual temperature or choose your protein type and desired doneness.
- Add your food and press start. The grill will notify you when your meat reaches the proper temp.
One thing you’ll have to get used to when you cook with the thermometer is that you won’t see a timer or countdown. So it’s unclear how long it will take until your food is done.
How much food can the Ninja Grill hold?
There are a couple of different models of the Ninja Woodfire Grill.
The original model grill surface is 14.5 inches wide by 10.5 inches deep. It easily holds six burgers, four chicken breasts, three to four steaks. You can even cook two racks of ribs cut in half and a small brisket that weighs less than 10 pounds.
The XL has 30 percent more cooking space. You can fit up to two whole racks of ribs, 10 burgers, 4 pounds of wings, two 7-pound chickens or a 10-pound brisket.
Ninja Woodfire Grill settings and times
| FOOD | FUNCTION | TEMP | TIME | FINAL TEMP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken Breasts | Grill | Med | 19-22 min | 165F |
| Chicken Thighs | Grill | Hi | 12-16 min | 195F |
| Chicken Wings | Air Crisp | 390F, 450F | 25 min | 195F |
| Whole Chicken | Smoke | 375F | 1 hr | 165F |
| Burgers (fresh) | Grill | Hi | 5-8 min | |
| Burgers (frozen) | Grill | Med | 10-12 min | |
| Filet Mignon | Grill | Med | 9-12 min | 130F |
| Ribeye | Grill | Hi | 10-18 min | 130F |
| Prime Rib | Smoke | 250F, 400F | 1 hr 45 min | 125F |
| Pork Chops | Grill | Hi | 12-15 min | 145F |
| Salmon | Grill | Hi | 13-16 min | 1445F |
| Brisket | Smoke | 225F | 5 hrs 30 min | 205F |
| Pork Butt | Smoke | 250F | 6 hrs 30 min | 200F |
| Baby Back Ribs | Smoke | 300F | 1 hr 45 min | ~200F |
| St. Louis Style Ribs | Smoke | 250F | 2-4 hrs | 205F |
| Turkey Breast | Smoke | 325F | 90 min | 165F |
| Whole Turkey | Smoke | 350F | 90 min | 165F |
| Frozen French Fries | Air Crisp | 400F | 10 min |
Times will vary depending on the weight and thickness of the food
How do you know when the food is ready?
Whenever I grill or smoke meats, I cook the meats to a specific internal temperature. This guarantees that they’re safe to eat and still juicy and flavorful.
You can either measure the temperature using an instant-read digital meat thermometer or if you have the Ninja Pro, you can use the built-in thermometer.
Serving your BBQ
Pay attention to the recipes. Larger cuts of meat like brisket, pork butt and prime rib will be juicer if you let them rest for 30-60 minutes. Steaks, chicken breasts and pork chops only need to rest a few minutes.
Foods like chicken wings, burgers and hot dogs can be served right away. Just remove them from the grill, place them on a serving platter and enjoy with your favorite sides.
GCG Pro Pitmaster Tips
- Smoke, like salt, is flavor; too much can be overwhelming
- Use fewer pellets for delicate foods like fries, mac and cheese and baked goods
- When smoking large meats or ribs, you don’t need to wrap them in foil on the Ninja
- When making pork belly burnt ends, you don’t need to cover the pan with foil
- Watch your time; foods cook much faster on the Woodfire Grill
To learn more about the Ninja Woodfire Grill, such as how to assemble it, how to clean it and my review, click on the buttons below.
If this information was helpful, I would appreciate it if you would use the link below when you purchase your Ninja Woodfire Grill. After you make a purchase, I will be provided a slight commission at no extra cost to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. According to the manual, the Ninja Woodfire Grill should not be used indoors.
No. If you want to add smoke flavor while cooking on the Ninja Woodfire Grill, you should only use pellets.
When you add the smoke pellets, they will smoke for the first ___ of your cook. Once they extinguish, you won’t get any more smoke.
