Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL Review: A Connected Barbecue That Wants to Do Everything

With its long name, the Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL is rich in promises and does not want to limit itself to grilling a few sausages. It wants to reinvent the electric barbecue by promising controlled cooking thanks to a thermal probe and a connected app to follow the preparation step by step, even remotely. And for fans of authentic flavours, Ninja offers a real smoker function with wood pellets.

But that is not all. Under its hood, Ninja also lines up the functions: air fryer, roast, dehydrate... A total of seven modes to transform your terrace into a culinary lab. It remains to verify if the alliance of Ninja's culinary technologies and connectivity is a real winning combo.

When we unpack the Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL, it is impossible not to be impressed. With its 57 cm height, 51 cm width, and 41 cm depth, this barbecue-smoker plays in the big leagues. And this size has its weight: 18 kg on the scale. Forget the idea of a nomadic device — this model is clearly thought to throne proudly on a terrace or in a garden.

Aesthetic and Materials

Despite its stocky look, the design is elegant and worked. The lines are clean, the materials well chosen: robust plastic, stainless steel, metal, and a beautiful two-tone blue and black dress that gives it a real visual identity.

On top, we have a stainless steel ventilation, while the pellet tank (wood pellets) is located on the side.

The hood handle does not conduct heat, so you can open it without gloves, even in full cooking.

Control Panel

Just under the hood, the control panel is faithful to the Ninja DNA — simple, effective, but only in English. To the right, we have the button that launches a cooking cycle, then to its left a wheel allows you to adjust the temperature or cooking time. To the left of the LCD screen, we have a button to activate the smoker function, then a second button to choose one of the 7 cooking modes: grill, smoke, fry without oil, oven cooking, roast, reheat, dehydrate.

Temperature Range

Note that the announced temperature range goes from 40°C to 260°C. In addition to the grill, we have in the hood everything necessary to make it a complete air fryer.

Thermal Probe

Under the screen, you can notice a small handle. Pull on it and you have access to the thermal probe delivered with the barbecue.

Weather Resistance

The Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL displays IPX4 certification, sufficient to resist water splashes. But let us be clear: if it stays outside, it is better to invest in a protective cover.

Accessories

Note that Ninja offers, as a pack or option, a very practical support. It allows you to elevate the device for cooking at a good height, without having to put it on a table. As accessories, we have the cooking grill. It is well thought out with its grease evacuation, which is stored in an aluminium tray that is easily replaced. Note also the presence of a Crispy basket that allows cooking in air fryer mode for fries or other foods.

And so comes the moment when you have to connect your electric barbecue to the Ninja Pro Connect application.

Installation

The installation goes without a hitch, the application automatically detects the barbecue in Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi pairing takes only a few minutes.

Interface and Programmes

Once the device is connected, the dedicated interface for the Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL opens. It gives access to all the commands, whether to launch manual cooking or exploit the integrated programmes.

These cover complete recipes, like marinated ribs, but also cooking suggestions optimised for certain pieces of meat such as ribeye, etc. Vegetables and fish are not forgotten, just like cooking modes related to the AirFryer function.

Automatic Adjustment

The application automatically adjusts the temperature and the duration. The whole thing becomes even more precise if you use the supplied thermal probe.

Cooking Process

After validating your choice, a page summarises the process to follow. Cooking always starts with a preheating phase. Once this step is finished, the barbecue emits an audible signal to indicate that it is time to add the food. A notification is also sent to your smartphone or tablet.

Smoker Mode

The smoker mode adds an additional step to the process. With the preheating phase, the barbecue must take the time to heat the wood pellets to create the smoke.

Recipe Library Limitations

In general, the application is a real success. It effectively guides users, even beginners, especially those who have never smoked food. The only small regret: the recipe library covers the essentials of possibilities and more, but lacks enrichment by update. We have a slightly limited number of recipes, and especially no community section.

Maintenance is not very complex. First of all, you must regularly empty or replace the grease tray under the grill. It is easy to access and the operation is possible without dirtying your hands.

Disposable Aluminium Tray

You can use it as is, but washing will be tedious unless you go through the dishwasher, after having totally emptied it beforehand of course. The brand delivers the device with a disposable aluminium tray, which is placed in the grease collection tray.

Cooking Grill

The cooking grill washes with sponge and soap; the non-stick surface is of very good quality.

Crispy Basket

The Crispy basket needs to be washed after each use. In the case of cooking fries, hand washing may suffice. On the other hand, if you cook marinated foods or those that caramelise, manual washing can be a source of irritation.

Surrounding Surface

The surface that surrounds the grill sees grease and slight cooking residues accumulate. A regular sponge wipe should be enough to remove them.

Pellet Tank

Finally, after each use of the smoker mode, do not forget to remove the pellet tank to empty the ashes.

It is sometimes difficult to explain the advantages of connected cooking, knowing that, in many cases, it is gadgetry. But here, once you have tasted the performance and comfort that the Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL brings, the difference jumps to your eyes.

Programme Selection

It all starts in the application, where you first select a programme by type of food and/or cooking. Once the choice is made, you have to wait for a fairly long preheating. Count almost 15 minutes for the grill at high temperature.

Notifications

A notification informs you when you can place the ingredients. From there, you have nothing more to do, or almost. We have launched different pieces of red meat and have, each time, obtained tender, juicy meat cooked to perfection.

Grill Marking

The grill marking is clean and, when we cut the meat, we obtain slices of the most beautiful effect.

Thermal Probe Use

"What good is the thermal probe?", the most sagacious among you will ask. When connected to the barbecue, simply plant it as close as possible to the heart of the piece of meat. The application then switches to "thermal probe" mode and you can follow its advice or manually define the desired temperature.

Optional Second Probe

Note that you can add a second thermal probe as an option.

White Meat and Sausages

We then went to white meat and sausages and, here too, the result is excellent. The chicken stays tender and juicy, with a nice marking. Pork demands a little more cooking, but we get, here again, excellent results.

Vegetables

Lovers of grilled vegetables will be in heaven. Whole vegetables or in slices, we get a beautiful marking and successful cooking. Special mention to grilled aubergines, with melting hearts of high standing.

We can therefore smoke food with this barbecue. This process generally requires very specific and often expensive devices.

Smoker Process

In the application, or via the control panel, you must activate the function. Then, before preheating, the device begins to heat the wood pellets that you have poured into the dedicated reservoir on the right side. Use the measuring spoon delivered with the barbecue to avoid putting too much or too little. This heating takes about 10 minutes, then the preheating starts.

Two Smoking Use Cases

This smoking function has two main uses. It first allows long cooking and smoking of pork ribs, beef brisket, etc., to obtain very tender meat with a good smoked taste. Second use, it brings a slight "wood fire" taste to foods cooked more quickly. For example, cooking a ribeye only takes about 4 minutes for rare cooking, which is enough to print this little smoked taste.

Recipes for Smoking

Note that the application does not yet offer much content on the Smoke part. It is fortunately possible to find recipes online and adapt them quite easily. The essential points to know are the cooking temperature and the smoking duration.

In Air Fryer mode, this connected barbecue cooks fries, chicken wings, and many other preparations. The result is very honest. Some advice, stir the contents several times, and not just twice as the brand suggests.

As this barbecue offers a beautiful capacity, the temptation is great to maximise it. At the cost, sometimes, of reduced efficiency.

Positive Points

• Design and conception
• Simplicity of installation and use
• Very well-made application
• Almost-perfect grill cooking
• The smoker mode is a real bonus
• Quite quick maintenance

Negative Points

• It is bulky
• The cooking surface can prove tight
• The price
• The application could be richer in recipes