Alabama White Sauce BBQ

Name: Alabama White Sauce BBQ
Ingredients: 1 cup of mayonnaise; 1/3 cup Desert Hibiscus Honey Vinegar (or other Sweet &amp; Tangy line vinegar); 1 tablespoon of honey; 2 tablespoons of prepared horseradish; 1 teaspoon of ground mustard powder; ½ teaspoon of salt; ½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper; ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger; ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper; ¼ teaspoon garlic powder; ¼ teaspoon paprika (smoked is best); 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

June 16, 2023By American Vinegar Works

I love a good regional recipe and was recently introduced to Alabama White Sauce just in time for grilling season. This BBQ sauce stands in contrast to others both in color and taste—it is built on a mayo and vinegar base with spices to produce a tangy (rather than sweet, tomato-based) BBQ sauce.

Traditionally used to finish smoked chicken this BBQ sauce is versatile and can be used to marinade, baste, or simply dip. Very nice to drizzle on fried green tomatoes as well.

I’m more of a weeknight griller than a true BBQ’er so I have found that using this sauce as a marinade for chicken makes the absolute moistest grilled chicken I have ever had.

Just marinate your chicken at least 15 minutes in advance (if thin breasts, more for larger/bone pieces) and be careful not to grill at too high of a temperature since the fat/sweet in the sauce will produce extra dark grill marks that you want to prevent from becoming true burns. You can drizzle more sauce on at the table after grilling if you would like.

This recipe features our Desert Hibiscus Honey Vinegar.

Alabama White Sauce BBQ

Ingredients

1 cup of mayonnaise
1/3 cup Desert Hibiscus Honey Vinegar (or other Sweet & Tangy line vinegar)
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of prepared horseradish
1 teaspoon of ground mustard powder
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon of ground ginger
¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon paprika (smoked is best)
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

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Directions

In a medium bowl mix vinegar and honey together until honey is fully dissolved. Add all other ingredients and whisk until the mayo is well blended with all the spices (no mayo lumps). Allow sauce to rest in the fridge at least 15 minutes—this will give time for the spices and horseradish to flavor the liquid. You can then adjust seasoning by adding more salt and pepper as needed.
The sauce is now ready to use as chicken marinade (15 minutes at least), to brush onto/finish chicken on the grill just before it is done grilling, or for drizzling on cooked chicken or fried foods like fried okra or fried green tomatoes. For what it is worth my favorite use is as a grilled chicken marinade both because of the flavor and how absolutely moist it leaves grilled chicken.

Recipe Note

Origin & Authenticity:

There are a few different locations that seem to claim to be the original creators of Alabama White Sauce and have slightly different recipes. Everyone does seem to agree that it originated in BBQ pits in Alabama. I don’t think we would have much credibility out of New England to make pronouncements on who originated this tangy white BBQ sauce or whose is better so we are steering clear of that debate.

Instead, we tested a few of the recipes and came up with our own tweaks—ours includes honey instead of sugar, our sweet & tangy vinegars, smoked paprika, a little ginger, and a heavy hand with the horseradish and Worcestershire. This type of tweaking and making Alabama White Sauce your own does seem to be consistent with how many authentic family recipes came together and why there are so many of them. The constant is that this recipe should be mayo and vinegar based and a bit on the runnier side.

Make Ahead:

Giving the sauce a night or a few hours to rest in your fridge will help improve flavor. This is because it gives time for the spices and horseradish to penetrate the mayo/vinegar mix.

Grilling Temperatures/Burning:

If you are using the sauce to marinade you will want to be careful about your grill temperature and be a bit more attentive to how your chicken is progressing. The sugars in the honey and the fat in the mayo will burn more easily than a wine-based marinade. This means you will definitely get those grill marks but you want to be careful not to let them get too dark or it will contribute a burnt, instead of smoked flavor. You can control for this with lower temperatures and more monitoring and flipping.

Alabama White Sauce BBQ

Alabama White Sauce BBQ

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Ingredients

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Recipe Note

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Alabama White Sauce BBQ

Alabama White Sauce BBQ

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Directions

Recipe Note

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