What Makes Alabama White Sauce Unique?

When you think of barbecue sauce, you probably picture a sticky, red condiment. Alabama white sauce turns the commonly-held notion of barbecue sauce on its head by being a white (hence the name), creamy, mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce. It's commonly served with grilled chicken, turkey, and steak in Alabama, the state from which it hails. Skimping on a delicious sauce is a food mistake that could ruin your barbecue. For your next cookout, you'll want to mix things up and give white sauce a try.

Alabama white sauce is something of an outlier amongst regional barbecue sauces for not having a tomato base. North Carolina loves a thin, vinegar-soaked sauce; Kansas City hits the sweetness hard with molasses or brown sugar; and Carolina Gold sauce is heavy on the mustard. Which is to say, every barbecue sauce is unique. These others, however, are all tomato-based. 

It's believed that Alabama's unique take came about in the 1920s courtesy of a joint called Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q. At Big Bob's, white sauce was created as a way of helping its famous hickory pit-smoked chicken stay moist and delicious. The good news is it's incredibly easy to duplicate Alabama white sauce at home with components that are probably already in your kitchen. While you're looking up grilling hacks to make your meat juicier, we'll make sure you have the sauce to serve on the side.

The main element in white sauce is, obviously, mayonnaise. Hellmann's was Julia Child's favorite brand, but any variety you enjoy will work fine. The official recipe from the current owner of Big Bob's uses lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, prepared horseradish, mustard powder, black pepper, and cayenne (among other seasonings) to create a sauce that is zesty with a slight kick to it. 

Other recipes omit the horseradish, but we think that's a mistake. Combined with the acidic elements and the peppery zing, the pungency of horseradish gives Alabama white sauce a piquant flair that's hard to duplicate. Horseradish can be a divisive ingredient, but its love-it-or-hate-it flavor doesn't overpower the sauce's overall taste. Even if you normally loathe horseradish, consider adding at least a bit to your white sauce. Once the concoction has chilled for a few hours, the flavors will have melded and you'll be set to have your mind blown.

You can use Alabama white sauce on grilled meat, obviously, but there's no need to stop there. Slather it on a burger, use it as a sandwich spread, dip your fries in it, or substitute it as the cream base of your next macaroni or potato salad in the place of plain mayo, Greek yogurt, or sour cream. Other than being paler than "normal" barbecue sauce, Alabama white sauce really shines in its versatility.