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Ninja Kitchen has taken the power of its indoor Ninja Foodi Grill and transformed it into the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill. This grill can smoke, bake, air fry and so much more.
Disclosure: I partnered with SharkNinja for the launch of the Woodfire Grill. Opinions are my own.
Table of Contents
What is the Ninja Woodfire?
The Ninja Woodfire Grill is the latest grill from Ninja Kitchen. It combines everything we love about the indoor Ninja Foodi Grill, but it’s a little bit larger and adds the power of smoke, so you can create authentic barbecue.
I’ve been testing out the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill since April 2022, to see if it could pull off barbecue like I get from my other pits and smokers.
When I showed up to the first testing session in California, I was skeptical. The team asked me to come prepared with a few recipes.
I wanted to see if this grill could really barbecue, so I planned to cook pork belly burnt ends, ginormous beef plate ribs and baked Dutch baby pancakes with grilled pork steaks.
I was immediately blown away when all three recipes turned out amazing. Not only did the ribs and pork belly have the perfect bark, but they had a nice touch of smoke and cooked in nearly half the time. And the Dutch babies rose beautifully.
I knew from that moment forward that I was very interested in becoming associated with the Ninja Woodfire Grill, because I believe that Ninja Kitchen has created an innovative way to help people cook better barbecue.
Ninja Woodfire Grill features
Woodfire Flavor Technology
What makes this grill different from the indoor Foodi Grill is the Woodfire Flavor Technology.
On the side of the grill, there is a small smoke box. You simply fill it with about a half cup of wood pellets, and when you choose to use the smoker setting, the pellets will ignite and add real woodfire flavor to whatever you’re cooking.
There are two ways to activate this feature. You can either set the grill to smoker and it will be automatically activated, or you can select any other cooking function and press the Woodfire Flavor Technology button to activate it.
7 Cooking Functions
The Woodfire Grill has 7 cooking functions, so you can do way more than grill or smoke. Even if I combined all of the 30 grills I have in my backyard, I still couldn’t do all of the things the Ninja Woodfire Grill can do.
- Grill: Perfect for grilling burgers, steaks, chicken breasts or pork chops.
- Smoker: Excellent for larger cuts like brisket, whole chicken and pulled pork.
- Roast: When you don’t feel like adding smoke, you can roast a turkey breast, ham or prime rib with ease.
- Bake: Bake cookies, cakes and pies all outdoors.
- Dehydrate: Now you can dehydrate meat to make jerky while adding a touch of smoke.
- Air Crisp: No other grill that I know of allows you to air fry. French fries and onion rings are a breeze outdoors now.
- Broil: Make amazing garlic bread or finish a dish with perfectly melted cheese.
What’s Included & Assembly
When you open the box, you’ll see the list of items that are included and what each accessory is for. The list will vary depending on whether you purchased the original model or the Pro.
The grill is super easy to assemble. All you have to do is take the two handles and screw them onto the sides. They’re marked with an L and R to tell you which side they go on. The allen wrench is even included.
Next, you’ll want to insert the drip pan in the back and the smoke box on the side.
The inside of the grill includes the burner element on the bottom. The included grill grate goes right on top. This is your heat source, and it’s combined with convection technology on top, which speeds up the cooking process.
The Ninja Woodfire Grill is an electric grill, so you’ll need to have an outdoor electric source.
If you need to use an extension cord, be sure to read the manual for safety requirements.
The grill also comes with two sample-size bags of wood pellets, a crisper basket, which is used during the air crisp setting and a quick-start guide with recipes.
Pro Outdoor Grill
If you upgrade to the Pro Outdoor Grill, you’ll get the added benefit of a built-in thermometer. With the thermometer, you can program the grill to cook the meat to your exact preferred doneness.
If you don’t know what temperature to aim for, just use the pre-set settings. You can program it for different proteins and different doneness levels.
How to cook on a Ninja Woodfire Grill
Cooking on the 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.
- Set your cook time. (I always add a few extra minutes, so the grill doesn’t turn off too early)
- When it says “add food,” place your food in the grill.
- Cook your recipe according to the directions or preferred doneness, flipping or stirring as instructed.
- Remove your food from the grill and enjoy.
GCG Pro Pitmaster Tips
Here are a few more of the dishes I’ve made
Ninja Woodfire Grill Specifications
Other Accessories
In addition to all of the features and accessories already included, there are a few other accessories worth getting when you buy your Woodfire Grill.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on what you’re cooking. For larger proteins like brisket and pork shoulder, the smoke will be mild. You can add a second cup of wood pellets to help increase the flavor. For more delicate foods like fries and pastas, the smoke can be intense. Dial the amount of pellets back for those types of dishes.
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. If you want to read about of the science of smoke rings, visit AmazingRibs.com.
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.
How to clean the Ninja Woodfire Grill
To clean the Woodfire Grill, allow everything to cool. Then, you can remove the grill grate and wash it in the sink with soap and water. Use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe down the inside the hood and the exterior.
Don’t forget to empty the smoke box, if you use it. And remove the drip pan and clean it out. You can line the drip pan with foil for easier cleanup.
If you have the built-in thermometer, just wipe it with a damp cloth.
When you’re not using your grill, the cord stores conveniently on the back side. Wrap it around the hooks and then press the cord into the attached clip near the warning label.
Question: Can it be used indoors without the wood smoke pellets like the Ninja Foodi Grill or XL Grill?
The manual states its for outdoor use only.
Can the grill plate go in the dishwasher?
According to the manual: “The pellet scoop is dishwasher safe. The grill grate, crisper basket, grease tray and smoke box are not dishwasher safe.”
When will we get a Ninja BBQ
Would you recommend the ninja over traditional smoker, pellet smoker. Looking to buying something. Thought about charcoal smoker as well.
Thanks
That’s a hard question, because it depends on your cooking needs, space and budget. If you don’t need to smoke much more than a 10-pound brisket or a couple racks of ribs, the Ninja is great. It’s also an economical choice, because it’s less than most pellet grills and it also air fries, griddles and bakes. If you prefer the taste of charcoal however, you won’t get that with the Ninja.
Can you use the air fryer option inside the house if you do not use pellets
That’s a good question. According to the manual, it should only be used outdoors. I think it’s possible there could still be some residual smoke in the machine that might be less safe inside due to ventilation.
can you smoke beef/plate ribs with this? do i follow same instruction as recipe for a charcoal/pellet smoker or would need to adjust?
You sure can. Follow the same seasoning and grill temp and set the Ninja to Smoker. You will find that the ribs will cook faster. Here’s my recipe: https://girlscangrill.com/recipe/beef/beef-plate-short-ribs/
Wieso kann ich den Woodfire nicht in Deutschland kaufen???
Can the grill be used outdoors in temperatures below 32 degrees?
Yes. But because it runs on electricity, make sure there is no snow or moisture near the power source.
What about smoking a whole Turkey? 🥴
Due to the size of the grill, a whole turkey won’t fit, but you could grill a turkey breast or turkey tenderloin or turkey legs.
yes but spatchcock it theres a video out there
When using the combo crisper basket and grilling at the same time, what settings do you use? You indicated that you don’t have to do back to back cooking, but how does that work?
I use the air fryer setting. It still works for grilling the burgers.
Can I still grill if it starts raining
It is electric. If you have a covered patio where no water may get to the grill, then it should be okay. But if any water can get near the grill, I wouldn’t take the risk.