Ninja FlexFlame Grill Review

Grids can be shared: some purists will spoil anything charcoalAlthough others like the simplicity and comfort of the propane. So what do you think your grilddom is, say a gas that not only promises Char Hamburgers, but also smoking, pan and baking? This amalgam exists: a Ninja flexflameOr

As a medium-term griller, I think the charcoal is great, but I can't get around the practical nature of the propane-I was interested in flexflame, but also skeptical. Any device that promises many things often does not do them very well. In order to find out if the flexflame was a grilling multitasker, which was alleged, I tested it for more than a month, baking hamburgers, grilling sausages and even pizza.

The tests

• Setup and Easy Tests: I found how to set the grill and if it was easy to use. I also timed how long it took for the grill to reach 500 ° F.
• Grill test: I used ninja for grilling various foods, including corn, hamburger and Kielbasa.
• Frying Test: I used the enclosed frying pan for SEAR Smash burgersOr
• Pizza Test: I used the attachments pizza Bake Pepperoni pizza.
• Smoke testing: With the help of the grill I used cold smoke spoiled eggs To see how well the pharynx and the smoker worked. I tried Ninja's pellet to appreciate their quality and look at the taste they passed delicious, sweet or fierce and smoky.

What we have learned

Electric! (And start gently)

I used to make simple propane grids: set up my Weber Gas GrillI just fix the proposition tank and twist the ignition discs. But in addition to the need for propane, the ninja, the personality of the multitasking, must be fucked. The cord is seven inches long, so you will probably need an extension cable. To turn on the flexflame, you need to press the dial, screw it to light the burners, and then turn it to the desired setting (grill/pizza, two zones, fried/baking, or low and slow). Each setting corresponds to different temperatures, but they can be adjusted by rotating another disc.

The diet is delicious. I had to put it in and turned it back a few times before lit the burners. Although this is not a big mistake, I prefer the simplicity and simplicity of the non -electric gas grid. In addition, electronics outside = better chance of errors. (The electric box hangs at one angle of one of the side tables, I couldn't screw it tight enough to be parallel to the table.)

At the same time, I did as a digital screen that shows the temperature. It was clean and bright and easy to set the grill temperature; I didn't grab a pre -set.

He was rapidly heated and well -grilled thanks to his fan

Ninja has a built-in fan that is similar to a pellet grid– This creates a steady heat flow when the lid closes and if you use smokers, the smoke is attracted to the cooking chamber from the pharynx. Helps the grill quickly; It reached 500 ° F in just over six minutes.

The disadvantage of this convection system is that it sounds like an airplane take -off. Raising the lid stops the fan and gets rest from the noise, but when it closes, it returns to the runway. Nevertheless, flexflame did a good job. Hot dogs, sausages and corn got deep characters and cooked quickly. If you want a solid propane grid, you will do it.

Let's talk about the other features of flexflame

Ninja is a decent grill, but what about the other abilities? He did very well in each of them except for one. The semi -cylinder, while crowded, lacy, caramelized crumbling hamburgers and pizza stone, provided an secured pizza that baked quickly. The smoker was not so successful: the pharynx was small and the pellet exploded on my tests. Although smoking involves burning the pellet, it must be a slow burn, not the fingers of the fingers. The burning pellets emitted a fierce burnt rubber smell and gave the spoiled eggs a smoky taste for a very bitter smidge to call it complete success.

The judgment

Ninja flexflame is a good gas grid. It heats up quickly thanks to its powerful (and loud) convection fan and gets a nice SEAR by sausages, corn and hamburgers without destroying them. The dial to turn on and light the barbecue was delicious, though I liked its bright, clean digital display. Almost all of the additional features performed well, even if they were not a pioneer – anyone can throw a griddle Or a pizza stone on a grill. At the same time, he struggled as a smoker and creates a pellet -inferno rather than a carefully smoldering pile. All in all, it's a good grill, though I think it is expensive, considering that the additional features were not thoughtful. If you only use the barbecue bit, you can save a few hundred dollars and in the spring a Weber instead.

The pros

Ninja flexflame is considered a multitasker, but in the heart it is a grill – and good. As you start starting as the flames rotate, it heats up quickly. The food cooks quickly thanks to a huge (and airplane-motor) fan that distributes the heat: the sausages were kissed and blistered, and the hamburgers were nicely charged, but still wet. This convection fan helped quickly bake the pizza, ensuring puffy edges and sharp substrates.

While the pellet lit up when I was using the smoking, it gave a smoky, smoky hickory taste to the cold smoked eggs. Overall, he did well as a barbecue and was fine with his other tasks.

The disadvantages

It took more than an hour to assemble the grill – a lot of screws and parts. To start the barbecue, you need to plug in and twist the button to turn on the electrical surface and light the flame. Occasionally I had to turn the button a few times before it lights and turns on. I didn't like the fact that you had to put it in the grill to work; If something is wrong with electronics, it has lost the functionality of the grill. The cord was just seven inches long, so I had to use an extension cable.

While Ninja FlexFlame was quickly hot and well grilled, other functions were not as impressive, especially smokers. When I smoked some spoiled eggs cold, the pellet caught fire and fired a flame when I opened the pharynx. The barrier of the grill sounds like an airplane that takes off.

Key specifications

• Cooking area: 424 squares
• Number of burners: 3
• Number of wheels: 2
• Number of page boards: 2
• Guarantee: 10 years
• Good to know: The pizza stone and pan are not included in the basic package
• Available natural gas: Not
• BTUS: 37,000

Why are we experts

• Grace Kelly Senior editor of Serious Eats.
• He has been testing kitchen equipment for four years.
• There are two gas grids, two charcoal grids, two pizza furnaces and one smoking – suffice to say that you know about outdoor equipment.