You can't grill without a flame, and if you're a traditionalist, you're using charcoal. But lighting charcoal with matches can be tough, and no one likes the taste of lighter fluid. Fortunately, the Looftlighter is a handheld wand that ignites charcoal, briquettes, wood, or pretty much anything else you need to get grilling in 60 seconds using super-heated air. You'll need an electric outlet to use it, but the Looftlighter has a nine-foot cord, so there's some flexibility. It also has an integrated bottle cap opener, and in cooler weather doubles as a great way to light a fireplace.  

One of the hardest parts about grilling is knowing when a piece of meat is done. The best way to be sure is to check for temperature, but there's nothing worse than pulling something off a few minutes too late. You won't need to worry about that if you're using a smart thermometer like the iGrill Mini from Weber. It uses a wired probe to measure the temperature of a piece of meat while it's cooking. You don't need even need to stick around the whole time to watch the numbers rise, since it connects with an app on your phone to let you know something has reached its desired temperature when you're up to 150 feet away.  

There’s no cookout faux pas worse than torching the burgers and dogs. Fortunately, you can avoid this scenario with the help of the Meater+. This completely wireless meat thermometer sends notifications to your phone when your food is ready. It’s similar to the iGrill Mini, but it's completely wireless.

If you want to get really fancy, you can sous vide your meat and vegetables before you grill them. The Anova Precision Cooker is our favorite immersion circulator. It heats water to an exact temperature and holds it there, so you can cook a steak to perfectly rare before searing it off on the grill. That helps ensure accuracy and cuts down on time spent slaving over the barbecue rather than socializing.  

For wood-fired grilling, check out the Traeger Timberline 1300. The Timberline uses hardwood pellets and a modulating fan to deliver incredible smoked and barbecued food. It also features Wi-Fi, which allows you to control cooking temperatures, set timers, and access a huge database of recipes from anywhere. It's not cheap at $2,000, but it's worth every penny for serious barbecue enthusiasts.  

If $2,000 is out of your budget, we also really like Traeger's $1,199.99 Ironwood 650 grill. It doesn't offer all of the features of its bigger sibling, but it's more affordable and still delivers outstanding food, connecting to your phone and allowing you to barbecue, roast, and smoke like a professional pitmaster.  

Grilling or not, one of the worst parts about cooking is cleaning up. Luckily, there's a robot that can do the work for you. The Grillbot is essentially a Roomba for your barbecue. Simply place it on a dirty grill, turn it on, and it will automatically get down to business. It features three electric motors that power its wire brushes and propel it across your grill. A chip inside controls movement, speed, and direction of the brushes. You don't even need to stick around until the job is done—the Grillbot will sound an alarm to let you know it's finished.  

There's more to a barbecue than just good food. And nothing can kill a party quite as fast as warm beer. If you didn't budget enough real estate in the cooler or fridge, you can chill drinks on demand using the Cooper Cooler Rapid Beverage Chiller. Simply fill the device with water and ice, place the beverage of your choice inside, and it will spin rapidly to accelerate the cooling process. The Cooler can chill a can of beer in just one minute, or an entire bottle of wine in six minutes. That's about 40 times faster than your freezer can chill cans, and 10 times faster than it can chill wine. And rest assured, carbonated beverages like beer or soda will not foam or explode after taking a ride in the Cooler.  

There's more to summer than grilling. Whether you have a backyard, a deck, a patio, or a pool, you can find plenty of other ways to make your outdoor experience smarter. To get started, check out our list of the best backyard gadgets.