Ninja's new home Grill EG203: A game changer in the kitchen

The Ninja brand recently launched an improved model (EG203) of the home grill with a new design and an exclusive display panel in Hebrew. It grills, bakes, air-fries, browns and dries food, with uniform heat distribution at the heating power of an outdoor grill and promises to do a good job for an barbecue meal just without all the smoke around. As a mother of men who love animal protein (they wouldn't be offended if you made them carnivores), I tested it in a variety of full meals, because that's how I am, I prefer everything in one pot, as many products as possible, as little work as possible and if possible without dirtying dishes that need to be scrubbed at the end of the meal. As with a large portion of the population in Israel, the previous AG301 model, too, starred until recently on the kitchen counter and is now being replaced by the new model that promised to be friendlier, with additional improvements to a product that was also successful before.

I chose to do the first inspection precisely on the Barbecue Holiday, after all, it is Independence Day. While the Air Force planes demonstrated in the sky, the Navy ships decorated the horizon, the streets were painted blue and white and the people of Israel spent time in the parks for a traditional dinner over the fire with smoking barbecues , I tested Ninja's promise. Since then, quite a few weeks have passed and dozens of attempts and precisions have brought the new Ninja to sit permanently on the counter because it's a shame to make an effort to put it back and take it out of the drawer every day (yes, its relatively compact dimensions allow it to rest in the drawer the pots without any problem).

The manufacturer's word

Ninja's new grill offers a powerful feature for grilling from all directions CYCLONIC GRILLING at a temperature of 265 degrees with uniform heat distribution for a perfect result with advanced temperature control for precise control of the desired degrees of doneness. 

The grilling program offers 4 heat levels:

MAX - for vegetables, fruits, fresh and frozen fish and pizza.

HIGH - for steaks, chicken and hamburgers.

MEDIUM - for frozen meats and ingredients soaked in marinade.

LOW - suitable for hot dogs, pastries and using thick sauces.

The new model offers a unique technology to control smoke, VIRTUAL SMOKE -FREE, with temperature control and a splash guard that protects the parts of the heating body from grease for a significant reduction in the amount of smoke.

The new product is original of the SHARK NINJA brand, it is adapted to Israel and exclusive to the official importer Sarig. It includes a cast grill plate with a non-stick coating, a hot air frying plate and has a volume of 5.7 liters. It is emphasized that all parts can be washed in the dishwasher.

What is included in the package?

The new Ninja Grill EG203 model comes with accessories and additions for convenience and enhancing the experience of use.

Among the extras you will find upon opening the package: 

Cast grill plate - high-density cast plate measuring 25x25 cm with grill strips in a unique design for uniform distribution of heat in an efficient manner with handles for convenient extraction with a ceramic NONSTICK coating surface and without PFOA/PTFE suitable for grilling several pieces. 

Hot air frying plate - designed for faster cleaning and unique results. It is suitable for making 900 grams of chips with less than 75% oil from traditional frying methods. The frying plate is also coated with ceramic NONSTICK without PFOA/PTFE, which makes it easier to clean after use. 

Extra large cooking pot - the regular cooking pot of the product, with a volume of 5.7 liters and is suitable for roasting 1.3 kg. Like the other accessories mentioned above, it also has a NONSTICK ceramic coating for easy and convenient cleaning. 

The splash shield - the splash shield to absorb the remaining grease, keeps the parts of the heating body lubricated and thus, significantly reduces the amount of smoke. The shield can be disassembled and washed in the dishwasher.

Kosher recipe booklet - the booklet attached to the product packaging is actually a chef's recipe book served to the Israeli audience in the Hebrew language including recipes, tips and cooking charts for a perfect result of complete meals with the best products.

Cleaning brush - the package includes a special brush for efficient cleaning of the grill from residues and dirt, made of fibers of the exact length for this purpose.

The course of the test

I'll start from the end, I didn't believe there was a device that I would agree to put on the counter regularly. For me, no large device is beautiful and practical enough to gain valuable space on the work surface. In practice, the new Ninja Grill has been sitting there comfortably, beautiful enough and practical to the right extent, for two months now and it doesn't look like it's going to change. To say that this product has changed the life of those who used to spend hours in the kitchen preparing lunches, would not be an exaggeration... Preparation hours are significantly shortened with the entry of the Ninja into the busy kitchens of every home where children grow, teenagers grow and small people become big and consume respectable amounts of protein.

More than that, additional time has been freed up for parents who can now let their children who come home independently at the end of the school day heat up the meal or even prepare full meals themselves in very little time and without the risk of ignition/fire/burns and other risks. I have managed to arrange the ingredients in the pot, including the spices and toppings exactly as I intended, but instead of grilling it immediately, I simply cover it well with foil and put it in the refrigerator for a few hours until the children arrived from the frames and put the prepared pot into its base connected to electricity on the counter, and after pressing A button (3 to be exact) and 20 minutes of waiting, enjoy a hot meal with rich and appetizing aromas. An exact time to put down the bags, take a short shower and sit down refreshed at the dining table and enjoy the delicacies.

A chef's recipe booklet attached to the package, the new Ninja Grill

In the new grill, I have already tried fish, poultry, meat and vegetables of any kind and in most cases (sometimes after more than one attempt) I could summarize the result as positive and the preparation procedure as experiential. Those who are afraid of cleaning, then in this case too I have nothing bad to say, but on the contrary... all the parts can be washed in the dishwasher, for those who are more careful (like me for example) you can soak the parts that were used in water with dish soap for 10 minutes and immediately after that wash under running water and put in the dishwasher. I do this after every use, including the splash shield made of extremely dense mesh, but quite a few testers claimed that it was not necessary. They clean the splash shield once for several uses, but that is an individual matter.

In conclusion

Ninja's new grill, model EG203, is simple to use and friendly to operate, it is especially suitable for families with children aged 9 and over who are able to heat up the meal or even prepare simple recipes themselves without risk. The method of preparation is admittedly short, but quite a few attempts are needed to get it right, and at least for the first few uses, prepare yourself to stand next to the device and occasionally check the progress when opening the lid. It turned out, for example, that meatballs that I grilled before adding sauce, required flipping and were done faster than the duration of the program I chose, and on the other hand, there were steaks whose preparation time required a little more than the built-in program. 

It should be noted that the deep bowl that the new device offers allows you to prepare dishes with more sauce and even to prepare a whole chicken or cauliflower, but the convenience of the lower and wider pan than the previous model was more suitable for serving directly to the table. It is important to pay attention not to skip the pre-heating which takes a few minutes, although you can skip this step with the push of a button. 

The result is better when you wait and let the Ninja Grill prepare itself for the entrance of the slicer to work. By the way, you can press the preheating button when the central pot is outside the device and while it is heating, arrange the ingredients of the meal in it. When you finish arranging the ingredients, the grill will signal to you that it is ready and you can put the pot in as it is and close the lid to begin the grilling process. It should be noted that the surface area of the device is not particularly large, so it is recommended for relatively small meals for up to a couple of adults or up to 4 children. 

The price: NIS 1,090 (3 years warranty of the official importer Sarig - one year full warranty + two years additional limited warranty subject to the regulations on the Sarig website) available in the marketing chains