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
Went to dinner at a friends who was born and raised in Alabama and she served this with the BBQ chicken. The moment I tasted it I said this is the dressing my momma used on cucumber and onion salad, which is a common salad in Texas. Loved it with the chicken as well.
Oh wow great idea!!! I am going to have to try that!!
My husband and i are from jasper alabama and i love love love this. i am military so we live in hawaii and i have been missing this!!!! so glad i found this! I made it yesterday and my husband was so happy with it. i add a tiny bit more sugar because of the sour lol. We use it as a dipping sauce but its great when you shred up so smoked or rotissiere chicken, put it on a bun and pour the sauce on top of that….it is to die for!!!!! will be eating this with every meal ahah
I live in Australia but I lived in Huntsville for many years. I went to Greenbriar many times when there was only one, and after that to both many times. I love NA BBQ! And I loved white sauce but typically mixed with the red BBQ sauce, on the meat, and for dunking those fantastic hush puppies. Oh how I miss it all! But like everytthing stuff changes – even when I was there the red sauce was hot and vinagery, but then changed to I suppose more mainsteam BBQ – thick tomatoey and smokey. How about a receipe for traditional hot red BBQ sauce? Thanks!
I have a recipe for red sauce, I will try to get it up on Southern Plate over the next few months. We sure do miss you here in Alabama Jeff!!
I’ll look forward to it, thanks!
Was in Birmingham this weekend and stopped for supper at Saws BBQ. Have to say it was excellent. They have a limited menu, but what they do they do awesome. Nice small diner type atmosphere. Loved the white bbq sauce. Had it on chicken. YUMMY! Would definitely go back again. Thanks for the white sauce recipe. My husband and son will be very happy to be able to have it at home 🙂
sounds like creole mayo to me.. bbq sauce please.. bbq sauce isn’t mayonnaise!
I make Glenn’s Gourmet Goodies White BBQ Sauces (original White, mild Wasabi, and spicy Chipotle) and we are the reason these sauces are now called “White BBQ Sauce” and not just White Sauce.Our sauce won the third best BBQ Sauce in a national Food Network contest in 2005. These sauces have no sugar, carbs, gluten, MSG, preservatives, nor egg and are low sodium. They will NOT burn on the grill as there is no sugar nor tomato.I have not had mayo in our house in 8 years. I would be glad to send you samples to review, if you would like. Keep up the good work.
God Bless.
i want to pin it! where is the pin button?