Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
Today, I’m bringing you a real rarity. In fact, it is pretty much unheard of outside of North Alabama. White BBQ Sauce, even my husband (who is from a town in Georgia only four hours away) had never heard of it. A lot of folks in south Alabama have never heard of it.
This is truly a regional thing, but also a regional requirement. EVERY BBQ restaurant in North Alabama features white bbq sauce on their menu, their meats, and their tables and North Alabamians eat it with everything from french fries to bread to chicken and ribs. This unique, tangy flavor is the perfect compliment to just about everything.
Personally, I like to use so much that my food is swimming in it. How about we make up a batch for you?
To make your own white barbecue sauce, you’ll need: mayonnaise, black pepper, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, and sugar.
Place mayonnaise in a bowl, add vinegar.
Add lemon juice.
…salt
…pepper
…and sugar.
Mix it all well with a whisk, or just put all of your ingredients into a large jar with a lid and give it a really good shaking!
OH LAWDY!
You have just made White Barbecue Sauce!
Before you go wow your friends, get a french fry or a piece of chicken and give it good dunking so you can be the first to taste!!!
YUM!!!
I could just live on this y’all, honest!
Ingredients
- White Barbecue Sauce
- 2 Cups Mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons black pepper
- 6 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 6 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 4 Tablespoons white sugar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and stir well.
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Oct 17 2008. Filed under FEATURED Southern Favorites!, Sauces/Other, Southern Classics.
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There is a Big Bob Gibson’s in Monroe, NC. They have the best grilled corn. I’ve tried the White Sauce and like it. Glad to get a recipe for it!!! I see that you are visiting in NC. Not to start a fight, but NC Eastern Style BBQ is the best!!!!! Had some for lunch today!!!!
I’m drueling thinking of the old (& new is not bad) Greenbrier’s!
Lol Heidi, I’m with you all the way! I always take folks to the old Greenbriar and that is my personal favorite. I’ve only eaten at the new one once and honestly never did understand why they were so bold as to name it Greenbriar to begin with. You know folks who don’t live around here and are reading this are probably confused as all get out! lol
Gratefully,
Christy
Christy, I now live in Georgia and every time I visit home, my mamma wants to Old Greenbrier. My sister always puts the white sauce on her hush puppies. No place like old Greenbrier. Love that catfish!
I love Old Greenbier too! My family lives in Alabama, but I live and was raised in Georgia. There is nothing like Alabama BBQ and White BBQ sauce. Can’t find BBQ like that in Georgia. We always eat BBQ when go to Alabama.
This white BBQ sauce sounds good and I will definitely try it. But one question…is this just a dipping sauce? When I think BBQ sauce I think of the kind you spread on the meat before taking it off the grill.
I use it for dipping but other folks here have said they use it for marinating and basting as well.
Hope this helps!
Christy
i grew up in jasper and most bbq shacks there sell it on the side. and i just pour it onto a pulled chicken sandwhich. it is amazing on meat
Well I have to agree with Stephanie up at the top post.. this is what I make for slaw dressing,, I just don’t put vinegar and lemon juice in it.. I use one or the other and I don’t p ut that much pepper in.. but thats coleslaw dressing at my house.. but from now on I will just call it white BBQ sauce too, haha.. and I am pretty sure that you are in good company calling it White BBQ sauce because I think Paula Deen makes this the same way and calls it white BBQ sauce but I would have to get up and look through cookbooks and I am too tired to do that… we will all just use it, no matter where we are from…
hugs
Jo in Sapulpa Oklahoma
I never heard of it until I moved to Florence Alabama. I get it at Ricks Barbecue, always with smoked chicken breast. They also put a little cayenne pepper in it. DELICIOUS!!!
We have the white BBQ sauce in Birmingham, too. My father-in-law used to have a place (Double L BBQ) in B’ham and he had it as well as some other places now. Love the stuff!!! I can’t wait to try the new place in Athens when I got o my daughter’s!!
Hi! I went to B’ham-Southern College in the early 70′s and the Double L was a favorite hangout then. I will be back in B’ham this summer and want to take my husband to Double L, but I can’t find it on the internet. Is the Double L still around? I remember great BBQ and fun times there! I know it has been 40 years, but I am hoping it is still there.
Thanks!
