Thanks for the confirmation about why the pellets might not light. I ran into this issue the other day and assumed it was due to the hopper not being full. Kind of wish the lighting element was at the bottom, for cases like I had where I had half the hopper full from a prior cook and was doing a short smoke. Still, I love this dang thing!
I think you could get away with taking the unburnt pellets out after the cook and putting them in a fireproof container. Make sure they are totally out and cool and then put them in at the bottom and top with fresh pellets for the next short cook. Maybe???
I want to thank you for the very helpful and informative videos for this grill. I recieved mine as an early father's day present and have been using it almost every day. It's been great to have such a resource starting out.
Have you tried baking anything? I have made smoked pork sausage in the oven hundreds of times. I normally put some water and apple cider in the bottom of the pan, 350 degrees and bake. On the Ninja, the casings get extremely dried out and it is not the same as a oven. I'm going to try it again, probaly at 250 degrees and hope for better results. Thank you for your receipes.
I have noticed that due to the size of the chamber you need to go with much lower temps than oven or even full size smoker recipes. I have not baked in it, I usually use the Woodfire oven for that, I have made a few breads in there.
I agree about the pellets. I have a ton of variety for different uses. Overall I do prefer Kona brand but I do like some of the bourbon and charcoal pellets
I really appreciate your videos. I am not a content creator or a contributor. I ran across a product that I thought I would share. It is not cheap, but it is the best portable multipurpose table that works with the Ninja. It is the Sylvan Sport Dino o Max outdoor kitchen. It is an engineering marvel. I can have it set up and tore down in about 2 minutes.
You do get the white smoke but I haven’t had any negative effects from that. I think it’s because the food is already warm and it doesn’t penetrate as much at the higher temps.
About the re-ignate You say that not add food when the ign process is running because the dirty smoke ( i know you right about that because my first try with chicken i do it i add the food before the ign the taste was like free someone form flame building So my question if i let the ign finish and wait a-bit to the Dirty smoke finish and then add the food but after 2 hours i need more smoke so i refill the palate and do ign again don’t i get dirty smoke and my food in that case 😮
I have done it MANY times and not had a dirty smoke flavor. I think it is because the food has already raised in temp so much that it doesn’t take on as much smoke at that point. Not sure of the why but I know that I had that bitter taste when I tried to add the food during the ignition process initially but not when refilling.
@@DadGotThis thanks for response and yes i think like that to Thanks for videos it very helpful I’m from souvide world and now move to smoker world :) can you do video for asado?
I think most people don’t highlight those features because it’s not really something people wouldn’t have been able to do without the unit. I mean, they can probably already bake and roast in their ovens but they can’t smoke in them. I don’t do a lot of “roasting”, and anything you would roast you could probably just smoke it lol. As far as baking goes I mainly use the Woodfire Oven when I’m making breads etc. but it sounds like I need to test it!
Thanks, I want it for an rv do it would be nice to have all the functions. I really don't like a lot of smoke flavor so the other features are important and I see know recipes even on the app for backing or roastinh
@@nomadnorm I know the air fry and grill and broil work just as you would expect them to. The only difference I have found is that you need to use lower temps in a lot of recipes due to the smaller size of the cooking chamber.
I have a question i stumbled upon today getting ready to use the grill. There is a build up of i guess resin from the pellets burning in the hopper area. Have you had to address this? I wondered if there is a risk of it catching fire if it builds up too much.
In your deep clean video I did use a wire brush and a screwdriver to clean that out after about a year of heavy use. Not sure if it would have been an issue but it was pretty easy to do. th-cam.com/video/ph6SYncAsSU/w-d-xo.html
If you’re doing a long smoke, say three hours, you have to re ignite the pellets which causes “dirty smoke”. Would you recommend taking the meat off until this dies down and then continue cooking?
I have never had to do that so far. I think it is something about how the meat absorbs less smoke as its temp rises. I also believe that the type of pellet being used matters too. That first time going in when the meat is cold seems to be the most important.
My only question is after finishing my cook and turning the grill off I waited over 30 minutes to put cover on it and pellets were still smoking and hot. Do you just wait a long time for them to burn out or what?
I usually wait a while to let them burn down, eat clean up and then go back to the grill. At that point I use high heat gloves to pull the hopper and remove it to dump the pellets.I don't use a cover normally so that is where it ends for me.
