American Vinegar Works Alabama White Sauce BBQ

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.