This is also awesome with a little cayenne pepper and prepared horseradish. Amazing!
You’re the second person who has reminded me that I gotta try horseradish before I die! lol
I’m adding it to my list!
Gratefully,
Christy
My lil brother came back from Al braggin on soem white bbq sauce tryin to tell me what it was like I need to call him an tem him it was just slaw dressin. Ya’ll need to add a dab of buttermilk to this; also add some celery seed & onion (minced fine) to make slaw I’m wonderin if this come from people puttin slaw on their pulled pork sandwich which I don’t do(YUCK):) but to each their own.
Have a grate day ya’ll
Hey Mellany!
Around here, we don’t put cole slaw on our pork sandwiches, we use vinegar slaw, it hasn’t got any mayo in it at all and is soooo good with BBQ!
I eat mine with vinegar slaw and ketchup, yum!!!
Then drown the rest of my plate in white sauce
Gratefully,
Christy
Christy,
I would love a recipe for vinegar-y slaw like I grew up with when I lived in Sheffield… my mom died years ago, and I can’t find a recipe for slaw in any of her cookbook collections!
Thanks!
I’m going to get that one up here sometime this summer!!! I love that slaw, too! Don’t much care for mayo slaw myself, we just don’t have that much in these parts! lol
I LOVE white BBQ sauce – particularly Greenbriar’s
It’s fantastic “squirted” on hushpuppies!
I’ll check out the new restaurant in Athens; sounds good, and I’m always looking for a neat new place to eat.
Greenbriars is all around wonderful in every possible way!
Hi, Christy! I am so incredibly thankful for Southern Plate! I’m from just over the Georgia line in the northwest corner of the and didn’t discover Alabama white BBQ sauce until about 4 years ago when my new husband and I were on the way to meet his mama in Mississippi. We stopped at Greenbriars and I fell in love! So much so that when I was pregnant with my daughter a few years ago, I was craving this stuff so much that my husband made the long trek out there to get me some (well, he was going to see his mom, but he did bring back some sauce for me!). So I was so excited when I saw this post! Woo hoo and hallelujah!
Thanks for all your amazing recipes that you share with us – and for sharing your amazing family stories with us as well!
I use nearly this same recipe and put it on shreadded cabbage (I am all about easy so I use the bagged cabbage) and I let it sit for a good 8 hours or overnight to let the cabbage soften up. It makes an INCREDIBLE cole slaw. Sometimes I put in a dash or two of tabasco to spice it up a little. This is the TEXAS version.
YEP !!!!!! JUS” LIKE YOU SAID !!! WE EAT THIS SAUCE ON EVERY THANG !!!! YUMMY !!!
THANKS FOR THE RECIPE
WILL BE TRYING YOUR ZUCCHINI BREAD THIS AFTER NOON TOO..
JUS” LOVE , LOVE SOUTHERN PLATE SITE !!
We are from middle TN and went to the Hickory Barn BBQ and I must say we were VERY DISAPPOINTED. I am only writing this because I don’t want anyone else to be as disappointed as we were. We ordered the ribs and they were very dry and tough. My friend asked what was their speciality and the lady was very snappy and said everything. It was nothing like I was expecting. I kept apologizing to my friends because it was such a disappointment.
Also, I have only had white sauce once and it so good. I have been craving it and wanted to try it again. Well, their white sauce was bitter and did not taste very good. Again, I really don’t want to complain but we only went because of the endorsement on this blog and I don’t want anyone else to be as disappointed as we were. We drove 3 1/2 hrs. Maybe the bbq sandwich would have been okay but what we had wasn’t. My husband couldn’t even finish his.
[...] Of course, even the sauce used in food that is said to have been “barbecued” – the term so often used for grilling or charbroiling – is a candidate for debate. Many of us are familiar with a tomato-based sauce that is sweet, sour and spicy. Other parts of the U.S. of A enjoy theirs with a foundation of mustard, vinegar and even mayonnaise. [...]
[...] pictured here or with a little bit of clear mild vinegar sauce poured over it, perhaps some of our white bbq sauce. In my husband’s home its served slathered in a thick layer of sweet red barbecue sauce, like [...]