If you prefer more smoke intensity, add more pellets before they fully extinguish. If you missed that window and the pellets have all burned out, add more pellets and press the ignite button.
I have found with more delicate dishes like smoked mac and cheese or smoked cream cheese, you don’t need a full scoop of pellets. I generally add a couple of tablespoons for those dishes and they turn out perfect.
The heat source for the Ninja Woodfire Grill is electric, it’s not the burning pellets. Therefore, the smoke is not going to produce the same level of gases that produce the smoke ring reaction that a charcoal grill or pellet grill would produce. Smoke rings are pretty in pictures, but a brisket without a smoke ring can still taste awesome.
The smoker, dehydrate and broil functions are ready to use right away. The air crisp, bake and roast functions take about 3 minutes to preheat. The grill function takes 12-20 minutes, depending on the temperature outside.
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I need a direction sheet on how to use the woodfire grill. My mother bought it and she passed away. I can’t find the paperwork on this grill. Please help
This post should help you out: https://girlscangrill.com/product-reviews/ninja-woodfire-grill-review/
How do I cook chicken tenders using the air crisper air fryer?
You can absolutely use wood chips in the Ninja Woodfire. That is all I use and it works just as good. Some woods will burn fast and you may have to reload the hopper, but it works great.
For a number of years I have been able to get a 12lb stuffed turkey into my New Wave oven. I use a thermometer in the stuffing and everything turns out great. I just purchased a Ninja
OG951 Grill. It’s getting close to Thanksgiving and I would like to know if anyone has cooked a stuffed turkey in the Ninja and is the XL large enough to do about a 12 lb. turkey?
The New Wave has the heat element in the lid as does the Ninja. To prevent burning the breast bone area I put some aluminum foil on that area. The 12 lb turkey is cooked completely as well as the stuffing. With the smoke feature on the Ninja I’m sure result would be knockout, Thanks!
I have not cooked a stuffed turkey. The inside of the grill is only about 6 inches high, so I find that I have to remove the turkey backbone to get it to fit inside. You could add stuffing in the cavity though. That should work.
We’ve just bought a ninja Woodfire. We’re planning on gammon steaks at the weekend but can’t find any instructions. We’ve cooked burgers and are thinking to use same settings. Will this be ok ? Thanks
We don’t usually find gammon steaks in the US. I recommend setting your Ninja to the grill function and the heat to medium. Then, cook for 3-5 minutes per side.
how long to dehydrate cayenne peppers on wood fire grill
Do you preheat for a certain time then it stops and you put time in for cooking and food or is the recepie time including preheat?
The recipe time is just for the cooking stage, not the preheat stage.
Has anyone baked frozen food on this? For example a store bought frozen pizza, frozen lasagna. If so is there an adjustment needed for temp amd time? Thank you!!
Would love to have good recipes for Ninja woodfire grill smoker pro with the 2 temp probes and wi fi Bluetooth. I just got and have watched and read alot of your stuff.
Thanks for the help!
Cheryl
Thanks for letting me know Cheryl. I’ll see what I can do for you.
I enjoy your posts and they have helped me get the kind of food I have dreamed of for 70 years. The wife bought me the PRO model. While I have had great success with the manual settings, it only makes sense to me to learn how to use the preset setting and the included meat thermometer. The FIRST time I cooked using the woodfire grill, I chose baby back ribs and the meat fell off the bone when I was done – the first time I was ever able to achieve that successfully. Love the grill and your advice, which I use frequently. Have a great 4th!
Stephen Kellar Goose Creek SC
That’s so awesome! Thanks for sharing Stephen.
Does the ninja Woodfire grill, on the roast setting heat from top and bottom? If it does not what is the difference between baking and roasting?
I know ninja wants you to use there pelletts but can you use other pelletts that you can buy in the store
You’re right. Ninja does recommend using its own pellets. The grill was engineered to work with their specific brand. However, I have used pellets from other brands and they work fine. The only difference I’ve noticed is that sometimes other brands are smokier, so I add fewer pellets sometimes.