Some great information. Especially about the pellets being ignited from the top. But I have a question. Is there any way to get the app to make "sound" when the temperature is reached? I like the app, but I have to watch it like a hawk because I can't figure out how to get it to notify me with sound. Thanks!
It’s crazy but I can’t remember if mine makes a sound or not. I have push notifications on and they also go through to my Apple Watch so I never really miss one. Now I need to see if it makes a sound lol.
I have used the following. Kona: amzn.to/3W95D0T Smokin' Pecan: amzn.to/3Lv0uvq The others are not for sale on Amazon, I either got them local or they are not available right now for some reason.
Great channel, my pro-connect got it's first use today. I did a 20 grill run with no food, this seemed to burn off all the smelly stuff nicely. Cooked some chicken on grill, spot on. Tried the same with pellets, filled to the top, almost, not quite to the top as you did though. After the ign sequence ended opened the lid and got all the white smoke. Popped the chicken in and it was still pumping out white smoke big time for the 10 min cook. The food tasted bitter and tar like, can still taste it now. My question is did you do a smoke run with no food when you first got it, maybe there is some manufacturing residue? Not sure that's the issue, I think it's the fact tons of white smoke was still being produced during the cooking phase, "dirty smoke"? Would appreciate any suggestions :)
I did a burn off when I first got it. I have noticed some pellets have that strong flavor when putting out white smoke and some have less. Not sure why but my unit doesn’t seem to have that dirty smoke flavor even if I put the food in when billowing.
@@DadGotThis Hi. I'm using the ones that came with the BBQ, Ninja brand. Just tried it again last night. Ran the ignition sequence, loads of white smoke. Allowed it to continue on the smoke setting for 20 more mins with no food, tons of white smoke coming out when lifting the lid and out of the vent, also out of the hopper. Tried one wing, the outside was very dark brown after a very short time (tasted awful). When I wiped the grill plate where there had been no food with a paper towel, it came off black. I'm wondering if the pellets are not properly igniting (they do burn down to mostly nothing if left).
Had another go this morning. This time I microwaved the pellets first. Some moisture did come out. Dropped them into the BBQ on Air fry with smoke button pressed. They clearly ignited a lot quicker but still suffering billowing white smoke after 15 mins. So switched the BBQ off/on and ran the ignition again. Initially still smoking badly but it quickly started to calm down to the point where I ended up with almost invisible smoke from the back vent . Lifting the lid and only small amount of clean looking smoke came out. Popped on a chicken wing, already cooked, for 5 mins and it tasted smoky but no bitterness, wifey confirmed it also. Potentially my ignition is faulty but it did seem to work ok the first time, had the odd flaming pellet when I had a peak. I'm inclined to think it maybe the Ninja pellets not catching quickly enough prior to the ignition sequence ending?
I’m currently going through the same thing smh fill the pellets up, let the grill IGN add the food when it tells me but I keep getting over smoked nasty chicken smh .. I’ve tried 6 different pellets. Same results
@@brentbrindle1449 I think it makes sense because if you lit it from the bottom it would smother. If the top are lit they naturally ash and light the ones below them.
I have found that to do that I need to turn the unit totally off and back on before switching to the grill mode. Keep in mind the grill HI mode takes FOREVER to pre-heat.
@ksh0227 I did the shit off move in this video when going from smoke to grill and it worked pretty well. Smoked Prime Picanha with the Ninja Woodfire Grill | Dad Got This th-cam.com/video/AJvBrYj3nrY/w-d-xo.html
Love you videos as I live in the UK and just got my Ninja wood fire so am learning from your experiences than you.
Well hello from this side of the pond! Welcome aboard!
Thanks for the confirmation about why the pellets might not light. I ran into this issue the other day and assumed it was due to the hopper not being full. Kind of wish the lighting element was at the bottom, for cases like I had where I had half the hopper full from a prior cook and was doing a short smoke. Still, I love this dang thing!
I think you could get away with taking the unburnt pellets out after the cook and putting them in a fireproof container. Make sure they are totally out and cool and then put them in at the bottom and top with fresh pellets for the next short cook. Maybe???
Thanks for the info ..helps alot
Glad I could help!
I want to thank you for the very helpful and informative videos for this grill. I recieved mine as an early father's day present and have been using it almost every day. It's been great to have such a resource starting out.
