Joining Club Ninja

[sheridany]

Typically it will say it’s for the xl grill.

 

[sheridany]

The address please where this will be used? Some coaches are enroute.

 

[sheridany]

I got my order of Kona pellets last nights so we are tossing out the awful Ninja pellets and trying again with Kona pellets. Hopefully this will save my damaged tofu brisket rep.

Poor Amazon driver went into panic mode when he delivered at 9 pm and all the motion and camera lights came on blinding him momentarily. He must have had a long stop at @Neal unloading the truck prior to darkness.

 

[Neal]

Hope things go better. I may be trying the pork butt on the Ninja but am concerned with how long to smoke it with the more intense Ninja smoking. Researching in progress...

 

[sheridany]

I think the amount of pellets matters most in the first hours of smoking in terms of flavor and if you reduce the amount of pellets to burn in the first 60 minutes might do the trick. Paging Dr @GlampDaddy.

 

[Neal]

I've "read" (watched) that you don't want the food in during the ignition of the smoke, it's a bad flavor time. Wait for it to burn in first?

 

[GlampDaddy]

Ninja did a pretty good job with the math. Add the pellets and press the start button. "Add food" will display when everything is ready.

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

I start the Ninja on the grill setting and push the wood smoking button. The pellets ignite while the grill is pre-heating to whatever temp I enter. The "dirty" smoke will be burned off or close enough by the time the grill is up to temperature. I've only used the initial filling of the pellet container, it will smoke for 45-60 minutes. I haven't tried smoking a large piece like a pork butt, but I think one filling of the pellet container would be enough.

MONITOR THE MEAT TEMPERATURE CLOSELY.

 

[sheridany]

Based on my testing using the MEATER or a thermapen the ninja probes are pretty accurate sometimes off by 1 deg. Agree TC?

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Since I'm generally an agreeable man yes. I don't know what I'm agreeing to, but if you're asking, it has to be honorable.

 

[sheridany]

The question I want your expertise for is do you think the Ninja temp probes are good enough for monitoring temps?

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

We're not developing spores in a Petri dish. 1 degree is not going to make any difference. Poke around different areas of the meat and you'll get temperature variances. Besides, you can't do much damage to tofu.

 

[Neal]

Someone should be consulting @GlampDaddy - jus'sayin...

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Someone should be consulting @GlampDaddy - jus'sayin...

Yep, we Texans cook and no stuff.

 

[sheridany]

@Neal
Before you buy more Ninja grill accessories know there is help available.

 

[Jim]

When I bought my Ninja, Dave, one of @GlampDaddy "Buddy’s Buzzards", warned me, “There’s a learning curve.” After a couple of weeks of trial, error, and smoke alarms, I can confirm he was 100% right.

Ninja cooking is a shift from my usual “set the time and walk away” routine. It’s all about internal food temperature now. And while the built-in temp stick takes the guesswork out, I still managed to burn nearly everything before I figured that part out.

And it’s faster too. Which sometimes is good, and sometimes not so good.

Yesterday, I got my bourbon garlic chicken surprisingly close to exactly what I was aiming for, maybe 95%, but let’s not split feathers. That small victory gave me the much-needed boost to keep pushing forward in my Ninja education.

Confidence, it turns out, is best served slightly charred.

 

[Neal]

Sounds like a successful initiation @Jim. I think the lesson we all learn in time is turn it down. Use lower temps than you think you'd need. Second lesson, for me at least, when placing food on the ninja I like to use foil as cleaning that "non stick" platter is not always fun. Don't put foil in it without food on it, don't ask how I know, but that little fan thing at the top is a hint...

 

[Jim]

Sounds like a successful initiation @Jim. I think the lesson we all learn in time is turn it down. Use lower temps than you think you'd need. Second lesson, for me at least, when placing food on the ninja I like to use foil as cleaning that "non stick" platter is not always fun. Don't put foil in it without food on it, don't ask how I know, but that little fan thing at the top is a hint...

Looks like we both took the same road with the foil trick. I’ve got to agree, foil is non-negotiable unless you enjoy wrestling a grill that won’t fit in the sink no matter how you twist it. I bought these "Ninja racks" that I cook on after I cover the grill with foil. Keeps the foil in place and helps me not burn the bottom of whatever I'm cooking.

Now don’t go spreading this around, but I cooked a pizza the other night, and it only took a few seconds for that little fan thingy to blast the pepperoni all over the inside of the Ninja. LOL, looked like a flock of tiny black frisbees had a meltdown mid-flight.

 

[GlampDaddy]

Looks like we both took the same road with the foil trick. I’ve got to agree, foil is non-negotiable unless you enjoy wrestling a grill that won’t fit in the sink no matter how you twist it. I bought these "Ninja racks" that I cook on after I cover the grill with foil. Keeps the foil in place and helps me not burn the bottom of whatever I'm cooking.

Now don’t go spreading this around, but I cooked a pizza the other night, and it only took a few seconds for that little fan thingy to blast the pepperoni all over the inside of the Ninja. LOL, looked like a flock of tiny black frisbees had a meltdown mid-flight.

For an added thrill, try cooking some bacon. It’s like little flying carpets…and messy.

 

[Jim]

For an added thrill, try cooking some bacon. It’s like little flying carpets…and messy.

lol, nothing says “modern cooking” like dodging airborne pork.