Alabama White Sauce Recipe - Smoked BBQ Source (2024)
Alabama white sauceSauce
Dress up that boring chicken, or step up that smoked chicken with this tangy Alabama white sauce.
Jordan Hanger
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Sometimes called white BBQ sauce, Alabama White Sauce is an outstanding complement to chicken but also pairs well with fish, pork, and everything in between.
Made famous by Big Bob Gibson Bar B Q in Decatur, Alabama. To this day, they are known for their white sauce and still dunk their entire chickens into a large vat of the titular sauce.
You probably have most of the ingredients already, and it’s quick and easy to whip up a batch, so give it a go and see for yourself!
Alabama white sauce
While most bbq sauces get their red color from a tomato base, Alabama white sauce gets its color from a mayonnaise base.
It has a bit of tang from the apple cider vinegar and a nice bite from cayenne pepper and horseradish. It’s a sauce that flies under the radar and might not be familiar to even someone who barbecues often.
However, once you try it, you may never go back!
Ingredients you’ll need
Mayonnaise
Apple cider vinegar
Cream style horseradish – I use store-bought but if you choose to use fresh, reduce the amount by half and taste first to make sure it’s not overpowering the sauce.
Spicy brown mustard – If you don’t have brown mustard, you can use dijon or regular yellow mustard.
Salt
Ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper – Optional, could also use a touch of hot sauce
Some recipes use brown sugar or honey for a touch of sweetness. I find you don’t need it, but if you like your sauces sweet then 1-2 tablespoons will be fine.
The origins of Alabama White Sauce
Most people agree that Alabama white sauce was first popularized by Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, an iconic barbecue restaurant in Decatur, Alabama.
No one exactly knows how the source came about though. Chris Lilly, the executive chef theorizes that the fat in the mayonnaise helped keep the chicken from drying out. Nowadays you can buy Big Bob Gibson branded white sauce, but I think it’s easier to just make your own.
How to make Alabama white sauce
This is a super easy sauce to throw together, and unlike most sauces, you don’t need to simmer or boil to incorporate the ingredients.
All all of the ingredients to a large bowl and give it a good whisk until the sauce is smooth.
You can serve the sauce right away, but it’s best if it’s had an hour or two to meld together.
How to adjust the recipe
You can adjust the heat level easily by adding more cayenne pepper, some hot sauce or horseradish if you like it spicy.
If you want a thicker or thinner sauce, increase or decrease the amount of apple cider vinegar.
All variations are great, so feel free to experiment a little and cater to your tastes.
Alabama White Sauce Serving Suggestions
Alabama white sauce is typically served with smoked or grilled chicken. Most recipes will smoke or grill the chicken first, before finishing with a dunk in a bowl of white sauce. Or you can slather over the top.
I love white sauce with wings. If you’re feeding a crowd you can always have a bowl of white sauce to use for dipping as an alternative to blue cheese or ranch.
Another great option is to drizzle over a whole smoked chicken.
You don’t even have to stick with chicken. Next time you’re making a salad, try dressing with white sauce or serve with veggies like carrots and cucumbers, or drizzled over roasted potatoes. You also can’t go wrong serving with pork.
Try some of our other popular bbq sauces
Homemade BBQ Sauce
East Carolina Vinegar BBQ Mop Sauce
Kansas City-style Barbecue Sauce
Carolina Gold Mustard BBQ Sauce
Addictive Mango Habanero Sauce
Alabama white sauce
With a mayonnaise base, this Alabama white sauce is a little bit tangy, a little bit spicy and the perfect accompaniment to your next smoked chicken.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Condiment / Sauce
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Total Time: 10 minutesminutes
Servings: 10
Calories: 155kcal
Author: Jordan Hanger
Ingredients
1cupmayonnaise
¼cupapple cider vinegar
2tspcream style horsradish
1tbspspicy brown mustard
½tspsalt
½tspground black pepper
¼tspgarlic powder
cayenne pepperto taste
Instructions
Add all the ingredients to a bowl and give it a good whisk.
