Best Alabama White BBQ Sauce

Last Updated on October 12, 2023 by Carne Diem

Sauces and Rubs

Origin: American South

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This easy Alabama Style BBQ sauce has become a go to sauce for roasted and smoked chicken. Tangy and a little spicy, this is one of the best barbecue sauces for chicken and poultry, and a great way to mix things up versus a traditional barbecue sauce.

History of Alabama Style White Barbecue Sauce

White BBQ sauce is a mayo-based BBQ sauce made famous in Alabama at restaurants like Big Bob Gibson's. The sauce gained popularity in northern Alabama shortly after its creation by Bob Gibson and soon its popularity spread. This mayonnaise-based BBQ sauce is thinned with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar with an added kick from coarse ground black pepper, hot sauce and horseradish.

Making Homemade Alabama White Sauce

Ingredients for Alabama White Sauce

This super easy BBQ sauce can be whipped up and ready for your cookout in under 5 minutes. To make the Alabama White BBQ sauce you will need mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, coarse black pepper, lemon juice, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt and prepared horseradish.

Select a high quality Mayonnaise- When you are making Alabama White Sauce from scratch, you want to use the best ingredients. Duke's mayonnaise is our absolute favorite mayo for making white barbeque sauce. You definitely want to use real mayonnaise for this recipe.

Hot Sauce- You can use your favorite hot sauce in the recipe, but we typically stick with Frank's or Tabasco. This helps provide an underlying heat to the bbq sauce, that it is famous for.

Apple Cider Vinegar- For the apple cider vinegar, we really love using vinegar with honey for a touch of sweetness. Regular apple cider vinegar works well in the recipe too. The vinegar adds to that acidity of the barbeque sauce, giving it a classic tangy flavor.

Horseradish- You want to use a prepared horseradish for the white bbq sauce as this helps maintain the proper texture and flavor of the sauce. Horseradish sauce is not the same as it typically contains sour cream or mayo, and will have a much milder taste. Fresh horseradish can be uses if finely grated, but your should decrease the amount by half, as it will have a much stronger flavor.

Mix the sauce

Making Alabama sauce from scratch is super easy. Simply combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.

Once combined, place the sauce in a mason jar or salad dressing carafe. Refrigerate until needed.

Uses for Alabama White Sauce

One of the great things about white BBQ sauce is its versatility. It can be used as a marinade to keep your chicken moist and juicy, or as a finishing sauce. Alabama barbecue sauce is perfect over smoked chicken, or turkey like our Smoked Turkey Roulade or Smoked Turkey Breast and can even be used as a spicy and tangy salad dressing.

Storing the Alabama White Sauce

Any leftover sauce should be kept in an airtight container, in the refrigerator. Homemade white BBQ sauce will typically keep about 2 weeks in the refrigerator if you made it with fresh ingredients. We almost never have much leftover anyway though.

If you are looking for more great American style BBQ recipes, be sure to check out a list of some of our favorites:

• Kansas City Tomahawk Style Pork Chops
• Eastern North Carolina Pulled Pork
• BBQ Poutine With Smoked Brisket
• Beef Short Rib Burnt Ends
• Beef Short Rib Tomahawk
• Complete Guide to Texas Style Smoked Brisket

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