After reading about your vinegar based bbq and sauce I had to check out what a white sauce was. Being from Texas where we believe in red, red sauce on red meat, I was very curious. So basically it’s the same sauce we put on coleslaw. Interesting. Isn’t it funny how different areas of the country eat the same foods only different. I grew up eating pork of course but it was pork chops and ham, never a pork roast much less pulled pork. It’s something I discovered as an adult and absolutely love. In fact that’s what’s for dinner tonight. Just wish I had read this earlier so I could have cooked it your way. Instead it went in the pressure cooker and will be mixed with Bulls Eye (our favorite store bought) because I didn’t have the stuff for my homemade sauce.
Thanks again Christy, love the new look.
Hugs from Texas
[...] White BBQ Sauce Posted on July 22, 2010 by joelsrecipes source: http://www.southernplate.com/2008/10/alabama-white-barbecue-sauce.html [...]
Thanks for the recipe. We lived for years just off County Line Rd. and were frequent customers at Greenbriers (the old one). We now live in Portland, Oregon and Greenbrier’s is one of the things I miss the most. We recently cooked up a bunch of pulled pork and with the white sauce and some cole slaw it brought back some good memories. I still haven’t found decent hush puppies here though. Thanks again.
Thanks Kristy,
we live in Niagara Falls, Canada, my husband found your recipe and we are going to ry it tonigh on fish, looking forward to the sauce after all the ravings, now we have the craving, thnks for sharing.
YEP !!!!!! JUS” LIKE YOU SAID !!! WE EAT THIS SAUCE ON EVERY THANG !!!! YUMMY !!!
THANKS FOR THE RECIPE
WILL BE TRYING YOUR ZUCCHINI BREAD THIS AFTER NOON TOO..
JUS” LOVE , LOVE SOUTHERN PLATE SITE !!
Just checked out your website tonight and cannot wait to purchase your cook book for a newly married niece!! When I saw recipes for fatback, collard greens, and fried potatoes I almost fell out of my chair girl. Throw in some pintos or field peas and the feast is on!
I keep a container of white sauce in the fridge at all times. It is wonderful on baked in the oven pork loin. Or many nights when I need a quick supper I bake a couple of chicken breast in the oven (or you can nuke them) then we have a bowl of white sauce to “sop” them in!
We’ve used the white barbecue sauce for years. We bake chicken breasts in the oven for about 45 minutes, then put them on the grill and baste them with the sauce long enough for them to get that smokey flavor and a good glaze on them. We serve the remaining sauce along side.
[...] The Food Network has a recipe from Big Bob Gibson’s which calls for (yech) corn syrup. This version is closer to the original I started with. Share and [...]
I LOVE White BBQ sauce. I get it around here in north florida at a BBQ joint. They make HUGE baked potatoes and load them with butter, sour cream, pulled pork, shredded cheese and green onions and the white bbq sauce to pour over it. YUM!!! I never had a recipe for it. I think I’ll try it but I have a question, Christy! I assume you have to refrigerate this because of the mayo, but do you know how long it will last in the fridge???
Christy,
Thanks for the recipe, I have tried to make it, but didn’t have a recipe to go by. We have a BBQ place where we moved from, Bank’s BBQ in Haleyville, Alabama, they have the best white BBQ sauce!!! Yummy!!! I use to buy it by the pint and I love it for salad dressing, have never used it on slaw. I am not a fan of slaw, except vinegar slaw that Bank’s put on your sandwich. Will be waiting for your recipe for vinegar slaw.
Have a wonderful 4th of July!!
XOXOXO, Maryanna
Christy, this sauce sounds so yummy. I would use either the vinegar OR lemon juice, not both, just a personal thing in sour. LOL! Here is my recipe for Horseradish Sauce that I found online and kinda tweeted it. I had it with roast beef at a wedding rehearsal and asked one of the workers how it was made and found this recipe. Theirs was so yummy with the beef. Not over powering with the horseradish either. Not into spicy food. Delicious on beef! I can imagine it with chicken fingers, fries, fried mushrooms, etc. Give it a try.
Horseradish Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp – 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. hot sauce or to taste (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp – 1 tablespoon dill weed or to taste
Pinch of paprika (optional)
If substituting the flour, butter, milk and salt for the sour cream, cook till thick in the microwave. Cool mixture and add to rest of ingredients.
