In T3’s Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker review, I put this barbecue to the test to see if an electric powered grill can make delicious and authentic barbecue food.
Ninja is hitting it out of the park with its releases this year, especially with the launch of its first ever barbecue. The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker is designed to make barbecuing easier for beginners and can fit in the smallest of spaces, including tiny gardens, balconies, patios and camping sites. With seven cooking functions, the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker can do a surprising amount with its compact size.
In the debate of whether the best barbecue is electric, charcoal, gas or wood pellets, the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker definitely holds its own and may convert barbecue fanatics and electric grill sceptics. Here’s the full review.
- Buy the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker at Ninja
- Buy the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker at Amazon
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker review: Unboxing & set-up
The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker arrived in a big cardboard box which came with the barbecue, grill plate, cook and crisp basket, pellet scoop, two Woodfire Pellet starter packs and a recipe guide with instructions. The barbecue itself also has a removable Woodfire Smoke Box and grease tray.
Taking the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker out of the box was a little on the heavy side but it’s not impossible to move around. It measures 34cm height, 46cm width and 46cm diameter so it can definitely fit into small spots, for example, it fit on my tiny balcony and sat nicely on my hob.
Setting up the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker was easy and took a matter of minutes. All you have to do is remove the packaging and stickers on the barbecue, screw in the handles, clean the attachments and you’re pretty much ready to go! To start using it, you need to plug it in and flip the switch underneath the barbecue – more on this later.
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker review: Design & features
The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker has a sleek, compact and attractive design with black and silver colouring. The controls are simple and displayed clearly on the front of the barbecue. It has a dial which lets you select your cooking programme, a Woodfire Flavour technology button that starts the integrated smoker box, a screen, and buttons underneath the screen to adjust the time and temperature.
On the right hand side of the screen is the start/stop button but to actually get the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker to work is by flicking the on/off switch which is hidden underneath the barbecue. It took me a while to find the button as it’s not in the easiest-to-reach spot and you might have to click the reset button on the plug as well to get it working. It’s not a deal breaker but it’s a little tricky at first.
The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker has many features, including seven cooking programmes. Using the dial, you can choose between Grill, Smoker, Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Reheat and Dehydrate. The entire barbecue is powered by electricity and uses Woodfire technology with the integrated smoker box to give your food that authentic smokey flavour. To do this, you open the smoker box lid which is located on the right side of the barbecue and put in natural wood pellets from the Woodfire Pellet starter packs. This goes on to burn the pellets for extra flavour.
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker review: Performance
As I said before, the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker was easy to set up and once I located the on/off button on the underside of the barbecue, it was ready to go. I rotated the dial to the grill function which lights up the screen with the temperature option and timing. After that, the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker asked me to shut the lid for it to preheat and it preheated for around 5-10 minutes before it instructed me to put my food inside.
My first experiment was cooking halloumi and souvlaki chicken. Once it had heated up, I chucked the halloumi in first which grilled perfectly and the grill plate gave it the authentic grill marks that you expect from a standard barbecue. The chicken went on next and it cooked super quickly and came out so tender and juicy.
My second experiment was making chicken, chorizo, pepper and pineapple skewers and corn on the cob. Just like before, the skewers were easy to cook and even without using the Woodfire flavourings, the grill setting gave the skewers a nice charred flavour that felt quintessentially barbecue-y.
The third experiment was making beef burgers. With this, I tried the Woodfire Flavour technology which you select after your cooking programme and before clicking the start button. I used the Robust blend which is what’s recommended for burgers. The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker took slightly longer to preheat as it burned the pellets for that smokey flavour. This might be the favourite meal I tried in the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker as the burger was juicy and tasted incredibly smokey and authentic.
As you have to close the lid of the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker to get it to work, I did find that it got very dirty inside which required more cleaning. Of course, this is to be expected but because of the small size, the heat gets more trapped inside which is slightly different compared to bigger barbecues and the best smokers. You have to clean the grill plate after every use but as you can’t take the lid apart to put it in the sink, it’s slightly more tedious to clean.
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker review: Price
The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker is £349.99 and is available to buy at Ninja and select retailers like Amazon, Currys, John Lewis, Argos and Very. This price isn’t bad considering the amount of functions you get. Traditional barbecues tend to be more expensive and as the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker runs on electricity, you don’t need to continuously buy charcoal or gas to keep it going which is definitely a bonus.
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker review: Verdict
The Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker is a brilliant grill and barbecue that’s perfect for beginner grillers and people who have limited outdoor space. It definitely gives more people a chance to barbecue which is a great concept and it's safer and more eco-friendly to the environment than regular barbecues.
What might put off avid barbecue-rs is that the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker is powered by electricity which leads people to believe that it won’t get that smokey taste. However, I didn’t find this to be the case at all! Even without using the Woodfire technology, the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker gives food authentic grill marks and flavour, and with the Woodfire Pellets, you can add more taste and texture to your meals.
One negative I have is that the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker gets dirty insanely quickly and the cleaning process can be a little arduous. I also question why you’d need an air fryer and dehydrating function on a barbecue. Obviously Ninja is best known for its air fryers and multi cookers but it did seem a bit odd to me to have these functions.
Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker review: Alternatives to consider
Another new electric barbecue released in 2023 and a great alternative to the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoke is the Weber Lumin. This top portable grill is similarly designed to fit into small spaces and it grills, steams, smokes and sears to give food the best flavour. It has a cool design and is around the same price point as the Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoke at £399.
