Ninja Foodi Max Health Grill & Air Fryer review

The Ninja Foodi MAX Well being Grill & Air Fryer (AG551UK), also referred to as the Ninja Foodi Good XL within the US, appears to be the one-stop store for not solely air frying however correct grilling, baking, roasting, dehydrating and even reheating, and imagine me once I say that you just’ll very not often use your typical oven with this round.

It’s good too, with a Good Cook dinner System boasting a variety of presets for various meats, and the digital probe permits you and the system to observe temps in real-time, prompting you to take away your meat when it’s simply proper.

It is perhaps on the cumbersome facet, and it’s definitely a premium product at £250, nevertheless it’s additionally so widespread that it’s onerous to return by on the time of writing – and after utilizing it for the previous month or so, I’m not stunned in any respect.

Design & construct

To say that the Ninja Foodi Max will take up a little bit of house in your countertop can be an understatement. It’s really a lot larger than I used to be anticipating when researching the hybrid on-line, measuring in at 270 x 390 x 410mm.

That doesn’t take the truth that there must be a little bit of clearance on the rear to totally open the lid, making it really feel prefer it takes up much more house. It may be pushed again to the wall when not in use, after all, however its presence is at all times instantly noticeable.

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It’s in all probability an excellent factor that this is without doubt one of the better-looking grill and air fryer combos in the marketplace, with a silver and black physique that appears premium even in comparison with Ninja’s commonplace Foodi.

Open that giant lid and also you’ll discover the principle cooking pot with a 3.8L capability, together with a crisper basket particularly for air frying, although it’s price noting that that is smaller than the usual Foodi and its 5.7L capability. If you happen to’re shopping for the Foodi particularly for air-frying, the usual Foodi will be the higher choice.

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What the usual Foodi doesn’t supply, nonetheless, is a a lot bigger 229 x 334mm heavy grill plate with loads of house to cook dinner steak, hen wings, sausages and the like. The truth is, I discovered I may comfortably cook dinner three 6-8oz steaks or six burgers directly on the grill, rivalling small outside grills.

All three inserts are each dishwasher-friendly and anti-stick for a surprisingly simple cleansing course of (even with burnt-on bacon fats remnants), and there’s a stiff brush included within the field for these significantly cussed stains. The one subject is that you would be able to solely put two of the three within the Foodi Max for storage, which means you’ll need to discover a place for both the crisper basket or grill plate to reside when not in use.

Whereas the usual Foodi makes use of buttons and knobs for management, the Ninja Foodi Max ditches bodily buttons for digital alternate options that disappear when not in use. It’s a lot cleaner, and in contrast to some touch-capacitive buttons, those on the Foodi Max are very attentive to the contact.

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Paired with the digital show, it’s the place you’ll management each side of your cooking expertise. You may set your operate, from grilling to air frying and even reheating day-old pizza, and intuitive controls make it a breeze to arrange. There’s additionally a button that’ll allow you to skip the pre-heating course of for fast cooks, although I’d suggest letting the Foodi Max come as much as warmth earlier than including your meals.

There’s a small compartment on the facet that homes a thermometer to maintain observe of the inner temperature of meat as you cook dinner, and it allows good cooking performance too, however extra on that in a bit.

Ninja features a recipe e-book with cooking charts tailor-made to the Foodi Max, providing you with a collection of dishes to arrange and a terrific guideline on time and temperature choices for fundamental meals and meat.

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Options & efficiency

The Ninja Foodi Max Well being Grill & Air Fryer is among the many most succesful countertop home equipment you’ll discover in 2022, boasting six methods to cook dinner – Grill, Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate and Reheat – in a single system.

To place it merely, the Foodi Max has all however changed my commonplace oven and grill for the previous month or so, opting to cook dinner every thing from steak and burgers to chips and roast potatoes with nary a grievance.

Let’s begin with the cooking ranges. The air fryer might be set at temperatures between 150-240°C; for roasting it’s 120-220°C; you’ll be able to bake at 120-210°C; you’ll be able to grill at as much as 260°C and reheating ranges from 130-210°C. The dehydrate operate, as you would possibly anticipate, makes use of decrease temperatures of between 40-90°C, however requires longer cook dinner occasions.

That’s a greater temperature vary in comparison with some extremely rated air fryers just like the 82-205°C Prompt Vortex Plus, the present best choice in our air fryer chart.

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In terms of the air fryer operate, it really works as anticipated. You faucet Air Fry, choose your temperature and time and look forward to it to preheat. Whack the chips, spring rolls or no matter else you’d wish to air-fry within the crisper basket and shut the lid. You’ll get an alert when it’s time to shake the basket, and one other as soon as the time has run out.

Like most air fryers, the Foodi Max cooks a lot quicker than a traditional oven, which means I may get crispy bacon in as little as 4 minutes and chips not often took greater than 10 minutes to develop into golden brown, making it the perfect package for a fast snack if you’re feeling peckish. I’ve had extra bacon rolls previously few weeks than I’d wish to admit!  

