By School year ending. Isabella finishing her sophomore year of nursing — 4.0, unbroken, the chain of perfect grades that has been continuous since ninth grade and shows no sign of breaking because breaking is not in Isabella's vocabulary. She is twenty, in the clinical year, holding babies that weigh less than a bag of flour, and the flour comparison is one she made herself: "Mamá, the babies I hold weigh less than a bag of your flour, and they are more fragile, and the fragility is the point — I hold them because fragile things need holding." I said: "Rosa would say the same thing about dough." She said: "Rosa and I are doing the same work. She held dough. I hold babies. Both rise."
Sofia is finishing her junior year. One more year of high school. One more year of the school-bakery allocation. She has been accepted to exactly zero colleges because she applied to exactly zero colleges because she is not going to college, and the not-going is her diploma, and the diploma says: I built a bakery from the inside out while attending high school, and the building is the degree, and the degree is the bakery, and the bakery is everything.
Diego finished his freshman year at Bel Air with straight A's, the AP Physics exam (he expects a five), and a new project: a water recycling system designed for the Anapra bakery. He is designing the bakery's infrastructure now — not just the building but the utilities, the water management, the energy system (solar panels, designed to his specifications, to reduce operating costs). He is fourteen and he is designing a sustainable commercial bakery from his bedroom, and the designing is his gift to the family, and the gift is the bridge, and the bridge is from his bedroom to Anapra.
I made carne asada for the end-of-year celebration — the tradition, the backyard grill, the smoke and the sky. Concha the dog sat under the grill and waited for drippings, and the drippings came (they always come — the grill drips, the dog catches, the cycle is perpetual), and the yard was full and the food was hot and the family was together and together is the end-of-year feeling, the feeling that says: we survived another year of school and bakery and life, and the surviving is the celebration, and the celebration is the carne asada.
The carne asada is the tradition, yes — but it’s the smoke and the heat of the grill that really marks the moment, and these Barbecue Chicken Wings carry that same spirit: charred edges, sticky glaze, the kind of food that pulls everyone into the yard without being asked. After a year of Isabella holding fragile babies and Diego designing water systems from his bedroom and Sofia building a bakery with her own hands, I needed something that could sit on a grill and ask nothing of me except patience — so I could stand in the smoke and just watch my family be whole. Wings do that. They feed a crowd and they feed it simply, and simple is what celebration should feel like when the hard work is already done.
Barbecue Chicken Wings
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wings, split at joints, tips removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup barbecue sauce, divided
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the wings. Pat chicken wings dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, toss wings with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper until evenly coated. Let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes while the grill heats.
- Heat the grill. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat (about 375°F). Clean and lightly oil the grates to prevent sticking.
- Make the glaze. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine 3/4 cup barbecue sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Grill the wings. Place wings on the grill in a single layer over indirect heat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the skin begins to crisp and the meat is mostly cooked through.
- Apply the glaze. Move wings over direct heat. Brush generously with the barbecue glaze and cook for 5–7 minutes, turning and basting once more, until the glaze is caramelized and the wings are lightly charred at the edges.
- Rest and serve. Transfer wings to a platter and let rest 5 minutes. Serve with remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce on the side for dipping.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 18g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 680mg