Zesty Alabama White Sauce
On September 21, 2020 (Updated May 10, 2024)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Alabama White Sauce is a creamy, tangy, and rich BBQ sauce with just a kiss of heat. This sauce is a classic white BBQ sauce that is perfect on smoked chicken and so much more! Ready in less than 5 minutes, it’s a quick and easy sauce ready when you are!
Alabama White Sauce
This mayo-based white barbecue sauce is made to dunk, drizzle, and slather it all over some smoked chicken for a classic Alabama BBQ experience. You can also serve it as a side sauce for any kind of smoked meats, like ribs or smoked turkey. In my house, we also keep it on hand as a tangy vegetable dip or use it as a dressing for coleslaw!
Alabama white BBQ sauce is a mayonnaise-based dressing that also includes horseradish and cayenne pepper for a good amount of heat. Two packed tablespoons of brown sugar add some sweetness to the mix, while apple cider vinegar and lemon juice provide some flavorful acidity. This is one recipe I recommend trying at least once. Though, chances are you’ll want to print and save this recipe for later use. It’s hard not to fall in love with this beautiful, creamy BBQ sauce.
Where did Alabama White BBQ Sauce Originate?
Alabama BBQ sauce was made famous by Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama. They have massive hickory-fed pits that house their famous smoked split chickens. These chickens are slow smoked to a glorious golden brown at 350 degree F Their flavor is out of this world, but the real showstopper is the Alabama white BBQ sauce. These chickens are then dunked whole into massive vats of their homemade white BBQ sauce for a taste like you wouldn’t believe.
Smoked chicken may be the most famous vessel for transporting this tangy and smooth sauce into your mouth, but it’s just the beginning! Alabama white BBQ sauce is incredibly versatile and has become a BBQ staple for good reason. It offers the ideal balance of flavors to enhance smoked or grilled meats and vegetables.
What is Alabama White Sauce?
The head pitmaster of Big Bob Gibson’s restaurant, Chris Lilly, first shared their restaurant original recipe which was measured in gallons and is a fairly simple mixture of mayonnaise, corn syrup, vinegar, and salt/pepper. My zesty version has the same sweet and tangy notes that make all BBQ sauces the perfect complement to smoked meats, but an Alabama white sauce is mayonnaise based, instead of tomato based, which gives it a great creamy flavor profile.
I first met Chris at a Guinness World Record event for the Largest Grilling Lesson in 2017 (you can read more about that event HERE), and I was so incredibly impressed with his knowledge of all things BBQ. I consider my recipe an homage to the restaurant-style original with a little Hey Grill Hey kick.
How to Make Alabama White Sauce
Unlike some of my other BBQ sauce recipes that require cooking the sauce on the stovetop, this BBQ sauce is quite possibly the easiest BBQ sauce you’ll ever make. To begin, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand (full printable recipe card including ingredients and steps is available at the bottom of this post):
- Mayonnaise
- Apple cider vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Brown mustard
- Lemon juice
- Prepared horseradish
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
Once you have all your ingredients assembled, pour them all into a bowl, grab a whisk, and whisk until everything is well combined and the sauce is nice and smooth. That’s it! No baking, boiling, or reducing here. This sauce is ready in less than 5 minutes, making it a great choice when you need something with a tangy zip but you don’t have a lot of time.
You are welcome to use this sauce immediately, or place it in the fridge for a couple days to let the flavors meld. Any unused sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Make sure to keep the sauce in an airtight container, and you’ll be all set!
More BBQ Sauce Recipes
I often say the sauce can make the meal, and some good homemade sauces can really take your BBQ to the next level. Now that you’ve mastered Alabama BBQ sauce, try your hand at Kansas City and Carolina sauces as well!
Alabama White Sauce Recipe
Alabama White BBQ Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and well combined.
- Refrigerate and store. Transfer to a lidded jar. Use immediately or let set in the refrigerator for 24 hours to let the flavors meld together. Will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
**This post was originally published in November 2018. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
Smoked chicken wings on electric smoker today and tossed them in this sauce when complete. Amazing, thank you for the great recipe as always. Hope you and your fam have a great New Year!
I made this sauce this week. I tasted it right after making it. It tasted a bit like honey mustard. But I let it chill in the fridge for a couple of days and then basted some smoked chicken thighs with it. Wow!!! It’s a different taste from a ketchup or vinegar based sauce, but it’s really good!
Yep, it is always better as it melds together for a day or so in the fridge. Glad you like it!
I love this recipe. I melded it with another Chris Lilly recipe interpretation, upping the cider vinegar amount (the other recipe used apple juice and cider vinegar) and nixing the mustard. You gots to cook the whole or half chicken until golden crispy using olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper.
For the ‘veg-heads’ in our family- and I’m one of them – I slather this on cauliflower ‘steaks’, portobello mushrooms and butternut squash slices after I’ve turned them on the grill and they are the best! Even the die-hard veggie-haters in the clan gobble them down! And for a special treat, brush it on your corn and return to the grill for a ‘Bama’ version of Mexican Street Corn – beyond yummy!! 🙂
I’ve always wondered, why does something like this only keep 2 weeks in the fridge? All ingredients last a lot longer when not mixed together.
It’ll last as long as the ingredient closest to expiration does.
I just used this sauce on grilled chicken quarters and it is amazing. I tried one piece using it as a dipping sauce vs another piece that was basted with the sauce for the last 15 minutes of the cook. While both were good the basted piece was far superior. The flavor of the sauce cooked onto the chicken is a unique flavor that is phenomenal.
I am going to try this on my chicken wings as a dip instead of ranch or bleu cheese. THANKS.
Just wondering is it is necessary to add the brown sugar. I would love for it to be whole 30 compliant.
Leaving out the brown sugar is totally up to you! It will change the flavor.
Is it possible to preserve this? We go through so much that making 10 or 20 bottles at a time would be nice.
Just my two sense— If you mean bottling when you say preserving, canning creamy or fatty substances is not recommended in a home kitchen. I’m not really sure why, but the fat content in the mayo I think would be a problem for home canning. You could put everything together except the mayo and bottle that. Then you wild just have to add the mayo once you opened jar. That’s how I bottle cream soups.
Would you recommend the sauce on/for ribs? What rub would you suggest to pair it w/?
I actually haven’t tried it on ribs yet but I bet it’d be awesome! Pair with your favorite rub. Let me know how it turns out!