About Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill

The Ninja Foodi Smart XL is a kitchen grill that claims to have 5 to 6 cooking styles i.e. Sear, Sizzle and Air Fry crisps and a couple others. On purchase of this product, the buyer receives a complete “kitchen collection” that includes a thermometer, grill roast rack, recipe book, crisper basket, kebab skewer set, multiple bonus gifts and of course an amazing 3 year warranty to seal the deal.

Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill Models

All this for the price of $349.80 ($30 per month plan is also available if the buyer wishes to pay in instalments). There are two variants of the Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill where in one is for $229.80 and the latter for $349.80. Both the models come with a 90 day return policy.

Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill Features

Smart Cook System

This Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill claims to fit every need and packed with a Smart Cook System, the sear on your meat or the food that is being cooked to picture perfect.

Thermometer

Whether it is medium rare or well done, now no more guessing or estimating because this Ninja Foodi Smart XL is equipped with a smart thermometer which is designed to constantly monitor the temperature of the food so with just a touch of a button one can turn into a master chef and select the protein type and let the grill do what it does best so you can relax throughout the process.

4 Smart Cook Settings

The Ninja Foodi Smart XL grill has unique smart cook settings that let the user choose amongst 4 protein settings such as beef, poultry, pork and seafood along with 9 levels of customizations that depend on the level of doneness so no more getting worried whether the food is overcooked irrelevant of whatever is on the menu for the occasion.

Pros and Cons of the Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill

Unlike the old times where outdoor cooking or portable cooking wasn’t an option, Ninja Foodi Smart XL is a must have product in every household. The joy of grilling meat or for that matter even vegetables is a unique experience as we watch the fire take the raw dish to new levels. One of the major advantages of cooking with Ninja Foodi Smart XL is that it is much healthier as compared to their deep fry versions(Yes, it means less fat and more vitamins!!) so it is advisable to invest in the right kind of products for the long run. The perfect investment is made on the top grade electric grill like the Ninja Foodi Smart XL that is user friendly; especially if they have thermometers to handle all the constant temperature spikes and checks. But just like each coin has two sides, let us consider the pro’s and con’s of owning The Ninja Foodi Smart XL grill.

Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill Advantages

• Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill perfect for both indoor as well as outdoor use. One of the best features of using The Ninja Foodi Smart XL grill is that it can be used in both outdoor and indoor events wherein the only thing that needs to be ensured is that you have is a power source and it’s ready to use.
• Easy to modulate between temperatures. – Unlike the direct heat of the fire or the traditional grills where one had very little control over the heat that was exposed to the food, the Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill is equipped with a thermometer which is specially designed to help regulate the temperature of the food as per the desired result. This makes it reliable and ensures that the food is not left over or under-cooked. No more guessing by simply looking at the piece of meat, no more wondering whether some parts are well cooked while others are overcooked or even burnt in some cases.
• Easy to Clean – It wasn’t too long ago that one had to go through a tedious process of washing all the parts of the grills to remove all the oil and other materials that cling on to surfaces during the process of cooking. The best part of owning the Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill is that it is easy to clean and will look as good as new after minimal maintenance.
• Safety Aspect Unlike the gas grills where there was a slight fear of leakage of gas one way or another, the electric grills have zero to no incidents related to fire and are some of the safest ways to grill. No fumes, no smoke only good food.
• Kitchen Thermometer – A kitchen thermometer is a pretty handy product since it can be used to bring your pre-cooked food to work at the right temperatures. Re-heating food brings back a lot of goodness in case one has cooked their meals the night before or well in advance.
• In consideration to the above, Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill is sturdy in built and built to last long with no rust at all.

Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill Disadvantages

Quality is Degraded – As compared to the traditional over the fire cooking, this grill is electric and does not understand when the grilling needs to stop because certain things are best done by intuition. Cooking is a therapeutic process and estimating when the meat is just about ready to be served is a trick only seasoned chefs know and take pride in. Whether it is over the charcoal or by the fire, the fun in Bbq was in being able to control the heat manually.

Not Energy Efficient This grill consumes a lot of energy and for many, that maybe the deal breaker. If it is increasing house hold costs then ultimately purchasing such an expensive product is not worth it.

Totally Dependent on Electricity Picture going out in the nature and sitting by the bonfire ready to cook some meat but even if you have this grill, unless there is any electricity you can’t really use the product! Since this requires access to electricity the use of this product is limited to urban areas.

Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill REVIEW

Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill is Smoky

Although the advertisement came across as a very promising one and while the Ninja Foodi Smart Grill cooks great with efficiency. Unfortunately it came with a lot of unhappy customers and their feedback. Some said that even though Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill didn’t consume a lot of time while cooking for example with T-bones and roasted veggies that would cook perfectly there was a lot of smoke, and by that they meant even when it was cooling off.

Not Pet-Friendly

One reviewer had a pet parrot (Parrots are intolerant to smoke and should never be exposed to them) so these few things should have been advertised since returning the Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill REVIEW is a bit of an inconvenient process for the buyers. In some cases this Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill REVIEW even set off the smoke alarms multiple times while leaving behind a strong smoky odour for hours.

Can’t Use All the Functions at the Same Time

Another Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill user’s excitement too was short lived because once they went through all the instructions after purchase, they found out that they can’t air fry and grill simultaneously. This is a real problem because if French fries are taken into consideration to fry then taken apart and then the steaks, this would leave the French fries cold and dry. In case if the users grill the steaks first, take it apart and air fry… the steaks would be the one’s to be left cold this time.

False Claims

These are classic examples of incomplete advertising or false claims because once bought, realistically not everybody gets the refund initiated. Many others users complained that it did what it was supposed to but also made a lot of noise in the process while multiple users said with a heavy heart that it was not very easy to use and most of the food had to be cooked separately while meticulously following instructions for meat which was nothing like the commercial and neither were the results of their cooking this proved that the item turned out to be too complicated for many to use so it landed up not serving it’s purpose and ultimately was returned.

Small Size Griddle

Things turned out to be worse for a few Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill buyers that rated the grill as “Absolutely awful” and called it a really small griddle, not even a grill! Worst of all, unlike the ads Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill actually took forever to cool down for cleaning which led to a heavy drip in the pan that collected grease and had to be drained and washed, along with griddle and filter which made the entire process not fun & disgusting. For example, It is almost a chore to clean because of the several pieces that it comes in. If the user is frying a steak, they have one pan to clean; with this Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill they now have 2 or more pans to clean – and not to forget the Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill itself i.e. is pretty heavy.

Anyone who says Ninja Foodi Smart XL Grill does not smoke in excess is either really lucky or not sharing the right experience. Our verdict is that this product came across strong when it comes to conceptualizing and marketing but as far as the final product, there are multiple verticals on which they need to focus on and improve. There are many other similar grills available in similar price ranges so there is very little space for error.