What Makes Alabama's Famous BBQ Sauce White?

When it comes to traditional barbecue, Alabama doesn't play around. Famous for their hickory-smoked pork and chicken, Alabamians do cookouts in their own style, and nothing displays this better than one special, home-grown condiment: white barbecue sauce. This creamy, ivory colored sauce gets its unusual hue from its mayonnaise base –- a stark contrast to the red tomato, mustard, or vinegar base in other regional American barbecue sauces.

To make a simple white barbecue sauce, you only need a few basic ingredients: creamy mayonnaise, mustard, a tangy acid like apple cider vinegar, and lemon — as well as some staple seasonings like salt, garlic, sugar, and horseradish.

2025 is actually the 100th anniversary of white barbecue sauce. Invented in the backyard smoking pit of Robert "Big Bob" Gibson in Decatur, Alabama, at a time when planks were attached to trees as tables with simple hammer and nails, Big Bob created this sauce to complement his smoked chicken. After spending over three hours in the pit, he discovered that dunking the chicken in a mayonnaise-based sauce helped lock in moisture and prevent drying. If you want to get close to where it all started, you can visit Big Bob's restaurant in Decatur: Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q.

In its early days, white barbecue sauce stayed relatively obscure outside of northern Alabama, and in the 1990s, it skyrocketed in popularity when Big Bob's family began bottling and distributing the original recipe. Since then, this tangy sauce has become a staple in Southern barbecue spots, and can now be found on menus across the country in places like Portland, Chicago, and New York City.

According to the official Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q website, the original white sauce was intended to be drenched on slow-and-low-cooked chicken and pork. So if you're looking to use it in the traditional way after smoking your chicken or pork, fully submerge it in the sauce. Yes — you dunk the entire cut of meat (or the whole bird) into a tub of it. But we get that it's not the most convenient or time-effective option. So an easier option is grilling – we recommend that you brush the chicken with the sauce a few minutes before it comes off the grill -– taking care not to expose the sauce to direct heat. Done right, the chicken will be coated in a nice, white glaze. This may look a little odd at first, but one bite is all it takes to understand why white barbecue sauce has remained a Southern favourite for a hundred years. It is also a great condiment on pulled pork sandwiches or as a side for chicken wings and tenders, adding a creamy, tangy twist to your favorite finger foods. 

White barbecue sauce isn't just for chicken or pork. Since mayonnaise on its own is a super versatile condiment, it's no surprise that white barbecue can be used in many different ways beyond traditional barbecues. For example, you could substitute mayo for white barbecue sauce to make a crispy, flavourful garlic bread that's perfect for your next cookout. Or, use the vinegar in white barbecue sauce to add a layer of acidity to your next tuna salad.