In one look
Expert Rating
Benefits
- Fast and predictable cooking
- Smoke flavor
- Versatile cooking options
The inconvenients
- Attached to an electrical outlet
- Grill size a bit small
- You will need a place to store it
Our opinion
The Woodfire Plug-in Electric Grill and Smoker brings fast, precise cooking to your patio. But the real star of the show is the wood-burning smokehouse, which turns simple dishes into must-haves for foodies.
Best Prices Today: Ninja Woodfire OG701 Electric Grill & Smoker
$329.95
When it comes to barbecuing, the Ninja Woodfire Electric Grill and Smoker is something a little different. This is an electric outdoor grill with versatile cooking options, plus a box on the side that burns wood pellets to give your food a fantastic smoky flavor.
Design and build
- 1.5m power cable
- Compact for a barbecue
- Does not come with lid or stand
At 34 x 46 x 46 cm (13 x 18 x 18 inches), the Ninja Woodfire Electric Grill and Smoker would be bulky if you had to keep it in a cupboard indoors, but it’s not huge in terms of barbecue. If you’re storing it on a patio or balcony, not in the shed, you’ll want to shell out for the optional weatherproof cover ($20/£19.99).
There is also a stand that you can buy separately, but save your money and spend it on a patio table instead. The only really essential accessory is a bag of wood pellets. The Original Blend is softer, the Robust Blend is richer. The Ninja comes with a small sample bag of each.
The machine also comes with a crispy basket for air frying, a well-designed scoop for adding wood pellets, and a small tray that sits underneath to catch drippings. There is also a recipe book.
You can keep it on your patio or balcony and soak up the sun while you cook gourmet meals outside all summer long with minimal effort.
It arrives almost assembled. You just need to attach a large handle on each side. They are clearly labeled left and right, they even come with a little tool for the job. Once the handles are in place, the Ninja is easy to lift.
The build quality is sturdy. Inside you have a grill plate with an electric element underneath. There’s plenty of cooking height and inside the lid is a fan for fast convection cooking.
The unit features touch controls for temperature and time, as well as a dial to select the cooking mode: Smoker, Broil, Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Reheat. The most important is a button to trigger the smoke box. Some recipes call for it and some don’t, but almost anything tastes better smoky.
The power cable reaches 1.5m from the rear (regardless of what the official specs say), so that dictates a lot where you can use the Ninja Woodfire. You must be near an outlet. There is an RCD (residual current device) built into the socket, so the power should automatically turn off if there is a problem.
We were pleased to see that the outlet design worked with a weatherproof outdoor outlet, as some electric grills have bulky outlets which unfortunately aren’t.
Performance
- Cooking surface of 38 x 28 cm (15 x 11 in)
- Versatile cooking
- Recipes provided are accurate
The 38 x 28 cm (15 x 11 inch) cooking surface isn’t gigantic, but the Ninja makes up for it with its quick and consistent cooking. You can cook quickly and predictably. The recipe book provided is varied and has something for everyone.
Meat dishes range from pulled pork to chipotle chicken wings, both perfect for the wood smoker. But vegetarians and vegans are also welcome. Everything from paneer tikka and halloumi to corn on the cob and simple vegetable kebabs cooks well on it.
Caramel Quin / Technical Advisor
The recipes provided give precise times and they have proven to be accurate. You select a cooking mode, time and temperature, then there is some time to preheat. If you are using the smoker, press the button to turn it on as well. It took six minutes to warm up in our test. You can hear the fan whirring, and if you’re using the smoker, you’ll also see white smoke coming from it.
The Ninja beeps and the screen prompts you to add food. When you close the lid, the timer automatically starts and counts down to dinner time. (Don’t make the mistake we made the first time by hitting the on/off button again at this point…we accidentally turned it off!)
You can tell he cooks with all your senses. It’s the countdown, the fan is still audible, the food sizzles and the smoke blows. Yes, your clothes will smell like you’re sitting around a campfire. That alone is almost worth the price of the Ninja – although your guests might disagree.
You can cook quickly and predictably. The recipe book provided is varied and has something for everyone.
The recipe results were impressive and the cooking was quick. Even the smoky garlic bread to share was a gastronomic revelation. But the size of the grill means you won’t be feeding an army. So if you like to entertain, you might also want to keep your old barbecue. You can cook most foods on your main grill and use the Ninja to slow cook smoky pulled pork or air fry smoky potato wedges.
Caramel Quin / Foundry
But if it’s just a few of you, you can keep it on your patio or balcony and soak up the sun while cooking gourmet meals outdoors all summer long with minimal effort.
Even the cleaning was ok. The grill plate and non-stick air fryer basket were easy to hand wash; unfortunately they are not dishwasher safe. The smoking box (which is small, about the size of a deck of cards) has an interior section that slides out for easy emptying, but it contained hot ashes, so we couldn’t empty it until the next day.
Price and availability
The Ninja Woodfire Electric Grill and Smoker isn’t the cheapest way to cook outdoors. But what it does offer are all the benefits of consistent indoor cooking, plus smoky flavor on the outside.
If you’re in the US, it has an MSRP of $369.99, but at the time of writing it’s available on Amazon and Best Buy for $329.99.
In the UK there are plenty of places to buy – including Amazon, Argos and John Lewis – but prices don’t vary much from the RRP of £349.99.
Verdict
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker impresses with its precise and fast cooking and – above all – with its smoker box. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, almost anything tastes better smoked. It’s a bit pricey, which knocked it off a half star, but if you have room for that outdoor grill in your life, and on your patio or balcony, you won’t be disappointed.
For other outdoor cooking options, check out our reviews of the Ooni Fyra and Ooni Karu Deluxe Pizza Ovens, Masterbuilt Gravity 560 and Weber Smokefire Grill.
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