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This mayonnaise base sauce which originates from Northern Alabama is the perfect blend of tangy, spicy and savory. It’s incredible as a dipping sauce for BBQ chicken, French fries, or even as a salad dressing. But our favorite is using this sweet sauce for chicken wings as a substitute for ranch. It’s a BBQ staple for Alabama chicken.
RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS
- The southern favorite recipe is credited to Robert Gibson from Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q in Decatur, AL.
- It was originally used to sauce pulled barbecue chicken.
- It’s one of the most unique regional style BBQ sauces like Kansas City or the North Carolina Vinegar Sauce
This homemade white barbecue sauce is made from simple ingredients and is one we love for all things chicken and turkey. This next level recipe will get you excited about making chicken and quite literally being your new favorite chicken dipping sauce or salad dressing.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
The main star of this recipe is good mayonnaise which starts it with that tangy flavor. It’s a versatile condiment for this sauce. From there we add more heat and savory notes. Portions are in recipe card. The flavor profile of this easy sauce is meant to be both sweet, tangy, and a little bit of heat.
- For Tangy Flavor: Apple Cider Vinegar, Brown Mustard (you can sub with Dijon mustard or Yellow mustard depending on what flavor you want), Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- For Sweet: White Sugar (brown sugar adds a little richer flavor)
- For Heat: Hot Prepared Horseradish, hot sauce (we used Valentinas), and Cayenne Pepper
- For Savory: Worcestershire sauce, granulated garlic, kosher salt, and black pepper (If using garlic powder use half the portions)
Chef’s Note: We do not recommend using alternative mayo products like avocado mayonnaise as it will lose the underlying rich flavor that comes from a traditional mayo. Miracle Whip is fine however know that it contains sugar and so be sure to go light on sugar to avoid it being overly sweet.
Steps
- To make the sauce combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl with a whisk.
- Make sure the ingredients are combined. The consistency will be slightly runny.
- From there you can fine-tune any flavor by adding more portions of the ingredients.
- This is easy to make in advance of any meal the next day.
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Storage
Store the Alabama BBQ sauce in a mason jar or any jar with an airtight container with a lid. You can use a funnel to pour the sauce into the container. It will need to be refrigerated and will last up to one week if kept in the fridge.
We do not recommend freezing this sauce.
Recipe Inspirations For Sauce
- Grilled Pork Chops
- Grilled Chicken Wings
- Smoked Chicken
- Grilled Chicken
- Add to any salad or use as a base for a potato salad recipe
Other Traditional BBQ Sauce Recipes
- Kansas City BBQ Sauce
- Carolina Vinegar Sauce
- Northwest Wine BBQ Sauce
- Spicy Mango BBQ Sauce
- Explore sauces in our cookbook Fire + Wine
If you like this recipe we’d truly appreciate it if you would give this recipe a star review! And if you share any of your pics on Instagram use the hashtag #vindulge. We LOVE to see it when you cook our recipes.
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Alabama White Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Mason Jar
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard
- 1 tablespoon hot prepared horseradish
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic, Use ¼ teaspoon if using garlic powder.
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce, We use Valentina
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium or large bowl and stir with a whisk until combined.
- Serve immediately or store in a mason jar for up to one week.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello again, Mary… after trying your delicious honey bourbon BBQ sauce, I thought I’d give this sauce a try, as an alternative to my usual dipping sauce for steamed artichokes; something different for a change, and it looked interesting. I was a tad concerened it would be too sweet for artichokes, so I went with probably less than half the amount of sugar. I also added more mayo, as my original outcome seemed a lot darker in color than your photos. It was the perfect thing for the artichokes, and I can see going with it for lots of other things; with chicken or seafood I would likely add the full amount of suger. Thank you for this special BBQ sauce recipe!
Love it Dixie – We so appreciate you taking the time for the feedback! And yes on the color, there are so many brands of mayo, that it can adjust the color.