Mix together and let sit several hours to develop flavors and serve with beef, fish, pork or chicken or deep fried veggies or mushrooms.
Try it, I think you will like it. Want to try your white BBQ sauce. Thanks for posting this and so many yummy recipes, Christy.
Linda
I have had this sauce mixed in potato salad. It was fantastic. thanks for the recipe.
My husband and I stopped at a little BBQ place when we took a truckload of donations to Alabama tornado victims. They served our bbq with white sauce. I have to admit, I was at first a little (okay, more than a little) skeptical about eating this mayo-laden sauce, but I decided to give it a try. It was very good and didn’t have a heavy mayonnaise taste at all because of the spices and the vinegar. My husband and I were just talking about the white sauce yesterday. We will have to whip up a batch to share with friends and family. We are from TN, about an hour from Huntsville, AL, so we are not far away from the source of the sauce. As close as we are, we do not have white bbq sauce in our neck of the woods. It’s definitely a North AL thing.
I am so glad you tried it! A lot of people won’t even try it because it is so different, but well worth it! And thank you so much for helping out!!!
LOVE white BBQ sauce! I make mine with red wine vinegar and I also add garlic powder to it!
[...] – I’m a Philly girl and I made Alabama white BBQ sauce. Everyone at our 4th July BBQ loved the food and [...]
[...] is a thing to behold. So, I present to my friends up north a staple of my group’s tailgates: Alabama White Sauce chicken. What tailgating foods are essential for you and your [...]
My Husband and I love White BBQ sauce. We’ve often wondered how to make it. When I read your recipe and seen how easy it was I forwarded it to my hubby and when he walked in from work he had a grocery bag with him with everything you listed. He made it and it is now BY FAR our favorite white BBQ sauce and that’s saying somehting when you’ve tried them all and live in Alabama. Thanks for sharing this!
The white BBQ sauce sounds absolutely delicious! It is similiar to what we mix with our southern style mayo-cole slaw.
I also love the vinegar slaw, which is easy to mix and keeps well for days!
It is a good dish for potlucks and church dinners, and prepared the night before. It compliments most all southern dishes.
I use a large bag of slaw mix with cabbage and carrots. Chop one medium onion and one medium green pepper and mix with the slaw mix. Then mix one-half cup of white vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil together and pour all over the slaw mix, stirring well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Keep in fridge overnight for best flavor and stir before serving.
An older version of the recipe says to heat the mixture but I’ve found it wilts the slaw mixture unless you wait until it cools completely. The recipe works just as good simply mixing the oil, sugar, and white vinegar, then pour it over the slaw and mixing well.
Thanks for all the wonderful goldmine of recipe shared with us!
Jo Ann from Tennessee
[...] on pork. Alabama White Barbecue Sauce has a tangy flavor that is a great addition to grilled foods.White BBQ Sauce makes a unique experience. Use this recipe when grilling chicken; brush lightly over the chicken [...]
my mama would add yellow mustard to ours and we used it for salad dressing. we always liked it and i was raised in MI.
Hi Christy:) I was born and raised in Louisiana (but now live in the barren north – Chicago!) . I’ve been visiting your site for a few years now and love it. I had never had White BBQ sauce. I made it last July 4th and shared it with my Alabama neighbor who was shocked!:) I think it made his day – I know I’ll be making it as a standard every summer from now on. It’s sooo good on EVERYTHING!! I also wanted to tell you that I bought your cookbook and absolutely love it;) I also gave it to my Aunt Ruth for Christmas last year and she loves it! Recipes are so familiar to what we had growing up. Excellent job:)
I bet you got the neighbor of the year award Kathryn!!! I am so glad you liked the cookbook, it has a piece of my heart and it always makes my day when someone says they like it.
So happy to find this recipe! I grew up in Madison and my grandmother lived on Greenbrier Rd. I live in Georgia now and a trip to the OLD Greenbrier is a requirement when me and my family come to visit! There’s just something about this sauce…on the hushpuppies, on the fries, the chicken, the pork, and as crazy as it sounds…the slaw! Thanks for sharing
[...] pictured here or with a little bit of clear mild vinegar sauce poured over it, perhaps some of our white bbq sauce. In my husband’s home its served slathered in a thick layer of sweet red barbecue sauce, like [...]
i want to pin it! where is the pin button?