It’s an identical story when utilizing the bake, dehydrate and reheat choices; merely enter the temperature and time and prepare to cook dinner your meals. The Foodi Max cooks evenly because of Ninja’s cyclonic air know-how that circulates temperatures contained in the chamber for even warmth distribution.

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It’s price noting that, regardless of depictions of a full hen on stickers for the Foodi Max temperature probe, it’s too shallow to correctly roast a hen.

The place the Foodi Max actually stands out is in the case of the grill, particularly if you happen to’re not that assured when cooking meats like steak the place timing is every thing.

That’s right down to a mixture of two issues; Ninja’s ‘Good Cook dinner System’, which is basically a (pretty exhaustive) record of preset meats, and a digital cooking probe that displays the inner temperature of your meals whereas cooking. The latter actually is a game-changer, as when paired with the Good Cook dinner System that allows you to not solely choose that you just’re cooking beef (i.e., steak) however how properly you’d prefer it cooked internally.

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You merely insert the thermometer into the thickest a part of the largest little bit of meat you may have, put it onto the grill plate and shut the lid. You would possibly anticipate there to be lots of smoke when grilling indoors, however the mixture of a built-in splatter guard defending the heating aspect and a cool-air zone on the high of the grill means there’s little or no smoke when in comparison with utilizing a skillet.

Not solely that, however as a result of the distinctive design of the grill plate and the cyclonic air know-how work so properly at offering a good temperature, you don’t must flip your steak. You may if you would like the signature grill marks on each side, nevertheless it’s not a needed step when utilizing the Foodi Max. You may actually shut the lid, work on different meals prep and take away it when it hits the proper temperature.

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As soon as at temperature, there’s a particular ‘relaxation’ timer that’ll monitor the inner temperature of the steak whereas cooling, once more alerting you to when it’s able to eat.

Steak is one factor I’ve at all times struggled to get simply proper – it’s both barely undercooked or too properly completed for my medium-rare liking – however the Foodi Max delivered completely medium uncommon steak each time. It’ll be onerous to make use of the rest going ahead if I’m being sincere.

It’s not simply steak both; the grill may help you cook dinner virtually any meat from hen wings to beef burgers, pork joints to fish fillets, to absolute perfection. If you happen to’re not that assured within the kitchen, the Foodi Max actually may open up an entire new world of culinary potentialities past easy air frying.

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Worth & availability

The Ninja Foodi MAX Well being Grill & Air Fryer isn’t an affordable little bit of package – however what Ninja tech is?

With spectacular efficiency on supply, it shouldn’t come as an excessive amount of of a shock to study that the hybrid will set you again £249.99 within the UK, whereas the similar Ninja Foodi Good XL will set you again $259.99 within the US. Which will appear costly, however when you think about how a lot the Foodi Max can do, it’s fairly decently priced.

The massive downside (for us, not Ninja) is that it’s so widespread that it’s onerous to return by, particularly at a time when customers are turning to air fryers and different small home equipment to exchange the expensive-to-run oven. With Ninja’s claims of saving as a lot as 45% on power prices, it’s very a lot an in-demand choice.

That being mentioned, retailers together with Finest Purchase, Kohls and HSN within the US and Ninja, Amazon and John Lewis within the UK do inventory the Ninja Foodi Max – you’ll simply need to preserve a watch out for when inventory replenishes.

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Verdict

The Ninja Foodi Max Well being Grill & Air Fryer is little question a premium little bit of package at $260/£250, nevertheless it nonetheless manages to supply nice worth for cash. It combines a number of capabilities in a single, together with air frying, roasting, dehydrating, baking and grilling, with impressively even cooking temperatures and an absence of smoke, nevertheless it’s the good cooking system that’s most spectacular.

The flexibility to not solely choose the meat however how properly completed you’d like it’s nice for these not that assured in the case of grilling meat, be it steaks or bigger beef or pork joints. Even when not utilizing the preset capabilities, the digital meat probe could be very useful, particularly for bigger cuts of meat.

It’s easy too, with air sturdy air circulation which means you don’t must flip meats on the mid-way level – although you’ll be able to if you would like the standard grill marks.

There’s additionally the advantage of being power environment friendly, with Ninja claiming it makes use of as much as 45% much less energy than a traditional oven.

So sure, whereas it’s an enormous equipment that’ll take up a good quantity of room in your countertop, it’s one thing you’ll end up utilizing greater than you would possibly anticipate.

Ninja Foodi Max Well being Grill & Air Fryer specs

• 270 x 390 x 410mm
• 3.8L capability
• Predominant cooking pot, crisping basket, grill plate
• 229 x 334mm grill plate
• 40-260°C
• Six capabilities (Air Fry, Grill, Bake, Roast, Dehydrate and Reheat)
• Good Cooking System
• Digital meals probe
• 10.2kg
• 2460W
• Non-slip ft
• Cool wall exterior
• 1-year assure
• Dishwasher-safe and anti-stick equipment