Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
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Alabama white barbecue sauce is a regional specialty that has received national acclaim for good reason! Uniquely sweet yet tangy, let me show you how to make it for yourself at home. One bite and you’ll be serving it with every meal!
Today, I’m bringing you a real rarity. In fact, it is pretty much unheard of outside of North Alabama. Even my husband (who is from a town in Georgia only four hours away) had never heard of it. A lot of folks in South Alabama have never heard of it.
I’m talking about Alabama white bbq sauce. This is truly a regional thing, but also a regional requirement. Every BBQ restaurant in North Alabama features white bbq sauce on their menu, their meats, and their tables and North Alabamians eat it with everything from French fries to bread to chicken and ribs. My husband loves to smother his chicken in Alabama white barbecue sauce. Personally, I like to use so much that my food is always swimming in it.
So, what makes this homemade white bbq sauce so irresistible? Well, it has a uniquely sweet yet tangy flavor, thanks to the combination of mayonnaise, lemon juice, white vinegar, and sugar. Let me tell you, it truly is the perfect compliment to just about everything. So how about we make up a batch for you? This recipe has the simplest ingredients and instructions ever, after all – mix and serve. That’s my style!
Recipe Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Lemon juice
- White vinegar
- Sugar
How to Make Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
Place mayonnaise in a small bowl and add the vinegar and lemon juice.
Next, add salt, pepper, and sugar to the mixing bowl.
Mix all ingredients together with a whisk or just put all of your ingredients into a large jar with a lid and give it a really good shake. That’s all there is to it!
You have just made Alabama white barbecue sauce!
Before you go wow your friends, get a French fry or a piece of chicken and give it a good dunking so you can be the first to taste it. YUM!
I could just live on this y’all, honest!
Storage
Pop the sauce in a mason jar or airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. But we all know it’s not gonna last that long! Lucky it only takes 5 minutes to whip up another batch (or you can always simply double the recipe).
Recipe Notes
- If you like, substitute white sugar for brown sugar or use a combination of both.
- Another substitution is using apple cider vinegar (or a combination again) instead of white vinegar.
- Some white sauce recipes also include prepared horseradish. If that’s your thing, I’d go with just a couple of teaspoons.
- Some also add in mustard, so if you like you can add 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard, dijon mustard, spicy brown , or even .
- For an extra pop of flavor, go ahead and add 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning, like Cajun seasoning or Old Bay seasoning.
- For a lighter version, replace half of the mayo with sour cream or Greek yogurt. It won’t affect the taste.
- Want to add some heat? If you’re going to add the prepared horseradish, opt for hot horseradish. Then add 1/2 teaspoon of hot sauce and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to make things extra spicy.
Recipe FAQs
Where did Alabama white BBQ sauce originate?
We have Robert Gibson from Big Bob Gibson’s Bar B-Q in Decatur, Alabama to thank for introducing us to Alabama white sauce way back in 1925.
What do you serve with Alabama white barbecue sauce?
Alabama white sauce tastes fantastic with any grilled or barbecued meat, like grilled chicken tenders or , pork chops, Southern-style pulled pork, beef brisket, crockpot beef ribs, North Alabama-style pulled chicken, steak kabobs, and air fryer chicken wings. You can baste it on the meat two or three times towards the end of cooking, or simply pour it over the top when serving.
It also tastes great as a dipping sauce with fries and veggies, like my baked zucchini fries, parmesan oven fries, and roasted sweet potato wedges. Another option is to use it as a salad dressing. It tastes absolutely amazing with potato salad, coleslaw, and roasted vegetables.
You may also enjoy these sensational sauces:
Homemade Pretzels and Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons black pepper
- 6 tablespoons white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and stir well.2 cups mayonnaise, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons black pepper, 6 tablespoons white vinegar, 6 tablespoons lemon juice, 4 tablespoons white sugar
Nutrition
So happy to find this recipe! I grew up in Madison and my grandmother lived on Greenbrier Rd. I live in Georgia now and a trip to the OLD Greenbrier is a requirement when me and my family come to visit! There’s just something about this sauce…on the hushpuppies, on the fries, the chicken, the pork, and as crazy as it sounds…the slaw! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Christy:) I was born and raised in Louisiana (but now live in the barren north – Chicago!) . I’ve been visiting your site for a few years now and love it. I had never had White BBQ sauce. I made it last July 4th and shared it with my Alabama neighbor who was shocked!:) I think it made his day – I know I’ll be making it as a standard every summer from now on. It’s sooo good on EVERYTHING!! I also wanted to tell you that I bought your cookbook and absolutely love it;) I also gave it to my Aunt Ruth for Christmas last year and she loves it! Recipes are so familiar to what we had growing up. Excellent job:)
I bet you got the neighbor of the year award Kathryn!!! I am so glad you liked the cookbook, it has a piece of my heart and it always makes my day when someone says they like it.
my mama would add yellow mustard to ours and we used it for salad dressing. we always liked it and i was raised in MI.
The white BBQ sauce sounds absolutely delicious! It is similiar to what we mix with our southern style mayo-cole slaw.
I also love the vinegar slaw, which is easy to mix and keeps well for days!
It is a good dish for potlucks and church dinners, and prepared the night before. It compliments most all southern dishes.
I use a large bag of slaw mix with cabbage and carrots. Chop one medium onion and one medium green pepper and mix with the slaw mix. Then mix one-half cup of white vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil together and pour all over the slaw mix, stirring well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Keep in fridge overnight for best flavor and stir before serving.
An older version of the recipe says to heat the mixture but I’ve found it wilts the slaw mixture unless you wait until it cools completely. The recipe works just as good simply mixing the oil, sugar, and white vinegar, then pour it over the slaw and mixing well.
Thanks for all the wonderful goldmine of recipe shared with us!
Jo Ann from Tennessee
My Husband and I love White BBQ sauce. We’ve often wondered how to make it. When I read your recipe and seen how easy it was I forwarded it to my hubby and when he walked in from work he had a grocery bag with him with everything you listed. He made it and it is now BY FAR our favorite white BBQ sauce and that’s saying somehting when you’ve tried them all and live in Alabama. Thanks for sharing this!
LOVE white BBQ sauce! I make mine with red wine vinegar and I also add garlic powder to it!
My husband and I stopped at a little BBQ place when we took a truckload of donations to Alabama tornado victims. They served our bbq with white sauce. I have to admit, I was at first a little (okay, more than a little) skeptical about eating this mayo-laden sauce, but I decided to give it a try. It was very good and didn’t have a heavy mayonnaise taste at all because of the spices and the vinegar. My husband and I were just talking about the white sauce yesterday. We will have to whip up a batch to share with friends and family. We are from TN, about an hour from Huntsville, AL, so we are not far away from the source of the sauce. As close as we are, we do not have white bbq sauce in our neck of the woods. It’s definitely a North AL thing.
I am so glad you tried it! A lot of people won’t even try it because it is so different, but well worth it! And thank you so much for helping out!!!