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
I’m from western Kentucky and while we have our very own proud BBQ heritage here (lots of smoked pigs), sadly white sauce is absent. On the other hand north Alabama is only 2 hours away, so I can make a run to Big Bob Gibson’s if need be. Ive loved it since I first had it from a BBQ joint in Nashville, and been lookin for a good recipe to try out.
I am so ecstatic to have found your website this morning. We just returned from visiting my Mom who lives just outside Huntsville. Of course all we want to eat when we are in Alabama is Barbecue since what is described as such in Sarasota, FL is not what we have in mind. I am going to make your pulled pork and vinegar slaw for Memorial Day and a batch of the white sauce to have in the fridge. Thank you for sharing.
I live in KY and I have never even heard of white bbq sauce so this is going to be a must try and later today I have a cook out happening so what better a time to try I can’t figure. Thank you girl I like all the ingredients in it so it should be interesting. I would also like to know like one other poster on here, is it for dipping mostly, or using like a regular bbq sauce? I would assume more for dipping but not exactly sure.
I’m Southern born & raised so white bbq sauce isn’t strange to me. I love it. But the recipe I have been using is just a bit different from this one. I’ll give this one a try. Thanks for posting it. I never can have too many recipes. I’ve got so many cookbooks, cooking magazines, homemade recipe notebooks, etc. that I’ll have to mention them in my will so they don’t get destroyed. I love cooking!
Forgot to mention that I use white pepper instead of the black in order to keep everything ‘white’.
I would like to have your recipe also, Bonnie N. I like the white pepper idea.
I will have to try this, I have never heard of white BBQ sauce either up here in MI. Have you added other seasonings to this? Like garlic powder?
Another question; when making biscuits have you tried replacing half of the liquid with ranch dressing? (Not sure if you like ranch dressing) I did and then added shredded cheddar cheese to the dough and ended up with a cheddar ranch biscuit.
I use something pretty similar to this in my pasta salad recipe and it is terrific, never thought of using it on burgers but I bet it would be awesome with the extra bit of tang in it !
I would love to print some of your recipes. sort of a beginner,etc. How,What do you recommend. I do not like going to Face Book or others,etc. why do you not provide simple spot to click on ?? Print recipe here or etc. most food sites do this, makes it so easy for anybody, without jumping thru hoops to do it.
Help, please. I am a recipe addict and I love your site. don rosebaugh
Don,
Look below the ingredients and instructions part of the recipe thats outlined with a black line, making a square around it. Look under that and you will see blue printing that says “Print This Recipe”.
Oh by the way Christy, that was the first time I have ever sent in a review. I just want to let you know that I really enjoy your encouraging words and all the scrumptious recipes. We absolutely love the Mexican Cornbread recipe and many others. Sooooo good!! I cant wait to make the White Sauce. Thank you for taking so much time out of your busy life to give us a slice of the “good ole days”. Thanks!!!!
Southern Plate should think about adding an Account login to sign up for so we can SAVE the favorite recipes that we will make a lot. Then we won’t have to look them up every time we want to cook your favorite recipes. All other cooking websites have this. What do you say Christy ??? It’s a good idea. Thanks….
Hey Cynthia! That is a neat idea and it works really well for the commercial cooking websites. This is still just a personal website, run solely by myself, and I just can’t add that type of capability without spending thousands and thousands of dollars to set it up, then thousands more to maintain it with a database and technical support each month. I like to keep the recipes free on here so avoid things like that because I’d have to switch to a pay gate for my readers, and that’s no fun :). In the meantime, please know that I appreciate you coming here, and coming back again and again. I do have a print function on my recipes for your favorites or you can do what I do and jot them down in a handwritten cookbook that your family will cherish for generations. I also have two cookbooks in print (Harper Collins and Workman publishers) and my third one comes out in just a couple of months. You can see those here: http://amzn.to/2bwSHhk
I pin my favorites to my Pinterest account!
Thank you Twila!!
I pin my favorites, as well!