Awesome! So happy you get something out of the content! Thank you for your support!!!!
Have you tried baking anything? I have made smoked pork sausage in the oven hundreds of times. I normally put some water and apple cider in the bottom of the pan, 350 degrees and bake. On the Ninja, the casings get extremely dried out and it is not the same as a oven. I'm going to try it again, probaly at 250 degrees and hope for better results. Thank you for your receipes.
I have noticed that due to the size of the chamber you need to go with much lower temps than oven or even full size smoker recipes. I have not baked in it, I usually use the Woodfire oven for that, I have made a few breads in there.
Great videos keep them rolling.
Thanks, will do!
I agree about the pellets. I have a ton of variety for different uses. Overall I do prefer Kona brand but I do like some of the bourbon and charcoal pellets
I have tried so many hahaha.
I really appreciate your videos. I am not a content creator or a contributor. I ran across a product that I thought I would share. It is not cheap, but it is the best portable multipurpose table that works with the Ninja. It is the Sylvan Sport Dino o Max outdoor kitchen. It is an engineering marvel. I can have it set up and tore down in about 2 minutes.
That is awesome! Just checked it out looks like it would be awesome for camping.
Regarding refilling the pellet tray. Wouldn't you get white/dirty smoke when you relight it?
You do get the white smoke but I haven’t had any negative effects from that. I think it’s because the food is already warm and it doesn’t penetrate as much at the higher temps.
@@DadGotThis Got it, thanks.
About the re-ignate
You say that not add food when the ign process is running because the dirty smoke ( i know you right about that because my first try with chicken i do it i add the food before the ign the taste was like free someone form flame building
So my question if i let the ign finish and wait a-bit to the Dirty smoke finish and then add the food but after 2 hours i need more smoke so i refill the palate and do ign again don’t i get dirty smoke and my food in that case 😮
I have done it MANY times and not had a dirty smoke flavor. I think it is because the food has already raised in temp so much that it doesn’t take on as much smoke at that point. Not sure of the why but I know that I had that bitter taste when I tried to add the food during the ignition process initially but not when refilling.
@@DadGotThis thanks for response and yes i think like that to
Thanks for videos it very helpful I’m from souvide world and now move to smoker world :) can you do video for asado?
One more question, no one ever does a video baking or roasting only smoking. Does it not bake as advertised?
I think most people don’t highlight those features because it’s not really something people wouldn’t have been able to do without the unit. I mean, they can probably already bake and roast in their ovens but they can’t smoke in them. I don’t do a lot of “roasting”, and anything you would roast you could probably just smoke it lol. As far as baking goes I mainly use the Woodfire Oven when I’m making breads etc. but it sounds like I need to test it!
Thanks, I want it for an rv do it would be nice to have all the functions. I really don't like a lot of smoke flavor so the other features are important and I see know recipes even on the app for backing or roastinh
@@nomadnorm I know the air fry and grill and broil work just as you would expect them to. The only difference I have found is that you need to use lower temps in a lot of recipes due to the smaller size of the cooking chamber.
Thank you
I have a question i stumbled upon today getting ready to use the grill. There is a build up of i guess resin from the pellets burning in the hopper area. Have you had to address this? I wondered if there is a risk of it catching fire if it builds up too much.
In your deep clean video I did use a wire brush and a screwdriver to clean that out after about a year of heavy use. Not sure if it would have been an issue but it was pretty easy to do. th-cam.com/video/ph6SYncAsSU/w-d-xo.html
Does the fan operate at different speeds at different settings?
I’m not sure. Since it stops when you open it, it is hard to tell. 🤷♂️
If you’re doing a long smoke, say three hours, you have to re ignite the pellets which causes “dirty smoke”. Would you recommend taking the meat off until this dies down and then continue cooking?
I have never had to do that so far. I think it is something about how the meat absorbs less smoke as its temp rises. I also believe that the type of pellet being used matters too. That first time going in when the meat is cold seems to be the most important.
Pellets are hard to smoke, you need special rolling paper 😁😁😁😁😁😁
LOL
My only question is after finishing my cook and turning the grill off I waited over 30 minutes to put cover on it and pellets were still smoking and hot. Do you just wait a long time for them to burn out or what?
I usually wait a while to let them burn down, eat clean up and then go back to the grill. At that point I use high heat gloves to pull the hopper and remove it to dump the pellets.I don't use a cover normally so that is where it ends for me.
