The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker is a versatile and unique design that does much more than sear meat. Its Plug-n-go design requires electricity to get started, but once switched on, you'll find numerous easy-to-use cooking functions to choose from — master grilling, wood-flavored smoking, or no-hassle air frying — and helpful settings with prompts to alert you every step of the way, from preheating to flipping, and then when your food is done. Basic tech features and user-friendly controls eliminate any guesswork or struggles to maintain consistent temperatures. And its relatively lightweight size, paired with large side handles, means this tabletop grill is good for traveling.
The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker may fool you into thinking it is just your average pellet grill, but it's so much more. Instead, it's a smart take on electric grilling with versatility at its core. A simple 120-volt power cable delivers up to 1760 watts of power to meet all your cooking needs, while specially designed Ninja wood pellets can be added on occasions when you want to enhance your meal with a smokier flavor. We found the grill required about eight minutes to reach a high temperature using the preset “Grill” option on its control panel. Once selected, the Ninja automatically goes into a 10-minute high-heat cycle that shares prompts when it is “preheating” versus when you should “add food”, when to “flip” (if needed), and finally, when your food is “done.” No guessing, no hassle, no interrupting to double-check what's happening inside, and excellent results every time.
While a high heat grill setting is achieved in a matter of minutes, the grill provides predetermined settings for various types of meats and other grillables, using the attached thermometer to ensure each item is cooked to perfection. If you prefer to have some degree of manual control, just select the manual button to be able to fine-tune the temperature and/or timer options. We didn't love that we are reliant on electricity to operate this grill, but we also cannot complain about its easy-to-use, consistent results. However, for camping or tailgating, this could prove an issue. That being said, if you are traveling to a destination with power available, our test team thinks you'll find a great deal to love in this Ninja, including a very short wait time for high heat before you can start cooking, and the option to add wood-fire flavor to your meal.
The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker relies on a turn-style knob to control its cooking temperature and features. Just rotate between various settings from grill, smoke, air crisp, bake, roast, broil, and dehydrate, and follow the prompts. The temperature and functions of the Ninja are all managed by the electric components. But to level up your meal with the smoker, you'll want to pull out a bag of Ninja's wood pellets and add some to the smoke box. A built-in convection fan found in the lid circulates both heat and smoke, holding a slow, consistent temperature to infuse your grillables with that wood-smoke flavor. A thermometer is also built into the design to make it easy to monitor your progress, sending out beeping alerts when your meat or fish is ready.
While pre-determined settings can create a hassle-free grilling experience, they also eliminate the option to customize your BBQ settings and control temperatures to your preference. There are also noticeable “hot spots” at the back of the grill where the non-stick cooking surface and convection fan cannot fully regulate the heat. Overall, our testers were pleased with the performance of the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker and appreciated how easy it was to cook up many meals, even on the move.
When compared to many grilling options available, the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker is relatively portable. With a footprint of 20 by 22 inches and a height of 16, it's fairly easy to get one's hands around, especially with the two beefy handles positioned on either side. It's also only about 31 pounds, easy enough for many to lift and carry between points A and B with relative ease. Materials are lightweight overall, including removable components like its non-stick cooking grate and air crisper. But it certainly isn't the lightest grill that we've tested, and because it requires electricity to operate, not every BBQ destination is going to be a fit.
The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker is remarkably easy to assemble, ensuring you can be grilling within minutes once you take your new grill home. Simply remove all the individual components from their packaging, install the two large handles on each side using the provided mini-screwdriver, place the grate or air crisper in place, plug into an outlet, and voilà — ready to go. All you'll need to do once your meat or veggies are prepped is rotate the knob on the front of the grill to your desired setting.
Our biggest gripe with the setup is the electrical cord. It is not long enough to place the grill in many locations where it might otherwise seem like a natural fit. At only 40 inches, the distance is pretty restrictive. In some cases, it may even make it hard to ensure you are grilling away from combustible objects. In an era of wildfires, this is something our test team considers every time they bring any grill out. An extension cord may be the easy fix, but we still think it's worth considering where and how you plan to use your grill before deciding if the Ninja fits the bill.
The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker features a non-stick grilling grate similar to what you might expect from other electric indoor/outdoor BBQ options, light in weight with consistent ridges to drain grease and provide sear marks on your meat and veggies. The 14.5-inch x 11-inch cooking surface provides 180 square inches for grillables. That's enough space to cook for a small group of up to 4. Anything more, you'll find yourself grilling in shifts.
If you like to air fry, this grill makes it easy to take that function along with you on the road. All you'll need to do is place your food into the lightweight non-stick crisping basket provided, and place it inside. Then just a quick spin of the dial to the air crisp setting and close the lid. Prompts on the screen will tell you anything else you need to know. We were able to cook two pounds of meat at a time on this setting. Between the non-stick cooking grate and the lightweight crisping basket, we had no trouble cooking for four.
The best part of electrical grills is that they offer protection from the wind. Since no flame can be altered by inclement weather, the issue becomes obsolete. The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker is no exception, with a fully enclosed grilling space that maintains consistent heat so long as there is an electrical outlet available to power it.
With its fully enclosed cooking area, the Ninja Grill & Smoker looks more similar to a small convection oven than a conventional portable grill. Strong gusts of wind are no threat to your meal prep. Even if the smoke from the wood pellets manages to escape, the grill's internal heat remains unchanged. This reliability adds to the appeal of the Ninja when compared with other grill styles.
If you're looking for a grill that's easy to use, easy to transport, and consistently delivers delicious results, the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker is a great choice. Although not as affordable as other grills, it's far more versatile than most, offering the option to grill, broil, bake, air fry, or smoke on the go. For a unique, modern take on the portable grill that will expand your meal and flavor choices, this is a great choice. That said, if you can't count on electrical outlets wherever you're headed, it won't do you much good. So be sure to consider what “portable” means to you before making the dive.
While we love the simplicity and versatility of the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill & Smoker, the Traeger Ranger Pellet may be a better option if you are most excited to ramp up your smoker game. Although it also relies on electricity to ignite and control temperature, it primarily relies on burning wood pellets for cooking, generating a deeply smoky flavor through that consistent flame. If the price tags on both of these are too steep for your liking but the convenience of an electric grill option appeals, the Elite Gourmet 12" Electric Indoor outperforms its modest price tag. If you want to cut the electrical cord entirely, our testing team loves the propane-powered Weber Traveler, both for its exceptional dinner table results and travel-friendly design.
