Changing things up a bit to talk about one of our go to kitchen gadgets that we believe could be useful to many. The Ninja Foodi Smart XL 7 in 1 Indoor Grill/Griddle Combo . We have honestly been using this more than our stove over the past few months. It has been able to do everything we do on the stove or in the oven.
First off, we don’t know if we would recommend this for a small kitchen with limited counter space. Especially if your counter already has a number of gadgets. For us, we were able to get rid of our old air fryer since this Ninja has that function. Of course if you don’t have any gadgets and are in the market you may want to consider this for the versatility.
What we love about our Ninja Grill. As mentioned above, the versatility. You can grill, air fry, roast, bake, broil, grill on the griddle, and dehydrate. Not only does it perform those functions but it performs them well.
Honestly, we use the grilling, griddle and air fryer the most. Air fryer is great when it comes to chicken nuggets for our little one. Crispy results every time.
If you are like us, you might not always plan out dinner in advance. So what do you do when you decide you want chicken breast that are sitting frozen in the freezer but don’t have time to defrost them? Pull them out frozen, brush them with the oil of your choice and season. We love using Kinders “The Blend Seasoning”. This seasoning is a simple salt pepper garlic that is organic, keto friendly and goes great on everything.
Once the chicken breast is oiled up and seasoned throw them on the Ninja Grill using the grill function for about 24 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the breast. At the halfway point the Ninja will alert you to flip your food and you can do just that.
Once the ninja is done, check your internal temp with a food thermometer. We recommend as do many the Thermapro TP620 but any brand will do. Confirm your internal temp is 165 then allow the chicken breast to rest for a few minutes. In our experience you end up with juicy tender chicken every time.
One note, if you decide to defrost your chicken, be sure to allow it to fully defrost. We find that when the chicken is partially defrosted we end up with a chicken that has a rubbery tough consistency.
Frozen chicken breast is not its only strong point. We do everything from steak, to smash burgers which we do on the griddle, to wings using the air fryer. We really haven’t had a bad meal off of he Ninja.
In regards to the griddle, when using the bbq grill setting, you can cook with the lid open which is great when you want to make eggs, pancakes and anything else you can do on a griddle.
What we don’t like. Nothing in life is perfect and neither is this. The one complaint we have is cleaning. This could be because we use it so often and it is earning its battle scars.
The grill portion takes a beating and after a while will have black marks that are difficult to remove. The grill and griddle attachment as well as the air fryer basket are all dishwasher safe but the grill will look used which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
And not sure what it is but underneath the grill there appears to be a weird black build up that can easily be wiped off. Just be sure not to use your good dish towels to wipe it because whatever the build up is, is not easy to wash out.
Final issue is cleaning the area around the fan. It is not impossible but isn’t easy and will take a little time. We use a soap baking soda mix with the unit unplugged which removes most of the grease so it isn’t terrible. It would be nice if there was a way to make parts removable to allow them to soak but we assume it isn’t so easy do to the heating element.
Overall, the Ninja Foodi Smart XL 7 in 1 Indoor Grill/Griddle cooks great meals on any function. Would be buy it again? Absolutely. Just seems easier than pulling out pots and pans and using the stove and oven.
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