This Alabama White Sauce Recipe combines mayonnaise, spices, and tangy apple cider vinegar for a great complement to chicken, pork, and other dishes.
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I love regional American food, and this is one of the best—hats off to Alabama. The perfect sauce for hickory smoked grilled chicken but can be used on fish and many other places.
White BBQ originated in north Alabama and was made famous by the historic barbecue joint Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, founded in Decatur, AL, in 1925 and continues to this day.
Sometimes called white barbecue sauce, Alabama white BBQ sauce. The sauce is delicious on grilled or smoked chicken or turkey. It can also be used on pork or seafood. Other uses cole slaw as a salad dressing, dipping sauce, or condiment. It is so tasty; you will find your own creative use for this wonderful sauce.
A few recipes where Alabama white sauce can be used includes Butterflied Chicken, Grilled Chicken Drumsticks, Grilled Split Chicken Breasts, Grilled Chicken Tenders, and Baked Chicken Wings—or used on grilled chicken sandwiches or grilled pork tenderloin sandwiches.
This version was inspired by Cooks Country White BBQ Chicken (subscription required) which I simplified a bit and adding lemon juice back that was removed but is classically used.
🥣Ingredients for Alabama White Sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Apple cider vinegar
- Lemon juice—optional
- Prepared horseradish
- Pantry ingredients—sugar, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste
Other ingredients to cook Alabama White BBQ Chicken
- Any skin-on chicken you like, butterflied whole chicken, cut-up whole chicken, or other chicken parts
- Seasoning or rub for the chicken like Chipotle Seasoning, Black Magic Seasoning, or any seasoning or rub you like. Just some salt, pepper, and a touch of cayenne will be good.
- Wood chips for smoking–hickory preferred
👨🍳How to Make Alabama White Sauce
- Mix mayo, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, table salt, black pepper, prepared horseradish, and cayenne pepper.
- Let flavors come together for an hour or more if you have time—no need to cook.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Grilling Alabama BBQ Chicken
- Prepare skin-on chicken for cooking by trimming as needed and applying a rub or seasoning of your choice.
- Place the chicken on a preheated 450° grill with the skin side up and start the wood smoke if desired.
- Flip and rotate the chicken every 4-5 minutes until a final internal temperature of 165°.
- Move to a chopping board and coat all sides with sauce—tent for 10 minutes with aluminum foil. Re-coat with sauce and serve more sauce on the side.
❓FAQs
No, unlike more traditional tomato-based BBQ sauces, it is not cooked. It is mixed and used cold. It can be brushed on grilling chicken near the end of cooking for a few minutes after reaching 165° or applied after removing it from the grill.
You can store sealed in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks refrigerated.
Serve with typical BBQ side dishes like baked beans, potato salad, or cole slaw. Also, try French fries, Macaroni salad, or broccoli slaw.
❄️How to store leftover Alabama white sauce.
You can store sealed in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks refrigerated. Freezing is not recommended.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Mix ¾ cup mayo, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon horseradish, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Allow the flavors to come together for an hour before using if you have time. Refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Grilling Alabama BBQ Chicken
Prepare skin-on chicken for cooking by trimming as needed and applying a rub or seasoning of your choice.
Place the chicken on a preheated 450° grill with the skin side up and start wood smoke if desired. Flip and rotate the chicken every 4-5 minutes until a final internal temperature of 165°.
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
Alabama White Sauce
Ingredients
Alabama White Sauce
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice - optional
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon prepared horseradish
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
If Making Alabama White BBQ Chicken
- 2-3 pounds skin on chicken - cut up
- 1 cup smoking chips - hickory prefered
Rub or seasoning of your choice or this simple seasoning
- 2 teaspoons table salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Mix ¾ cup mayo, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon horseradish, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- Allow the flavors to come together for an hour before using if you have time. Refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
If Making Alabama White BBQ Chicken
- Prepare skin-on chicken for cooking by trimming as needed and applying a rub or seasoning of your choice.
- Place the chicken on a preheated 450° grill with the skin side up and start wood smoke if desired. Flip and rotate the chicken every 4-5 minutes until a final internal temperature of 165°.
- 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.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- The lemon juice is optional but suggested. 2 tablespoons seems to dominate the other tastes. I uese 1 tablespoon.
- Wonderful on hickory smoked grilled skin on chicken but has many uses discussed in the post.
- Store airtight in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally published July 9, 2010. Updated with refreshed photos and a table of contents to help navigation.
JIL
DR DAN --- THE RECIPE STATES: '1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional see discussion)' BUT I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND THE"DISCUSSION" YOU REFERENCED...WHY IS THE LEMON JUICE AN OPTION?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jil,
Welcome to the blog.
You are so right, it is not there. I "broke out" the sauce and it's discussion to another post and didn't fix this one years ago.
The sauce here is modeled after an American Test Kitchen 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.
As soon as I post this reply. I'm fixing both recipes.
Dan
Sage
I have a feeling I will be learning great new ways of preparing our meals for 2 here; I will be back.Love the way you present your recipes.
Rita
Dr Dan
The whole chicken... sounds like a plan.
The smoke seemed to add a lot more to chicken quickly then other meats. A blank slate I guess.
I'm going to see what happens with skinless but don't have high hope for the smoke adding like it did here.
Chris
I LOVE Alabama White sauce but like you, only grilled with it for two years. We like it that way.
This spring, I took a class from Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibsons and tasted his smoked chicken. It was amazing, some of the best chicken I have ever had.
It is very good grilled, but some time when you have the extra time, try it on a whole smoked chicken.