Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce

Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce is spiced up grilled chicken offset with an excellent mayonnaise-based white BBQ sauce. A wonderful taste combo that is easy to recreate at home. They eat really good in Alabama.


Editor’s Note: Originally published July 9, 2010. Last updated May 31, 2018, with re-edited text and photos.

I love regional American food, and this is one of the best. Hats off to Alabama for this one.

White BBQ originated in north Alabama and was made famous by the historic barbecue joint Big Bob Gibson. Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q was founded in Decatur, AL in 1925 and continues to this day.

This version is inspired by a Cooks Country recipe which I simplified a bit and made a few other minor changes,

CC used half chickens, and I used pre-cut whole chicken for convenience. It cooks faster and easier, making this in about an hour including soaking some wood chips and preheating the grill.

My Rating

A lower five but still a five. Great chicken with wonderful sauce.

Recipe Notes for Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce

First, let’s talk grill setup. You need to get a consistent surface temperature and a method of adding some. Here are a couple of reference posts. The first talks about smoking and second is about grill temperature since we are not “low and slow” here.

How to Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking

A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill

I broke out the sauce recipe into a separate post HERE. I will be repeating this many times with just a couple of split chicken breast cut in half.

The sauce here is modeled after an American Test Kitchen/Cooks Country recipe. That recipe had no lemon juice. Most other Alabama White BBQ sauce do. So it is there as an “option”. In practice, I add 1 tablespoon and feel that 2 tablespoons is a bit much. I think ATK was wrong to leave it out.

I tend to be lazy about smoking things, but it did add a lot to the flavor here.

I cut the breasts in half to make the pieces closer to the same size to have equal cooking.

Last, I used twice the rub as Cooks Country due to more surface area because of the cut up chicken and also my personal taste.

Other Whole Chicken Options

Grilled Whole Chicken on a Gas Grill

BBQ Grilled Butterflied Whole Chicken

Crispy Spiced Up Oven Roasted Chicken

Simple Everyday Roast Chicken with Gravy

Mix 3/4 cup mayo ( I used low fat, and it was great), 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional see discussion), 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon table salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon horseradish, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Clean, oil, and preheat grill to a surface temperature of about 450 degrees and set up a method of smoking. When you add the chicken, add smoking chips to grill by whatever method you use for smoking. A disposable pan is quite adequate.

Clean chicken by removing any excess skin and any solid trim-able fat. Cut breasts in half.

Then mix seasoning: 2 teaspoons table salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, and 1 teaspoons cayenne pepper. Apply seasoning to all sides of chicken.

Place chicken on the grill skin side up and add the smoke chips. Close the grill lid. Flip about every 4-5 minutes. Cook until internal temp of 165. About 25 minutes depending on sizes of chicken pieces and grill temperature. You will need to turn off on the side of the grill to move the smaller pieces to while finishing bigger pieces.

Remove to a chopping board and coat all sides with sauce. Tent for 10 minutes with aluminum foil. Re-coat with sauce and serve the sauce on the side.

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Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ sauce

Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce is spiced up grilled chicken offset with an excellent mayonnaise-based white BBQ sauce. A wonderful taste combo that is easy to recreate at home. They eat really good in Alabama.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time45 mins

Author: Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Course : Main Course

Cuisine : American

Keyword : Southern, Traditional

Servings/Adjust Amount: 10 pieces

10

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken - cut up
• 1 cup smoking chips

Rub:

• 2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Sauce

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice - optional
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions

• Mix 3/4 cup mayo ( I used low fat, and it was great), 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional see discussion), 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon table salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon horseradish, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
• Clean, oil, and preheat grill to a surface temperature of about 450 degrees and set up a method of smoking. When you add the chicken, add smoking chips to grill by whatever method you use for smoking. A disposable pan is quite adequate.
• Clean chicken removing any excess skin and any solid trim-able fat. Cut breasts in half.
• Then mix seasoning: 2 teaspoons table salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper, and 1 teaspoons cayenne pepper. Apply seasoning to all sides of chicken.
• Place chicken on the grill skin side up and add the smoke chips. Close the grill lid. Flip about every 4-5 minutes. Cook until internal temp of 165. About 25 minutes depending on sizes of chicken pieces and grill temperature. You will need to turn off on the side of the grill to move the smaller pieces to while finishing bigger pieces.
• Remove to a chopping board and coat all sides with sauce. Tent for 10 minutes with aluminum foil. Re-coat with sauce and serve the sauce on the side.

Recipe Notes

The sauce here is modeled after an American Test Kitchen/Cooks Country recipe. That recipe had no lemon juice. Most other Alabama White BBQ sauce do. So it is there as an “option”. In practice, I add 1 tablespoon and feel that 2 tablespoons is a bit much. 

Nutrition Facts

Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ sauce

Amount Per Serving

Calories 516 Calories from Fat 270

% Daily Value*

Fat 30g46%

Saturated Fat 9g45%

Polyunsaturated Fat 12g

Monounsaturated Fat 6g

Cholesterol 180mg60%

Sodium 2921mg122%

Potassium 31mg1%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 0.01g0%

Protein 30g60%

Vitamin A 550IU11%

Vitamin C 0.8mg1%

Calcium 10mg1%

Iron 0.7mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.

All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.

Originally published July 9, 2010.