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Jun 10, 2023

Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill: Portable Grill for Tailgating 2022

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It's an electric grill, smoker and air fryer in one small, portable appliance.

NINJA IS the MVP of small kitchen appliances. The brand is known for making practical, reliable kitchen gadgets that make cooking easier and save space on your countertop. Case in point: the Ninja Ultimate Kitchen System that's equal parts food processor and blender or the 12-in-1 Ninja Foodi which, as the name suggests, harnesses the power of a gazillion kitchen appliances (pressure cooker, air fryer, rice cooker, toaster oven, and dehydrator, to name a few) into one. Now, the brand is moving off the kitchen counter and into your backyard—or wherever else you might take a portable grill.

The new Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill is the brand's first foray into outdoor cooking, and it's a certified home run. Don't take it from us: Grill master duo, Food Network hosts, and Ninja partners The Grill Dads said during a demo of the Woodfire Grill that they "haven't seen anything like this before" and that "you're going to get the same grilling performance as a full-sized powerful gas grill with the same searing and charring, but without all the hassle." One look at the grill marks from this thing and you'll be convinced.

There are two innovations that got The Grill Dads and us over at Men's Health excited about the Ninja Woodfire: 1.) it uses wood pellets and their smoke as an ingredient instead of a heat source (more on that later) and 2.) it is an electric, convection cooker which means no charcoal, no propane, no open flame, and easy clean up. All you need is a power source to get grilling.

So, about that smoke-as-an-ingredient bit. The Ninja Woodfire has a vestibule on the side with an electric heating element where you can add wood pellets. With the touch of a button, you can turn the smoke function on, which will then cause the grill to heat the wood pellets and pump the smoke into the main cabin of the grill. Unlike traditional pellet grills, the smoke and heat from the burning wood pellets aren't cooking the food, just flavoring it while the internal electric heating element handles the cooking.

The Grill Dads raved about how this allows you to add smokey flavor while cooking at a high heat. "Smoking is typically low and slow, below 300°F, and grilling is above 350°F. If you want to do high-temp cooking on traditional pellet grills to get that smokey flavor, they struggle to get up to temperature. With the Woodfire, you can grill and sear at 450°F but still add smoke. It's a grilling-smoking combo we haven't gotten to do before."

Each grill comes with two bags of seasoned wood pellets (all-purpose and robust) and a scoop that's the exact size you'll need for each use. It's a great entry-point to smoking if you've never tried it before or are weary of dropping $1,000+ on a pellet grill with no prior experience. The Grill Dads also love that with the Woodfire, smoking doesn't have to be a 8-hour weekend project.

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Second is the electric convection cooking. This technology isn't new — it's what makes Ninja's Air Fryer so great—but it is unusual for a grill. Beyond the convenience of no natural gases or flames and easy clean-up, it also makes for efficient cooking and effective smoking. With the grill's lid closed, the convection fan constantly circulates heat which reduces cooking times (The Grill Dads claim that chicken legs take 18 minutes on the Woodfire vs. 40 minutes on a standard gas grill).

Convection also creates a high-humidity environment so you get good crust, moist meat, and those epic grill marks. Along with circulating the heat, the fan also circulates the smoke being pumped in from the wood pellet burner, which means your food is constantly smothered in smoke for maximum flavor in a short amount of time.

And of course, the grill is portable. It weighs 30 pounds and is about 24 inches wide, so you'll be able to take it with you wherever you go, as long as you have a car and access to an electric outlet. From tailgating to camping, the Ninja Woodfire makes easy work of cooking in the great outdoors.

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Heath Owens is a Senior Commerce Editor at Hearst Magazines, where he covers home, fashion, tech and gifts for Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful, Esquire, Delish, Men's Health, and more.

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