I attended a Ninja Woodfire launch event on Wednesday 1st March and from what I’ve seen so far I was more than pleased with the culinary offerings on the table. It’s a first (ever) for the brand as it ventures outside to give customers the opportunity to prepare their favorite foods in a not-so-dissimilar way to which they’re accustomed.
It’s an outdoor cooking appliance that I think is definitely the best best air fryer for outdoors, as air frying is just one of the seven settings it can achieve under the hood. It also doesn’t take up much more space (if at all) than your favorite countertop gadget, so it’s one that even the smallest feet can make room for.
During my time at Ninja Woodfire, I dabbled in cuisines from Italy, America, and Australia, delving into tear-and-share smoked garlic bread, grilled corn on the cob, and air-fried zucchini and corn fritters (my favorite).
These three settings (Smoke, Grill, and Air Fry) were the only settings we were shown, but the electric BBQ grill and smoker can also roast, bake, reheat, and dehydrate. Depending on the food you are preparing, you can choose the most suitable setting by turning the dial on the control panel.
I met with Ninja Woodfire brand ambassador Gino D’Acampo who talked a lot about it and told me he’d tried all but one of the settings…
If you love to cook you can’t go wrong
Gino D’Acampo, brand ambassador
Gino’s blind spot is the Dehydrate attitude, but he’s mentioned he’ll try a piece of smoked salmon this weekend so I’ll keep an eye out for his verdict, but what he’s raved about is a cooked smoked one – the jury’s in favor me here.
The control panel, located on the front of the product, also houses the timer and temperature settings, as well as the smoke fire button that can be used to change the food flavor experience to smoke. Pellets can be placed in a pull-out drawer on the side of the hood. These pellets burn clean and leave very little ash.
Ninja sells two types of these pellets: Robust Blend and All-Purpose Blend. The Robust is a blend of hickory, cherry, maple and oak to recreate that rich, classic BBQ flavor and the all-purpose is a blend of cherry, maple and oak for a balanced, mellow and sweet taste. They can be purchased from the Ninja website along with a ton of other accessories such as a grill pellet scoop, griddle and stand.
The Ninja Woodfire can be left outside year-round, the company says, but if you want to give it a bit of extra protection there’s a cover you can buy from Ninja USA (opens in new tab) And Ninja UK (opens in new tab) Site that I think would be worth it at $20/£29.99.
What you get for the $369.60 / £349.99 Ninja Woodfire is the machine, a pellet starter pack (both mixes), a pellet scoop, a crisper basket and a chef-created recipe guide to help you cooking helps.
Our US readers could also benefit from this Ninja Woodfire Pro Outdoor Grill with Built-In Thermometer and Premium Package for $459.60 (opens in new tab) with grill cover, vegetable tray and roasting trays, or you can have it in a deep red hue at no extra cost.
I’m looking forward to getting ‘hands on’ with the Ninja Woodfire myself, but if you’ve heard enough, the Ninja Woodfire is now available on both sides of the pond (there’s no word on an Australian launch at this time). ) and it’s already selling fast.
