Ninja Woodfire Pro Outdoor Grill Review: Is It the Ultimate 7-in-1 Compact Cooker?

I once saw an episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats in which he went into great detail about how much he loathes what he calls “unitaskers,” aka single-function kitchen tools. Still, when it comes to appliances and outdoor kitchen equipment, it seems like the more features they have, the more there is that can go wrong—or at least leave you unimpressed. 

Knowing this, I expected pale sear marks, weak smoke flavor, and soggy air-fried sides when I started testing the Ninja OG751 Woodfire Pro, and I couldn’t have been more wrong. After almost a month of daily use, here’s why I’ve come to love it in almost every way.

Best 7-in-1 Portable Grill

Ninja OG751 Woodfire Pro Outdoor Grill

Rating: 4.9/5

Buy at Amazon

Photo: Amazon

What We Like

• Weather-resistant and electric for indoor/outdoor cooking
• Grills, smokes, air fries, bakes, roasts, broils, and dehydrates
• Integrated thermometer and timer prevent overcooking
• Very easy to wipe clean

What We Don’t Like

• Limited cooking surface compared to grill-only units

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Product Specs 

• Type: Electric
• Weight: 30.6 pounds
• Cooking Surface: 141 square inches

General Features and Overall Performance

Once I started testing the Ninja OG751, I didn’t stop. In the last several weeks, I’ve used it to make burgers, steak, chicken and veggie kabobs, wings, onion rings, homemade wedge fries, frozen burritos, and several other items. Even my teenage daughter has gotten in on the action, reheating her own pizza and grilled sandwiches rather than interrupting my workday to ask me to do it. Everything we’ve made has been excellent, and when we briefly thought we’d broken it (it wouldn’t turn on after we left it out in a massive thunderstorm, but it was just a tripped breaker), we immediately started shopping for a replacement. 

As part of my testing lineup of the best portable grills, I compared the Ninja to a group of several others regarding ease of use, heat distribution, portability, ease of cleaning, and value, and its overall score ended up being the highest. Yes, the 141-square-inch nonstick cooking surface was the smallest of the bunch, but the high-heat electric coils generated enough power to produce dark, defined sear marks on meats and perfectly crisp crusts on breaded foods. The included thermometer probe and timer prevented us from overcooking anything, automatically turning off the heat when our food reached its target temperature or set cooking time.

The Woodfire Pro’s smoking capabilities were equally impressive. Although this little smoker uses just a half cup of pellets in its side hopper, it generates a ton of flavor in a much shorter window than a full-size smoker. Ninja includes sample packs of its All-Purpose and Robust pellet blends with purchase, and when we smoked a rack of ribs using the Robust blend, the flavor was almost too intense—crazy for just a few short hours of smoking.  

Build and Value

Beyond its versatility, the 30.6-pound Ninja OG751 has smart design choices that make it as easy to care for as it is to use. Both the grill grate and air fry basket have nonstick coatings, so post-meal cleanup is super quick. (That being said, we did scratch the grill when we took a metal tool to it, so be careful.) There’s a removable grease tray on the back that seems relatively small but still holds enough to only need emptying every few cooks. The power cord is on the short side at about 4 feet long, but it’s easy enough to simply attach it to an outdoor extension cord.

At around $500, the Ninja Woodfire Pro isn’t exactly inexpensive. But considering that it’s a very capable combination grill, smoker, air fryer, oven, and dehydrator, you can use it indoors or out, and it’s small enough to take camping or store in a closet, I think it’s worth it. After all, we were ready to buy a replacement the moment we thought we’d flooded ours rather than go without.

Where to Buy

Ninja OG751 Woodfire Pro Outdoor Grill

Buy at Amazon

Photo: Amazon

 

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