October is when the outdoor grill gets its cover back on in a good part of the country, and the burgers move to a pan. Ninja’s Foodi Smart XL is a countertop grill made for those months, and as an early Prime Big Deal Days offer, Prime members can get it for $199.99 instead of $279.99 on Amazon, 29% off. The model is the FG551, a 6-in-1 electric grill and air fryer in Black/Silver that comes with a meat thermometer.
A 500°F Grill That Knows When the Steak Is Done
Ninja’s approach to grilling without flame is hot air: the machine pushes air at up to 500°F around a grill grate, which the company calls cyclonic grilling, and the grate leaves sear marks on the meat while the air cooks it from all sides. Ninja presents this as a way to get char-grilled results in an apartment, and describes the cooking as smokeless. I would still switch on the range hood for a fatty cut, because fat on a 500°F surface is fat on a 500°F surface whoever makes the grill.
The “Smart” in the name refers to the thermometer. A probe with two sensors goes into the meat, you choose one of four protein presets and one of nine doneness levels, and the grill monitors the internal temperature for you. That removes the usual routine of cutting into a chicken breast to check the middle, or pulling a steak early out of caution and finding it underdone. The probe is the reason I’d choose this version over a plain indoor grill, since doneness is where most home-cooked steaks go wrong.
XL means the grate takes up to six steaks or 24 hot dogs in one go, according to Ninja, enough for a family dinner or a week of meal prep without cooking in batches. Amazon’s listing puts the capacity at 4 quarts, which is on the modest side if you mostly plan to air fry for several people. The listing I worked from gives no dimensions, so I’d measure the counter (and the clearance under the cabinets) before ordering an appliance sized for six steaks.
Grilling is one of six functions. The Foodi Smart XL also air crisps, roasts, bakes, broils and dehydrates, so it can stand in for a separate air fryer on wings or fries and handle a small roast or a tray of vegetables. Dehydrating is the slow one of the group, the function you’d use for dried fruit or jerky on a weekend. For a kitchen with little counter space, one appliance covering those jobs is easier to justify than two or three.
A Prime membership is the condition here: the Ninja Foodi Smart XL 6-in-1 (FG551) is $199.99 instead of $279.99 on Amazon as an exclusive Prime price labeled Early Prime Big Deal, with free returns. Other versions of the grill are reduced on the same page, including the standard 6-in-1 at $159.99 instead of $219.99.