tl;dr: Good device. Worth getting in place of a normal air fryer due to its greater flexibility. It is, however, still a convection device. Keep in mind when cooking things.
This is a first impression so far only using it to cook a few things so far, but my experience has been great - if with a few caveats. For full disclosure, I bought this with my own money and while it was about $30 off. I received what appeared by all accounts to be a brand new unit with that new appliance smell, complete with burning off excess plastics on first use.
First things first: this is a fancy convection oven. It's a convection oven that gets to very high temperatures and has very strong air circulation, but it is - ultimately - a convection oven. Unlike a proper grill, this has a fan that is constantly circulating air which means it will cook things faster. Keep this in mind when using it and make adjustments to prevent overcooking your food. As a general rule, the recommended times that come with the device are to make something Well Done. For this purpose, they're accurate, but you probably will want to cut a few minutes off of those times for anything less than that.
The device itself is straight forward to use. It has fairly standard oven/air fryer controls, but arranged a little differently. There are different functions that effectively change whether the air circulates in the unit or not, and there are macro temperature controls (low, med, high, max) that can be fine tuned from there. Time is only in intervals of whole minutes, which is slightly inconvenient, but Fine.
When initially starting up and preheating, this thing is fairly loud. It doesn't stay loud for long, but can probably wake up a light sleeper in a small apartment. Probably not a huge issue, but one to be mindful of when using for the first time.
I've cooked london broil and salmon with this using the Grill option (regular circulation) with the recommended temperature settings (High and Max accordingly.) As I mentioned before, be mindful of how much you want to cook something. The recommended settings always err toward Well Done. As an example: in the case of salmon, I cooked it for eight minutes the first time and it was just a touch more cooked than preferred. At seven minutes, it was perfect.
As for the steak, don't make the same mistake I did the first time and keep opening the grill if you have a standard meat thermometer. All of that hot air is just going to escape and it'll take some time to get back up to temperature again. In my case, I was too paranoid about the doneness of the steak that I ended up slightly overcooking it (medium-well instead of medium-rare) due to having to bring the unit back to temperature in order for it to cook the center properly. In short: get a quick read thermometer, or just follow the guide line of shaving a minute or two off of recommended cook time based on desired doneness.
As for the results, they still tasted great. The grill surface does get hot enough to make a nice sear into the meat. Like any convection oven, the circulating air keeps the food from drying out and the cuts of meat were left very juicy and tasty.
Cleaning is easy for as long as the ceramic coating lasts. This is the same caveat as literally anything with a Teflon (or similar) coating. If you're especially paranoid, let everything soak in soap+water before cleaning it off. The brush it comes with does the job, but any sort of dish scrubbing brush (NOT WIRE PADS) should be just as good.
Overall, my first impressions of this appliance are great. It is far easier, quicker, tastier, and more convenient than frying off or sticking something in the oven to broil. My wife and I have replaced the air fryer in our kitchen with this since it serves both purposes. If anything changes, I'll update this review.
Update: We’ve cooked a larger variety of things including turkey legs, hamburgers, smaller wings and so on. Everything remains great. It’s been very easy to clean as well with no signs of chipping on the finish. I will say I do hand clean everything, but it shouldn’t make much difference in the dishwasher.
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Customer Review: Ninja do not use butter
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Reviews with images
Electronic Board only lasted 2 years.
I got my third Ninja yesterday and made my lollipop lamb chops -my husband said we're the best he ever had - no restaurant can compete. ❤️ MY NINJA FOODILove this machine. My second one but the first only last it me two years and 2 month. The electronic board died. I just bought the second one and came with a manufacturing defect of un finished edge on one side of the base. I am so upset because this is the best grilled for my steaks wings and ribs I ever had, better than the most expensive steak house my expensive Weber- Ninja needs to look into this and perfect the longevity of the machine.I bought it again and arrived with a factory damage of unfinished top plastic edge. Ninja you need to get it together because this is a great grill. I am willing to take the risk again for the third time to other another one.
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Top reviews from other countries
Jordi A.
Excelente producto, nos gustó mucho
Reviewed in Mexico on July 13, 2023Color: Black/SilverSize: 4-QuartVerified Purchase
Hollie
Great Quality
Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2022Color: Black/SilverSize: 4-QuartVerified Purchase
Kathleen Peck
An air fryer that takes up little space.
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Ampliamente recomendable
Reviewed in Mexico on June 19, 2023Color: Black/SilverSize: 4-QuartVerified Purchase
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DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM>
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2022Color: Black/SilverSize: 4-QuartVerified Purchase
