Monument Grill Review

Grilling season is here, well I guess grilling season is all the time. I live in Chicago so in the winter months it gets pretty cold, but I am still out there grilling.  For me, grilling is not only a way to bring me back to the early days of man but it also tastes great and doesn’t leave a huge mess in the kitchen.  Recently we discovered a new company in the grilling arena called Monument.  Since I love new companies and I love grilling, it only seems like a perfect fit to set up a Monument Grill Review.

Monument Grill Review Overview

If you are into grilling or looking for your first grill, you know this is a very crowded space.  There are so many names that your head won’t stop turning.  You can buy anything from a cheap no-name grill to a fancy grill that cost thousands of dollars.  So what grill is right for you?

When I was first introduced to Monument grills, I have to admit, I didn’t give it a second thought, just because there are so many companies out there.  Then I was pushed a little bit more to just take a look at them, so I started doing a little research.  Here is where I was intrigued.  For me, I saw a new company that was manufacturing a quality grill but at extremely reasonable prices. I have always been a fan of Weber because they are a local company and that is what I am familiar with.  However, I do feel slided by Weber as I feel like their quality has tanked but not their prices.

So after doing some research, I wanted to give one of these grills a shot and see what it’s all about.

Monument Grill Review Features

This is their top of the line grill. This features 6 stainless steel main burners and puts out 96,000 BTU’s.  There is a total of 900 sq. inches of total cooking area.  634 sq. inches of primary cooking space and 266 sq. inches of warming racks.

One cool feature of this grill is the appliance glass front.  This lets you take a peek at the food without having to lift the lid and let out the heat.  It may not be a game changer when it’s 90 degrees outside, but when I am cooking in the colder months, this is huge.

The grill features a built-in thermostat which is easy to read with the larger numbers.

On the front of the grill, you can control each burner plus the push button ignition located right in the middle.

There are two double doors located below which store your LP tank and enough room for other items you want to store, such as a backup tank.

Another cool feature is the slide-out tray for the LP tank.  As you know, inserting a full LP tank can be a pain since you’re bent over and trying to fiddle with the hookup.  This unit has a slide out tray where you can place the tank on, hook up the hose and then slide it back into the base of the cabinet.  Very nice and well thought out.

At first, I wasn’t impressed with the casters but when we rolled it over a hose with ease, I was sold.  For me, I move my grill around since I have a small driveway.  We use the driveway for basketball, hockey and more.  When it’s time to grill, I have to move the grill onto the driveway so casters are a big deal for people like me who have to move their grill around.

On the right side of the grill, you have a side burner with its own temperature control.  When not in use, you can use it as a side table.

On the left side of the grill, there is a searing station.  As with the side burner, this has its own separate temp control and also has a lid to cover it when not in use.

Opening up the grill is where the magic happens.  You can see the large cooking area with the 304 stainless steel grates.

For those who like to smoke some meats, it comes with a smoke box.

On the back of the grill, you can access the grease pan for easy emptying and cleaning.

Another cool feature is the included USB LED light.

When you turn on the LED lights, the knobs also has a blue accent so you can see what temperatures you have set.

Monument Grill Review Performance

This grill does get hot. In fact, we had this well over the 700 degrees in under 5 minutes.

I never thought about adding appliance glass to a grill but after using it and seeing it first hand, I ask, why not have it on all grills?

There is more than enough room to cook a ton of food on this grill.  What you see there is over $116 worth of food and there is plenty more room if we wanted to add more.

I have never owned a grill with a side burner but after using this one, it is great to be able to cook something on the side.  I like being able to control the temperature for this burner only.

This is my favorite part of the grill, the searing station.  I know we are supposed to sear our meat first but I have been using reverse searing and loving it.  With a searing station, you can do everything at once.  I slow cook the meat, then about 5 minutes before the meat is done, I crank up the searing station and finish off the meat.

So I do want to cover a couple of points that I have seen in other reviews.  I try not to look at other reviews as I don’t want to be swayed with my opinion but since this was a new company to me, I wanted to do a little research before I tried this project.

I have seen three common complaints.  The three complaints are assembling, temperature control (can’t get the grill below 400 degrees) and rust and would like to address them.

First, is assembling.  Yes, you do have to assemble these grills.  Some complained that it took a long time to put together.  If you have a little knowledge and some tools, it shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes.  The directions were easy to follow.  We did have a couple of little hiccups but nothing painful.  Let’s face it, grilling is awesome.  You should take your time and have fun putting this together.  Think of the meal you will enjoy once it’s done.  Don’t look at it as job putting it together.

Next was the temperature.  Yes, this grill gets extremely hot but some complained that they couldn’t get the temperature under 400 degrees.  So here is how this grill or any 6 burner grill works.  If you have all six burners on high, you will get this to crank well over 700 degrees.  If you have all six burners on low, the lowest temperature you will get is around 400 degrees.  If you want to lower the temperature, just turn some of the burners off.  You have to remember the temperature control is on top of the grill and in the center.  This is a big grill.  By turning off some of the burners and moving the food around, you can customize the temperature to whatever you want.  So this is more user error than manufacturer error.

Last on the list was rust.  This I can’t speak of since we have only had it a couple of weeks.  I will update this down the road but here are my thoughts.  I only saw this from a couple of people so maybe there was an issue with a certain run of grills.  Since I am not seeing it all over the place, I am assuming there were a couple of defects.  So I will put that on the manufacturer but it happens with all manufacturers.  My Weber rusted out in 4 months and that was smaller and more expensive. Again, I think it was a fluke.  But I am only paying $550 for a grill when I see the same grill with price tags well over $1,000.  It really doesn’t affect how the grill works, so for me, it’s not a concern even if it does rust out.  Again, I will update you but I don’t think this is a wide issue.

Monument Grill Review Value

So I just got done mentioning this grill is $550 and can be bought at Menards. I think the price tag is more than reasonable and a great deal for what you get.  Again, I have seen grills cost a ton more for a lot less quality.  This was one of the reasons that I wanted to test this grill out because of the price and what it had to offer over other grills.

Monument Grill Review Final Thoughts

As of now, I am a fan of Monument grills.  I love the price and I love the quality.  While time will tell, it seems to be a great grill for the price.  Now you have to remember the most important thing is the price.  If you are comparing this to $1,500 grills, yes you will see a quality difference and be disappointed.  But if you are comparing this to other grills in the same price range, this has better quality than other grills of this size and class.  Next time you’re at Menards, check this grill out and let us know your thoughts.