Be even lazier this spring

One of the biggest barbecuing and grilling holidays is only a week away! The more adventurous people have no doubt started to clean their grills, buy charcoal and plan a menu.

I say, why bother? With the Blue Ember iQue you can (to borrow Ron Popeil’s phrase) fix it and forget it.

The Blue Ember iQue comes equipped with a “touch-control-on-board” computer programmed with enough different types of meat to make a caveman happy. You select the desired done-ness and the grill automatically heats up to the proper temperature and turns itself off.

Besides temperature control and programmed food settings, it also includes a meat probe to digitally check for done-ness and a sonar fuel gauge that tracks propane use.

Yes, it’s propane which means it’s a non-starter for true barbecue enthusiasts. (Then again, why would barbecue enthusiasts want to use a grill that did everything for them in the first place?) But for the rest of our lazy selves the Blue Ember iQue is like a gift from the food gods.

An expensive gift, that is. After taxes and shipping, expect to drop around $1,000 for the iQue. So know when a person asks you if you can really put a price on a perfectly prepared steak you can tell them it’s around $1,000.