Alabama has various barbecue styles and dishes and is noted for hickory-smoked pork and chicken prevalence. White sauce, a mayonnaise-based barbecue sauce, was invented in Decatur, Alabama in 1925.
Styles of barbecue
Traditional barbecue in Alabama centers around pork cooked in open pits over hickory wood. Other hardwoods, such as oak and pecan, are also used. Smoked pork is often pulled and eaten on a bun as a sandwich with coleslaw and dill pickles. A vinegar-based barbecue sauce similar to that found in North Carolina barbecue is common in northern Alabama. A tomato-based barbecue sauce is most common south of Birmingham.
Evergreen, Alabama is known for the invention of Conecuh sausage.
Alabama white sauce
Alabama white sauce is a mayonaisse-based barbecue sauce commonly used with barbecue chicken, an Alabama specialty. Typical ingredients of white sauce include vinegar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and horseradish. It is believed to have been invented by Bob Gibson at the Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur in 1925. The sauce’s popularity was confined mainly to northern Alabama until 1994 when it began to be bottled and sold commercially.
Alabama white sauce Ingredients
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup prepared extra-hot horseradish
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Alabama white sauce Directions
- Gather all ingredients.
- Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, horseradish, lemon juice, mustard, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder together in a bowl.
- Whisk together thoroughly until creamy and smooth.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Enjoy!