Smoky Success: Smoking Meats, Roasting Treats and Other Eats with One Machine

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We're all for finding kitchen appliances that make whipping up tasty treats in no time a cakewalk. Recently, we put an ice cream maker to the test. So, with dessert officially conquered, we started searching for tools to help us master other meals, too.

We put the Ninja Woodfire™ Outdoor Oven to the test — and it made for a great day in the office. It boasts eight cooking styles, including barbecuing, smoking and even dehydrating, can reach temperatures of 370°C and comes in a sleek red shell. Here are three delicious dishes you can perfect in no time.   

Char Siu Pork

We polled our staff and asked for their preferred barbecue meat, and char siu pork won. We tried out the woodfired chips to give the meat a smoky flavour.

Ingredients

• 1kg pork shoulder
• Marinade:
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 tbsp canola oil (or other oil with a high smoke point like avocado oil)

Method

Mix the marinade ingredients together and add in the pork. Leave it to marinate for up to 48 hours (we left it overnight) in a covered bowl or ziplock bag.

When you're ready to cook, it's time to start the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven. This oven should only be used outside. Flick the switch at the back, choose the cooking setting (BBQ Smoker) and put the multi-use ProHeat Pan into the oven to preheat — it will beep to let you know it's good to go.

Put a scoop of the woodfire pellets into the side smoker box compartment and press the woodfire flavour button at the front to get the smoky flavour. 

Once preheated, place the marinated pork on the now-hot ProHeat Pan and return to the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven. The pork will automatically cook for the pre-selected time. When it's cooked, rest for ten minutes before you devour it.

Tasting Note:

It was everything you want from barbecued meat: the sweet and tangy marinade was sticky but not chewy, the meat was tender, and the woodfire smoke added a depth of flavour. It's an easy win for work lunch.

Roasted Potatoes

There was a lot of debate over what sides to put with char siu pork — but how can you go past good ol' spuds? Potatoes wrapped in foil are a staple for most barbecued meals, but we are all about flavour here. Let's level up the taters with roasted garlic and extra crunch. 

Ingredients:

• 1 kilogram bag of potatoes
• 1 tbsp of canola oil (or other oil with a high smoke point like avocado oil)
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 tbsp polenta
• Fresh rosemary from a green-thumbed editor's garden
• A whole bulb of garlic

Method

Preheat the Ninja Woodfire™ Outdoor Oven by selecting the Max Roast function. Add the ProHeat Pan to the oven to preheat as well.

Wash and cut the potatoes into quarters. Add potatoes to a large bowl and drizzle in the oil, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary. Mix to combine. Slice the whole garlic bulb in half and drizzle on some oil with a touch of salt. Wrap in tinfoil. 

Once the Ninja Woodfire™ Outdoor Oven is preheated, add the prepared potatoes and garlic bulb to the ProHeat Pan and let them roast. Less than 15 minutes later, you should have delicious golden roasties that are fluffy in the middle and crunchy on the outside.

Tasting Note

These beauties had a delightful crunch from the salt, pepper and polenta coating. The fresh rosemary gave the dish a lift, and the garlic bulb came out with super-soft flesh that was delicious smeared on a potato. Top marks from us.

Margarita Pizza

The thing we most wanted to test in this oven was the pizza stone — and its claim to cook pizzas in less than five minutes. Here, we opted for a veggie-friendly margarita. 

Ingredients

• Pizza base (you can make your own, buy a ready-made dough ball or just buy a base)
• Pizza sauce (again, make your own or buy a ready-made version)
• Mozzarella
• Fresh basil

Method

Turn on the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven and select the pizza setting that matches your pizza base — there are five to choose from: Artisan, Thin Crust, New York, Deep Pan and Calzone. We bought a dough ball for our pizza and selected the Artisan setting.

Preheat the pizza stone. 

While it is preheating, prepare your pizza. Roll out the dough to a round shape. Spoon on the sauce, slice the mozzarella and place it on top of the sauce. Once the stone is ready, use the Ninja Pizza Peel to add the pizza to the oven.

Shut the door and let the magic happen. Less than five minutes later, you should hear the ding and open the oven door to the delicious aroma of freshly baked dough and melty cheese. Add on some fresh basil leaves and get ready to dig in.

Tasting Note

You can't go wrong with a classic margarita pizza. The cheese was perfectly melted, the base was excellent with a great bite, and the fresh basil gave it a nice lift. The pizza stone did its magic. Would make it again.

Get creative with your dinners with the Ninja Woodfire™ Outdoor Oven, now available in New Zealand. Find out more on the website.

Images: Brooke Zotti