Wing It

Take your cookout to the next level with these simply seasoned charcoal-grilled chicken wings.

- HUNTER LEWIS

CHARCOAL-GRILLED CHICKEN WINGS

MY FATHER was a man of simple, gluttonous pleasures. He had a deep and abiding love for cold beer and chicken wings, the saucier and spicier the better. His enthusiasm rubbed off on me. Wing night at my local college bar was sacred. Maybe that's why I also enjoyed working the fry station at several restaurant gigs, tossing hot drumettes and flats with Frank's RedHot sauce emulsified with molten butter.

Deep-frying seemed like the only logical way to prepare chicken wings—that is, until I began grilling them over charcoal while working at a Sonoma County restaurant, patiently turning the sizzling wings as they browned. Grilled wings are revelatory: crispy, deep golden brown on the outside and juicy on the inside with the smoky aroma and flavor you only get when chicken juices drip onto hot coals.