I make Glenn’s Gourmet Goodies White BBQ Sauces (original White, mild Wasabi, and spicy Chipotle) and we are the reason these sauces are now called “White BBQ Sauce” and not just White Sauce.Our sauce won the third best BBQ Sauce in a national Food Network contest in 2005. These sauces have no sugar, carbs, gluten, MSG, preservatives, nor egg and are low sodium. They will NOT burn on the grill as there is no sugar nor tomato.I have not had mayo in our house in 8 years. I would be glad to send you samples to review, if you would like. Keep up the good work.
God Bless.
sounds like creole mayo to me.. bbq sauce please.. bbq sauce isn’t mayonnaise!
Was in Birmingham this weekend and stopped for supper at Saws BBQ. Have to say it was excellent. They have a limited menu, but what they do they do awesome. Nice small diner type atmosphere. Loved the white bbq sauce. Had it on chicken. YUMMY! Would definitely go back again. Thanks for the white sauce recipe. My husband and son will be very happy to be able to have it at home
I live in Australia but I lived in Huntsville for many years. I went to Greenbriar many times when there was only one, and after that to both many times. I love NA BBQ! And I loved white sauce but typically mixed with the red BBQ sauce, on the meat, and for dunking those fantastic hush puppies. Oh how I miss it all! But like everytthing stuff changes – even when I was there the red sauce was hot and vinagery, but then changed to I suppose more mainsteam BBQ – thick tomatoey and smokey. How about a receipe for traditional hot red BBQ sauce? Thanks!
I have a recipe for red sauce, I will try to get it up on Southern Plate over the next few months. We sure do miss you here in Alabama Jeff!!
I’ll look forward to it, thanks!
My husband and i are from jasper alabama and i love love love this. i am military so we live in hawaii and i have been missing this!!!! so glad i found this! I made it yesterday and my husband was so happy with it. i add a tiny bit more sugar because of the sour lol. We use it as a dipping sauce but its great when you shred up so smoked or rotissiere chicken, put it on a bun and pour the sauce on top of that….it is to die for!!!!! will be eating this with every meal ahah
Went to dinner at a friends who was born and raised in Alabama and she served this with the BBQ chicken. The moment I tasted it I said this is the dressing my momma used on cucumber and onion salad, which is a common salad in Texas. Loved it with the chicken as well.
Oh wow great idea!!! I am going to have to try that!!
I HAVE HAD THIS IN DECATUR ALABAMA ONLY AT A BBQ PLACE THAT IS WELL KNOWN IN N. ALABAMA. THE BEST SAUCE I EVER HAD, I AM EXCITED ABOUT TRYING YOUR RECIPE.
NAN KERLIN
STOCKBRIDGE GEORGIA
When I was a kid we tried white BBQ at a fire house cook out.. I remember that some 40 years later. This is the first recipe I have found. Thank you
I have to admit that I’ve never heard of white bbq sauce; tangy, mayonnaise…yum! I wanna pour it all over everything, especially my french fries.
You probably shouldn’t have mentioned the french fry thing;)
When my parents lived in northern Alabama, their neighbor used to BBQ chicken for a lot of the neighbors. After the chicken pieces were done, he would drop the chicken in the white sauce and let it sit for short time ( maybe 10 min). It is soooooooooo good !!! He used Miracle whip, black pepper and white vinegar. I have also ordered Bob Gibson’s white sauce and had it sent to me. Will definitely try this recipe. Looks great !
Christy your post today was a God send-Thank you!! You are not only our best bud cook to experience recepies with but a good friend we can gain inspiration from- Again thank you so much!! Can’t wait to try your white bbq sauce-I’ve heard of it but never tried it sounds perfect!! As for your butter (without the cow), reminds me of when my oldest son won his blue ribbon @ the county fair for the best churned butter (in a mason jar)-I’ve always loved that one!! lol It’s 22 yrs. old now (he’s 33 now) but is a fond memorie of mine. You always manage to wake up this old heart & wake up my southern roots as well!! Even though I don’t know you personaly, you are what we want friends to be!! Thanks!!
I’m from Virginia, and like some of the other folks here, this is pretty much my go-to slaw dressing. I don’t put as much pepper in my version. Now I have to go grill some chicken to use it as a barbecue sauce.