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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chicken Recipes

    Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ Sauce

    Jul 9, 2010 · Modified: Apr 16, 2021 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 5 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    5 from 2 votes

    They eat good in Alabama. 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.

    Alabama Chicken with white BBQ Sauce on chicken leg

    Jump To:
    • ♨️ The Grill
    • 🏴󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁬󠁿 White BBQ Sauce
    • 🐓 The Chicken
    • 📖 Whole Chicken Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe

    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    Introduction

    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 a whole chicken cut up for convenience. It cooks faster and easier, making this in about an hour total.

    My Rating

    My rating system. Great 5 out of 5

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

    ♨️ The Grill

    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 the second is about grill temperature since we are not "low and slow" here.

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

    🏴󠁵󠁳󠁡󠁬󠁿 White BBQ Sauce

    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.

    The sauce is great on grilled or smoked chicken or turkey. It can also be used on pork or as a dipping sauce. It is so tasty; you will find your own creative used for this wonderful sauce.

    Generally, the sauce is used to baste near the end of cooking usually chicken.

    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.

    🐓 The Chicken

    I used a whole chicken cut up. Originally, half or whole butterflied chickens are usually used.

    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 taste.

    📖 Whole Chicken Recipes

    Grilled Whole Chicken on a Gas Grill

    BBQ Grilled Butterflied Whole Chicken

    Simple Everyday Roast Chicken with Gravy

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    BBQ Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Grill Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    mixing mayo and spices in glass bowl

    Mix ¾ 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, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon horseradish, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.

    clean and oil grill crates

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

    split chicken breast with knife of black board

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

    raw chicken seasoned with on black board

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

    raw chicken on grates of gas grill

    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 an 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.

    brushing white BBQ sauce on cooked chicken

    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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    Recipe

    Alabama Chicken with white BBQ Sauce on chicken leg

    Alabama BBQ Chicken with White BBQ sauce

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    They eat good in Alabama. 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.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 10 pieces

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 whole chicken - cut up
    • 1 cup smoking chips

    Rub:

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

    Sauce

    • ¾ cup mayonnaise
    • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    • 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice - optional
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon pepper
    • ½ teaspoon horseradish
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Mix ¾ 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, ½ teaspoon table salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon horseradish, and ¼ 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 teaspoon 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.
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. This is for chicken with skin not skinless.
    2. The BBQ sauce is located at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/alabama-white-bbq-sauce/
    3. The lemon juice is optional.
    4. Cook by the internal temperature of the chicken pieces. NOT BY TIME ALONE. I like the thighs and legs to be 185 and the rest at 165.
     

    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

    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.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally published July 9, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    1. JIL

      July 01, 2019 at 1:13 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        July 01, 2019 at 1:45 pm

        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

    2. Sage

      July 15, 2010 at 7:39 am

      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

      Reply
    3. Dr Dan

      July 11, 2010 at 8:05 am

      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.

      Reply
    4. Chris

      July 11, 2010 at 7:52 am

      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.

      Reply

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