Transfer to a mason jar or sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
What is white BBQ sauce made of? Alabama white sauce starts with a base of mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar. Many variations exist but typical flavorings include mustard, Worcestershire sauce, sugar or honey, garlic and/or onion powder, and lots of black pepper.
Alabama white BBQ sauce is a mayonnaise-based dressing that also includes horseradish and cayenne pepper for a good amount of heat. Two packed tablespoons of brown sugar add some sweetness to the mix, while apple cider vinegar and lemon juice provide some flavorful acidity.
If your white sauce tastes like ranch, that's another sign you're not quite on the right track. Ranch is thin and buttermilky, while white sauce should be thicker and richer, with more tang from the vinegar. It will have a bite similar to that of Carolina BBQ sauce.
However, northern Alabama gets the credit for white barbeque sauce, a truly unique option. The origin of Alabama white sauce can be traced back to one man: Robert Lee Gibson, better known as Big Bob Gibson, of Decatur, Alabama. Gibson earned his nickname from his size — 6'4 and 300 pounds — and an appetite to match.
What Does Alabama White Sauce Taste Like? Alabama white sauce has a creamy, tangy flavor that sets it apart from most barbecue sauces, which often have a tomato or ketchup base, with brown sugar, molasses, and hot pepper running through them for sweetness and spice.
The creation of white barbecue sauce, often called “Alabama White,” is credited to Robert “Big Bob'” Gibson at Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q restaurant, in Decatur, Ala., in 1925.
It's won several awards over the years and this is how it got the name “Alabama White Sauce”. This sauce is different than traditional BBQ sauce because it's more peppery and tangy, and less sweet. It's made with a creamy mayonnaise base, instead of the traditional tomato base found in a classic red bbq sauce.
It is believed to have been invented by Bob Gibson at the Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur in 1925. The sauce's popularity was mainly confined to northern Alabama until 1994 when it began to be bottled and sold commercially.
Not only is Alabama white sauce great on barbecue, but it also makes an excellent dip for veggies, salad dressing, and coleslaw dressing. You can even spread it on burgers or use it as a dipping sauce for fries.
Another name for bechamel — or béchamel — is "white sauce." Making a bechamel is a very basic technique in French cooking which begins with a roux, a cooked mixture of flour and butter, and after slowly whisking in milk, ends in a creamy sauce.
Visit Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala., and you'll find a barbecue sauce unlike any on the planet. Created by a railroad worker-turned-pit master in the 1920s, this piquant mixture of mayonnaise, vinegar and black pepper has accompanied barbecued chicken for five generations of pit masters.
Smooth and creamy white gravy, one of the American South's most beloved and versatile sauces, is really just a variation of béchamel, which was brought to Louisiana by French explorers in the 17th century. Excellent draped over chicken fried steak, biscuits or.
The sauce, according to most estimations, is the invention of Decatur, Alabama's Bob Gibson, who started selling it in 1925 out of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q. It's a sauce that combines cider vinegar with mayonnaise, salt, sugar, and spices, and it was originally served with the restaurant's barbecued chicken.
A skill that in today's cookery game grants me very little kudos. For the uninitated, Bechamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is a classic sauce of French cuisine. Originating in the late 17th century, it was named after Louis de Bechamel, the chief steward of Louis XIV, who is credited with inventing the sauce.
This distinctive, zingy sauce marries the taste of Duke's with tangy vinegar, punchy horseradish, and a peppery blend of spices. It's bound to become your go-to sauce for dunking smoked or grilled chicken and fried green tomatoes or using as a dipping sauce for fried okra and French fries.
What Is In White Sauce? This traditional white sauce starts with a roux of equal parts all-purpose flour and butter, which gives the sauce a rich and creamy base. Whole milk thins the butter-flour mixture, turning the roux into a sauce.
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