Grills may be divisive: Some purists snub something however lump charcoalwhereas others love the simplicity and comfort of propane. So, what would the grilldom take into consideration, say, a gas grill that not solely guarantees to char burgers but additionally to smoke, griddle, and bake? This amalgam does exist: The Ninja Flexflame.
As a middle-ground form of griller—I feel lump charcoal is nice, however there’s no getting across the practicality of propane—I used to be intrigued by the FlexFlame but additionally skeptical. Any equipment that guarantees to do many issues typically doesn’t do all of them very nicely. To discover out if the FlexFlame was the grilling multitasker it claimed to be, I examined it for over a month, searing burgers, grilling sausages, and even baking pizza.
The Tests
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- Setup and Ease-of-Use Tests: I famous the way it was to arrange the grill and if it was simple to make use of. I additionally timed how lengthy it took for the grill to achieve 500°F.
- Grill Test: I used the Ninja to grill a wide range of meals, together with corn, burgers, and kielbasa.
- Griddle Test: I used the included griddle to sear smash burgers.
- Pizza Test: I used the included pizza stone to bake a pepperoni pizza.
- Smoke Test: I used the grill to chilly smoke deviled eggs to see how nicely the hopper and smoker labored. I attempted Ninja’s pellets to judge their high quality and see if the flavour they imparted was delicate and candy or acrid and smoky.
What We Learned
It’s Electric! (And Finicky to Start)
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I’m used to easy propane grills: To arrange my Weber gas grillI simply connect the propane tank and twist the ignitor dials. But along with needing propane, the Ninja, with its multitasking character, must be plugged in. Its wire is seven inches lengthy, so that you’ll in all probability want an extension wire. To flip the FlexFlame on, you need to push the dial in, twist it to ignite the burners, then flip it to your required setting (grill/pizza, two-zone, roast/bake, or low and sluggish). Each setting corresponds to a unique temperature, however these may be adjusted by turning a unique dial.
The energy dial is finicky. I needed to push it in and switch it backwards and forwards a couple of occasions earlier than it ignited the burners. While this isn’t a significant flaw, I choose the simplicity and ease of a non-electric fuel grill. Plus, electronics exterior = increased probability of malfunctions. (The electrical field additionally hangs down at an angle from beneath one of many facet tables; I couldn’t screw it in tight sufficient for it to be parallel to the desk.)
I did, nevertheless, just like the digital display screen that exhibits the temperature. It was clear and brilliant, and it was simple to regulate the grill temperature; I wasn’t caught with a preset.
Thanks to Its Fan, It Heated Up Quickly and Grilled Well
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The Ninja has a built-in fan akin to that of a pellet grill. This creates an excellent circulation of warmth when the lid’s closed, and when you’re utilizing the smoker, it attracts smoke into the cooking chamber from the hopper. It additionally helps the grill warmth up shortly; it reached 500°F in simply over six minutes.
The draw back to this convection system is that it appears like an airplane taking off. Lifting the lid stops the fan and offers you respite from the noise, however as soon as it’s closed, it’s again to the runway. Despite that, the FlexFlame did job grilling. Hot canines, sausages, and corn obtained deep char marks and cooked shortly. If you desire a stable propane grill, it’ll do.
Let’s Talk About the FlexFlame’s Other Features
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The Ninja is a good grill, however what about its different skills? It did fairly nicely in all however considered one of them. The half-griddle, whereas cramped, seared lacy, caramelized smash burgers, and the pizza stone ensured a crisp-crusted pizza that baked shortly. The smoker wasn’t as profitable: The hopper was small, and the pellets burst into flames throughout my exams. While smoking does contain burning pellets, it ought to be a sluggish burn, not a rip-roaring flame that singes your fingers. The burning pellets emitted an acrid burnt-rubber odor and imparted a smoky style to the deviled eggs—maybe a smidge too bitter to be referred to as a complete success.
The Verdict
The Ninja FlexFlame is an effective fuel grill. It heats up quick due to its highly effective (and loud) convection fan, and it will get a pleasant sear on sausages, corn, and burgers with out scorching them. The dial to activate and ignite the grill was finicky, although I did like its brilliant, clear digital show. Almost all of its further options carried out nicely, even when they weren’t groundbreaking—anybody can throw a griddle or a pizza stone on a grill. It struggled as a smoker, although, making a pellet inferno somewhat than a gently smouldering heap. Overall, it’s grill, although I feel it’s costly contemplating that its further options weren’t mind-blowingly superior. If you’re simply utilizing the grilling bit, you can save your self a pair hundred bucks and spring for a Weber as a substitute.
The Pros
The Ninja FlexFlame is peddled as a multitasker, however at its coronary heart, it is a grill—and one, too. While it’s fiddly to get began, as soon as the flames are cranking, it heats up quick. Foods prepare dinner shortly, too, due to a strong (and airplane-engine-loud) fan that distributes the warmth: Sausages had been burnished and blistered, and burgers had been properly charred however nonetheless moist inside. This convection fan helped bake pizza shortly, making certain puffy edges and a crisp undercarriage.
While the pellets caught fireplace once I used the smoker, it did impart a sultry, smoky hickory taste to cold-smoked deviled eggs. Overall, it excelled as a grill and carried out okay in its different duties.
The Cons
It took me over an hour to assemble the grill—there have been a ton of screws and components. To begin the grill, you need to plug it in, then twist the knob to show the electrical interface on and ignite the flames. Sometimes I needed to flip the knob backwards and forwards a couple of occasions earlier than it might mild and interact. I didn’t love the truth that it’s essential plug the grill in for it to work; if something goes mistaken with the electronics, you’ve misplaced a lot of the grill’s performance. The wire can also be a mere seven inches lengthy, so I wanted to make use of an extension wire.
While the Ninja FlexFlame obtained sizzling quick and grilled nicely, its different features weren’t as spectacular, significantly the smoker. When I cold-smoked some deviled eggs, the pellets caught on fireplace, taking pictures out flames once I opened the hopper. The grill’s fan appears like a airplane taking off.
Key Specs
- Cooking space: 424 sq. inches
- Number of burners: 3
- Number of wheels: 2
- Number of facet tables: 2
- Warranty: 10 years
- Good to know: Pizza stone and griddle aren’t included within the fundamental package deal
- Natural fuel accessible: No
- BTUs: 37,000
Why We’re the Experts
- Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Serious Eats.
- She’s been testing kitchen gear for 4 years.
- She has two fuel grills, two charcoal grills, two pizza ovens, and a smoker—suffice it to say she is aware of out of doors gear.
