This Electric Grill Changed My Weekly Grocery List For Good

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Here in the South, the weather has been fluctuating madly with cool, brisk mornings and hot afternoons, while the invading pollen means your air purifier is working double duty.

Now that the weather is warming up rapidly (despite or in spite of the rain), it’s a great time to bust out your grill and prepare for the change of seasons with meat, veggies and other delicious treats. Over two years ago now, I had received the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill to test for an unbiased review, and to be frank, it’s nothing less than glowing. When my husband opened up the box, his eyes lit up like it was Christmas Day.

Now years later after near weekly use in every type of weather - except for the dead of winter - I can happily share some of the tips, tricks and issues you may run into with this high-performing electric grill. If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing an electric grill, this tested and reviewed product comes highly rated.

Three Types Of Outdoor Grills: Electric, Gas and Charcoal

The type of grill you invest in largely depends on your convenience level.

• Electric Grill: The most convenient type of grill, it uses electricity as its heat source so it needs to have access to an electrical outlet or some other form of power.
• Gas Grill: Uses natural gas or propane. Grilling enthusiasts say this offers a better flavor comparable to charcoal.
• Charcoal Grill: Uses charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal as fuel, and will need a chimney starter or lighter fluid. It’ll require a little more time and attention to get started, but has arguably the best flavor.

Pros And Cons Of Electric Grills

There’s a few reasons why you may, or may not, want to invest in an electric grill over a gas or charcoal grill.

Pros:

1. Uses electricity, not an open flame or fuel. Your landlord would probably thank you for it.
2. Portability - usually smaller and more nimble than other grill types
3. Faster start time with the flip of a switch
4. Easy clean up
5. New grills have multiple cooking options
6. Temperature control

Cons:

1. You’ll miss out on some of the authentic grilling flavor
2. Restrictions on power source
3. Needs proper covering
4. Hard to use in cold outdoor temperatures

Tested And Reviewed: The Ninja Woodfire™ Pro Outdoor Grill

I tested the Ninja Woodfire™ Pro Outdoor Grill, which includes the built-in thermometer and grill stand. For anyone considering this kit, you will definitely need the grill stand and the cover, which I’ll dive into later.

Main takeaway: This is a very beginner-friendly, serviceable, and easy-to-use electric grill that can grill and smoke a variety of meats quickly, and with little additional clean up.

Set up

Set up was a breeze, just literally plug and play. If you can purchase all of the accessories you need at once, it makes it a lot easier to get your first grilling session underway.

It’s most ideal in the following settings:

• Used outdoors on a small patio or deck, and stored away under a cover or in your garage
• Placed on a sturdy folding table or the stand sold by Ninja
• Extension cord and/or surge protector for power outlet

If you appreciate the scent of hickory, there are pellets you can get to add that extra flavor. Simply add it to the smoke box and it will be circulated by the convection fan.

Cooking Styles

The Ninja Woodfire Grill is a seven-in-one grill, offering a variety of cooking styles to suit every palate.

1. Grilling

This has been our main use, since it’s so easy and quick during the week. We’ve grilled burgers, hotdogs, kabobs, steaks, chicken and salmon on this grill, and haven’t had a bad meal yet.

2. BBQ Smoker

We smoked a few racks of ribs, using the Ninja Woodfire All-Purpose Pellet blend for a little extra flavor. The surface area is a good size for one full rack. They have a great recipe for smoked prime rib and baked potatoes

3. Air Crisp

Certain bundles will come with a crisper basket, and with the convection fan it largely works the same as any other portable air fryer without the oil. Wings, fries and other vegetables seem to be the food preference for most testers.

4. Roast

I usually think of whipping together a pot roast in my slow cooker, but if you need to hurry, you could use the roast function to speed it up.

5. Bake

Pop a couple of potatoes on the grill, and you have yourself a very fine comfort-food meal. If baked potatoes aren’t to your liking, sweet potatoes or sweet potato chunks can be baked or air crisped to perfection.

6. Dehydrate

You can use this setting if you’re interested in creating your own beef jerky. It would need to run for many hours, so I haven’t personally tested this one, but it sounds delicious!

7. Broil

If you need that perfect crispy crust, you can choose the broil setting at the beginning or end of your cooking.

