In my student days fried chicken wings were favorites of mine at a long-gone little bar at the entrance to the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. Recently I rediscovered chicken wings at another tapas bar that I had forgotten, Las Bravas, whose claim to fame is its salsa brava, a spicy sauce traditionally served over fried potatoes (the place, so they claim, where patatas bravas originated), as well as with fried chicken wings. So proud are they of their salsa brava that on the wall behind the bar and on a sign over the entrance these words appear: “Sauce with patent number 357942.”

Marinating the wings first in beer, as suggested by Annie, an American married to a Spaniard and living in Madrid, whom I met through the Internet, makes these wings superior, I think, to those at Las Bravas. Since the sauce ingredients are top secret, I reproduced the taste through my own devices and am more than satisfied with the results. But be advised that piquillo peppers instead of ordinary pimientos will give a far superior flavor.