Some great information. Especially about the pellets being ignited from the top. But I have a question. Is there any way to get the app to make "sound" when the temperature is reached? I like the app, but I have to watch it like a hawk because I can't figure out how to get it to notify me with sound. Thanks!
It’s crazy but I can’t remember if mine makes a sound or not. I have push notifications on and they also go through to my Apple Watch so I never really miss one. Now I need to see if it makes a sound lol.
Can you send me the link for the pellets you use on Amazon thanks Eddie👍🍺🍺
I have used the following. Kona: amzn.to/3W95D0T
Smokin' Pecan: amzn.to/3Lv0uvq
The others are not for sale on Amazon, I either got them local or they are not available right now for some reason.
@@DadGotThis thanks
Great channel, my pro-connect got it's first use today. I did a 20 grill run with no food, this seemed to burn off all the smelly stuff nicely. Cooked some chicken on grill, spot on. Tried the same with pellets, filled to the top, almost, not quite to the top as you did though. After the ign sequence ended opened the lid and got all the white smoke. Popped the chicken in and it was still pumping out white smoke big time for the 10 min cook.
The food tasted bitter and tar like, can still taste it now. My question is did you do a smoke run with no food when you first got it, maybe there is some manufacturing residue? Not sure that's the issue, I think it's the fact tons of white smoke was still being produced during the cooking phase, "dirty smoke"? Would appreciate any suggestions :)
I did a burn off when I first got it. I have noticed some pellets have that strong flavor when putting out white smoke and some have less. Not sure why but my unit doesn’t seem to have that dirty smoke flavor even if I put the food in when billowing.
What pellets are you using?
@@DadGotThis Hi. I'm using the ones that came with the BBQ, Ninja brand. Just tried it again last night. Ran the ignition sequence, loads of white smoke. Allowed it to continue on the smoke setting for 20 more mins with no food, tons of white smoke coming out when lifting the lid and out of the vent, also out of the hopper. Tried one wing, the outside was very dark brown after a very short time (tasted awful). When I wiped the grill plate where there had been no food with a paper towel, it came off black.
I'm wondering if the pellets are not properly igniting (they do burn down to mostly nothing if left).
Had another go this morning. This time I microwaved the pellets first. Some moisture did come out.
Dropped them into the BBQ on Air fry with smoke button pressed. They clearly ignited a lot quicker but still suffering billowing white smoke after 15 mins.
So switched the BBQ off/on and ran the ignition again. Initially still smoking badly but it quickly started to calm down to the point where I ended up with almost invisible smoke from the back vent . Lifting the lid and only small amount of clean looking smoke came out. Popped on a chicken wing, already cooked, for 5 mins and it tasted smoky but no bitterness, wifey confirmed it also.
Potentially my ignition is faulty but it did seem to work ok the first time, had the odd flaming pellet when I had a peak. I'm inclined to think it maybe the Ninja pellets not catching quickly enough prior to the ignition sequence ending?
I’m currently going through the same thing smh fill the pellets up, let the grill IGN add the food when it tells me but I keep getting over smoked nasty chicken smh .. I’ve tried 6 different pellets. Same results
My question is the Air fryer mode, Does it work the same as indoor Air fryers? Can I use it to heat up frozen foods? Please do a video on that mode.
Yes I have air fried wings in it and the came out just like my home air fryer. I haven’t tried frozen foods like fries etc but I will now!
@@DadGotThis ok cool, thank you.
Great info watched most of your posts well done ninja heat rises so thay made something that burns from bottom to top.😢
Sorry top to bottom
@@brentbrindle1449 I think it makes sense because if you lit it from the bottom it would smother. If the top are lit they naturally ash and light the ones below them.
After smoking, if I start grilling right away, it doesnt preheat properly… any tips?
I have found that to do that I need to turn the unit totally off and back on before switching to the grill mode. Keep in mind the grill HI mode takes FOREVER to pre-heat.
@@DadGotThis yeah but then it would go to cooking wo preheating at al… will try a complete shut off before switching to grilling
@ksh0227 I did the shit off move in this video when going from smoke to grill and it worked pretty well.
Smoked Prime Picanha with the Ninja Woodfire Grill | Dad Got This
th-cam.com/video/AJvBrYj3nrY/w-d-xo.html