My Results

We’ve cooked chicken, meatballs, sausage, hot dogs, ribs, steaks, shrimp and salmon on this thing and it’s usually never turned out any less than perfect. Okay, I will admit the first set of ribs were a little charred on the outside, but that was user error while learning the proper cooking times. It was still delicious and juicy and we cleaned every bone.

My favorite has been the chicken though - whenever I cook it in the oven or stovetop, I err on the side of overcooking and it can skew towards dryness. We made BBQ chicken and kabobs, and even our teenager said it was the best we’ve ever made.

If you get the Combo Crisper Basket, you can use this on the grill grate to air crisp (without any oil) at the same time you’re grilling your other meats or sides.

What I Liked

1. The settings are incredibly straightforward and easy for me to use. I’m admittedly not the chef in my family, and trying to turn on a propane grill makes my hands start to sweat. With the beginner-friendly interface, it’s just a matter of setting your type and temperature, pre-heating the grill and then away you go.
2. It’s small, portable, easy to maneuver and cover. We have it on our small open deck, including the Ninja grill stand, and it doesn’t take up much space. We could never place a big grill out on our deck.
3. The pellets add a soft smoky flavor to your meat, without being overpowering.

What I Didn’t

1. The built-in thermometer isn’t quite as useful as I thought it would be, but we were mostly grilling meats that didn’t require us to closely monitor the temperature.
2. The grease trap is a little small. Since you’re not doing huge amounts of food at one time, it’s not an issue, but it could be a hassle to clean out if you were planning to do a huge spread. My large-breed dog also likes to get into it if we aren’t careful.
3. At a certain temperature, you can’t use this electric grill. It’s simply too cold for it to pre-heat properly, and it just shuts off. I mean, it’s probably not typical to use it in sub 30- to 40-degree Fahrenheit temperatures, but we tried!

Ninja Woodfire™ Outdoor Grill Package Options

1. Ninja Woodfire™ Outdoor Grill

Price: $299.99 at Ninjakitchen.com; $269.99 at Walmart

Features:

• 141 sq. inch nonstick grill grate
• Comes with: Pellet scope, All-Purpose pellet starter pack
• 1 Year Limited Warranty

2. Ninja Woodfire™ Pro Connect XL Outdoor Grill & Smoker

Price: $399.75, was $449.99 at Ninjakitchen.com; $399.99 at Amazon

Features:

• Extra-large grill grate
• Comes with: 2 built-in thermometers, crisper basket, pellet scoop
• 1 Year Limited Warranty
• Bonus: All-purpose blend (starter packs)

3. Build Your Own Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect™ Premium XL Outdoor Grill & Smoker

Price: $549.99 at Ninjakitchen.com

Features:

• Extra-large grill grate
• Adjustable outdoor stand
• Comes with: Two built-in thermometers, crisper basket, pellet scope
• 1 Year Limited Warranty
• Bonus: Ninja Woodfire XL Premium Grill Cover OR Attachable Side Table

Accessories You Should Invest In

In my opinion, these are the must-haves you should get if you’re going to buy this electric grill, and a few other things you may like (but could live without).

1. Grill Stand: Ninja Outdoor Stand

Price: $129.95 at Amazon

If you decide not to get the Ninja outdoor stand, certainly another kind of grill stand would suffice. This just happens to be designed to specifically fit the grill, so I’d recommend it as a general best practice.

2. Grill Cover: Ninja Woodfire XL Premium Grill Cover Pro OR Ninja Woodfire Premium Grill Cover

Price: $25.99 and $30 at Ninjakitchen.com

Budget Pick: VIBOOS BBQ Grill Cover, starting at $16.99 at Amazon

You should invest in one of the Ninja Grill Covers if you are planning to keep your grill outdoors. I have mine on an open deck and the grill stand, and without it, you’ll definitely start seeing wear and tear. It’s lightweight, UV-resistant and water-resistant fabric.

I would consider upgrading to a completely waterproof cover, like the VIBOOS grill cover, however, if it’s going to be outside in all weather. That’s similar to what I use to cover the entire grill set today.

3. Ninja Woodfire Combo Crisper Basket

Price: $28.99 at Ninjakitchen.com

This 2.5-quart combo crisper basket can be used to air crisp while you’re grilling at the same time. This can be highly useful if you’ve found yourself wanting an air fryer but never quite pulled the trigger to buy one.

Prices accurate and items in stock at time of publish.