Ninja's portable grill might be compact, but it can air fry, bake, and more

Independent

6 hours ago

Ninja woodfire grill set-up
It's simple to set up and needs minimal assembly. The side arms need to be attached to the main unit, but that was easily accomplished with the included Allen wrench. The grease tray also needs to be inserted into the back of the unit. From there, all that was left to do was unpack the included grill plate, griddle plate, and fryer basket. After less than five minutes, I was ready to go.
Ninja woodfire grill design
One of the key attributes of this grill is how compact it is. At just over 30 pounds and 18 inches wide by 13 inches tall, the grill's footprint is fairly small. Despite this, there is still cooking space across the 141-square-inch for multiple steaks, a whole chicken, or plenty of vegetable kebabs.
The exterior of the grill is constructed from weather-resistant porcelain steel for outdoor use in all seasons. While it does get warm during use, it's not hot enough to cause concern.
On the front of the grill is a full, easy-to-read control panel, with a dial to choose your preferred cooking method. From there, you can adjust temperature settings and the timer, along with selecting the wood-fired flavor setting to ignite the smoking function. The wood pellets are housed in a small pellet hopper on the right side of the grill, with an included scoop for simple measuring.
Cooking on the Ninja woodfire grill
Cooking on the Ninja woodfire is incredibly intuitive. Once you select the cooking method from the dial, the grill begins its preheating process. I found it heated up quickly, regardless of the setting, with an indicator screen and notification sound when it's time to add food. The timer indicates when to flip food through the screen, and there's a beeping sound as well.
There are top and bottom heating coils to provide even heat distribution. The grill also has a fan, creating a convection environment.
Grilling provided ease of use without worrying about a flame. Cooking asparagus on the grill plate was excellent, allowing for grilled flavor without any worry about thinner pieces falling through a grate. In comparison to a gas grill, I did notice a bit more moisture while cooking vegetable kebabs, because there wasn't anywhere for excess water from the included zucchini to go. Cooking a steak with the wood-fired flavor setting turned on provided great flavor and beautiful grill marks.
When it comes to smoking, I can't say this grill achieves as good a flavor result as an alternative smoker option. However, for an all-in-one electric choice, it still gets the job done. You can smoke multiple chicken breasts or a small pork shoulder with a more subtle smoked flavor, while still achieving a tender pull-apart texture.
I was impressed that the appliance heated to 350 degrees on the baking setting in less than five minutes, allowing for a variety of baking projects. Unfortunately, a larger 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish won't fit inside the grill, but a deep 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish will. I baked a strawberry apple crisp in the grill, but found that the top heating component browned the dessert too quickly. This is important to keep in mind for any food being cooked on the bake or roast setting. However, that can be alleviated by covering the dish with aluminum foil to slow the browning process on top.
Ninja woodfire grill clean-up
The included grill and griddle plates are ceramic-coated and nonstick, which means they're not dishwasher safe. However, I found it incredibly simple to clean these pieces after use. Even after making glazed vegetable kebabs, which resulted in a sticky residue on the grill grate, running it until hot water and wiping it clean with a sponge was a breeze.