Professional Tool Reviews for Pros
As we turn our attention toward spring, it’s time to start thinking about two things: yard work and cookouts. Pellet grills have taken off over the past several years, but they can be expensive to get into. We’ve been using the Monument Grills 85001 pellet grill to see how this budget-friendly option can help your outdoor life game.
Monument starts with a traditional pellet grill design. You load pellets into the hopper on the left, an auger pushes the pellets into the firebox, and a computer controls the temperature through the feed rate.
You set the temperature with a control dial on the hopper box. Its lowest temp is 180° F (smoke) and runs all the way up to 500° F. From 175° to 250°, there’s a 25° interval, then 50° interval to 450°, and back to 25° from there.
If you prefer your temperature in Celcius, a button on the front lets you switch easily. Just be aware that the dial only shows Fahrenheit. The display screen shows Celcius, though.
The nice thing about having such a wide range of temperatures to work is that it makes the Monument pellet grill more versatile. Smoke at 180°, cook low and slow at 225°, bake at 350°, roast at 400°, or sear in a cast iron skillet at 500°. And because there’s a fan circulating the air inside, your cooking is much more even than other grill types. Your only limit is your imagination.
This particular Monument pellet grill has 530 square inches of cooking space with 20 inches of width and 14 inches of depth to work with. The bottom and top trays can shift locations with 5 slots available for them. It’s plenty of space to feed a family. You can fit a whole turkey for Thanksgiving, pop the flat of a brisket on one tray and the point on the other, or cook a whole mess of burgers and corn on the cob. The only challenge you may run into is ribs. Most trimmed racks are fine, but if yours run a bit too wide, just cut them in half and put them in front-to-back.
The nice thing about the size is that it doesn’t take up nearly as much room as some grills and it’s more efficient in its use of pellets.
Starting the grill is easy. Once you have the power on, press the “Prime” button to manually push a few pellets into the firebox. Select the temperature you want, and the grill goes through an automatic ignition process. It normally takes several minutes, and in some weather conditions takes longer, so be patient. You’ll know you’re ready to go when the white smoke shifts to a normal black/gray.
The grill comes with two temperature probes and we love it! Whether you’re cooking two different meats, keeping track of the top and bottom trays separately, or measuring your thinnest and thickest cuts, we use both probes all the time. They plug into ports on the front of the hopper and thread through a hole toward the bottom of the grill.
Once you have everything set up and running, an LCD screen in the center of the control deck displays what you need to know. The temperature you set, the actual temperature, and probe temperatures are easy to read on the reverse-contract display. In general, we noticed the temperature held within 10° F of what we set and spent most of its cooking time within 6° F one way or the other.
From there, it’s just a matter of keeping an eye on the probes and pellet levels. Feel free to sit beside the grill with a beer and listen to the game or get some yard work done and take a peek every 30 minutes or so until you get close to your target temp.
Pellet grills can be expensive (our Traeger Ironwood 885 runs $1599!). However, the Monument Grills pellet grill we’re using is a far easier $349 to get started. There are some trade-offs, of course, but our #MoumentMonday results have been delicious!
If you want to get try pellet grilling without a huge investment, grab a Monument Grills pellet grill. As you expand the many different ways there are to cook on it, you’ll enjoy the benefits of tastier food while keeping your kitchen cleaner and your family happier.
On the clock, Kenny dives deep to discover the practical limits and comparative differences for all kinds of tools. Off the clock, his faith and love for his family are his top priorities, and you'll typically find him in the kitchen, on his bike (he's an Ironman), or taking folks out for a day of fishing on Tampa Bay.
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Professional Tool Reviews for Pros