Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ and Outdoor Cooking System PG301UK

Flexing my barbeque skills

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I was lucky enough to receive the Flexflame PG301UK to review a couple of months ago. Sadly, I was then struck down with shingles, so that, combined with the additional bad weather of hailstones, snow, wind and rain delayed me managing to use and review this substantial piece of equipment. The Flexflame arrived in a huge box, so if you don’t have a large hallway you may need to clear space to put it. I built it inside with the intention of moving it outside once completed. Now putting it together should have been relatively easy except the instructions on the BILT video and leaflet didn’t always correspond which did make the building take longer (I think one must be the American version?). However, the labelling of the screws/small parts made up for this. Instead of many separate bags which you usually get when constructing something these were all joined together and rolled out into the correct order. Extremely helpful, I wish every company would do this! So, it did take me a good few hours to build this (on my own). I only needed help at the end to lift the firebox on top. The stickers easily pulled off once it was built. It’s a sturdy piece of kit and as with all Ninja appliances, I can see this lasting many years. Once built it looks very impressive and was positioned in all its glory on my patio. I invited family around so we could all see how the food tasted cooked on the Flexflame and by sheer luck it was probably the sunniest day of the year so far!. Connecting the gas bottle to the regulator took seconds, it was very straight forward. Then we decided to try cooking chicken breast and chicken burgers, wrapping it in foil so I wouldn’t have much to clean afterwards. We turned it on and for a second, I forgot it was a Ninja, it sounded just like a larger/louder version of my ninja grill. Not loud enough to disturb the neighbours, or us though. At first, we decided just to wack some breast on without reading the instructions (woops), and then realised while reading them that you should let the Flexflame heat up first. So, we then added the rest of the breasts and the spicy chicken burgers, Due to our original error the first breast we put on were a little over cooked, so I was nervous to see how the others were going to turn out. Using my meat thermometer to ensure they were fully cooked; I took them out of the Flexflame and unwrapped them all. They looked a little pale (well they had been in the foil!) but once we bit into them oooh they were soft and juicy. The chicken burgers were also a huge hit! We were surprised at how quickly they cooked and with such ease. I think next time I would cook without the foil to get the lovely grill marks and crisp it up a little, especially as some of the juices escaped the foil and did leave a bit of a mess. My only concern with the Flexflame is cleaning it, but that’s the same with all barbecues. As with most Ninja equipment there are several ways to use it and I will defiantly be looking to buy the accessories once they are for sale in the UK. I can imagine pizzas would taste fabulous on here. So, am I happy with the Flexflame? Yes, I am. This is just day one and I’m excited to see what different meals I can cook on here, especially now the weather is getting better, and I can’t wait to try the pellets. I love that I don’t have to stand over it and that there is no smoke blowing over my face while cooking. There were 6 of us today and it fed us easily. I do think the price is very steep, especially when you must purchase the accessories separately. Not to mention the UK weather often isn’t barbeque friendly. However, it’s a fabulous piece of kit, looks amazing, really is a statement piece and if it does cook everything as well as it says it does, I am sure we will get many many days of use out of it. Now excuse me while I run to the shop to get more ingredients for tomorrows barbie!

Teddybeddybear, 55 - 64

Brilliant buy

Everything about this product is absolutely brilliant highly recommended

Juju, 55 - 64

Delicious Food!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] We decided to have a Mothers Day BBQ and am so glad we did! So easy to use. The guide book is so helpful. Cooked sausages, burgers, chicken, steaks and last of all home made pizza. The meat was absolutely delicious and the home made pizza exquisite better than any shop bought brands. Easy to clean too.

JulesM, 55 - 64, Minehead. Somerset

Great piece of kit

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] My first impression on receipt of delivery was ‘it’s huge’ ! I think it would be a good idea to give the size of the box so that people are prepared for the delivery. Looked at both the online instructions and the writtten ones and decided to follow the written instructions. It was daunting at first as there were so many small parts but they were sealed in individual packets and were in order of use. Had no problem in construction and everything lined up and fitted. It only needed one person to build until it came to lifting the top onto the base which was a two person job. No problem with fitting the gas cylinder and nice that it fits neatly into the bottom out of the way. I have only used the grill facility so far and found the instructions for use easy to follow. I agree with other comments that the power cord is short but I had no problem with using a stand extension. Food was all delicious and well cooked and nice to have the large grill so that family didn’t have to eat in shifts. The top grill was useful for keeping food hot. I did try the fan out and agree it is a bit noisy but didn’t find it offensively so. I already have the Woodfire XL so knew how the start up worked but this is in another league. So much better to cook on gas and a good looking appliance. Hoping for a good summer so that I can try cooking so many more types of food.

Caro, 65 or over, Cheltenham, South West

Great item, but big

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Now it’s dry weather had chance to look at it. Wow.. it is big. Going to be cooking for the neighbourhood. Hubby started building without looking at instructions. Mistake. Need to look through all info and video. Lots of bits to it and need 2 people to put together. We have a socket at a higher level so lead was fine for us. Think it will take some getting used to. Not tried large lumps of meat yet due to weather. It does cook quickly but is rather noisy. Am looking forward to experimenting more with joints and pizzas. Think it will be great in the summer and my indoor oven will become redundant.

Sally R, 55 - 64, West Sussex

Next step up from the Electric Woodfire BBQ

Bought this product a week ago. Used for the first time at the weekend to cook ribs. I am used to using the electric outdoor electric BBQ. Using this it cooked a lot faster which I will need to take into account next time as I over cooked the ribs a little. This uses a lot more pellets than the electric woodfire BBQ but I wasn’t surprised due to how much larger this is. I was happy with the quality of the BBQ. My only let down is the power cord is too short. I use my outdoor socket to power the electric part but my socket is by my back door so I do not want to use the BBQ right next to it. I do however use an extension cord which I use for my other outdoor ninja appliances. However the cord on the actual BBQ is way too short and doesn’t even reach the ground and just dangles down. I have to put the extension on a plant pot as the cord doesn’t reach the floor. It would of been nice if this grill could be used also without the electric part just propane like a normal BBQ too.

Sean B, 25 - 34, Coventry

Big, fast, new and exciting!

Moving up from the electric smoker and no going back.

Sean B, 25 - 34, Coventry