Alabama White BBQ Sauce
By Jenny Greenhalgh
"Alabama white BBQ sauce is so quick to make, it doesn’t even involve any cooking! It is a traditional accompaniment in the American south to smoked chicken and turkey, but its relatively unknown outside its home region and I think that needs to change.
I had my first ever taste of it in a car park behind a McDonald’s drive thru in Nashville, after being directed there to a tiny run-down looking concrete BBQ shack by the door man of the Holiday Inn I was staying at. I had to walk through the drive thru lane, dodging cars and getting honked at to get there...
But I followed the amazing smell as directed, and - sitting on a rickety tiny stool eating smoked chicken smothered in this white BBQ sauce, collard greens, cornbread and black eyed peas out of a flimsy polystyrene container with a plastic fork a few minutes later - I was so glad I made it!
I wanted to tell all the cars waiting at Maccy D’s that they were truly missing out. I’ve been back there several times and always make a bee line for it when I’m in Nashville, but now you don’t need a plane ticket to transport yourself there, you just need a container of Alabama white BBQ sauce in your fridge, trust me, you’ll thank me later."
Serve it with Jenny's recipe for Smoked Black Garlic BBQ Chicken Salad.
Ingredients for Alabama White BBQ Sauce
- 430g mayo
- 35g cider vinegar
- 15g strong hot horseradish
- 2g Paprika
- 6g lemon juice
- 5g celery salt
- 2g cracked black pepper
- 4g Hendersons relish or Worcestershire sauce
- 5g garlic puree or finely grated garlic
- 2g tabasco
- 50g crème fraiche or sour cream
How to make Alabama White BBQ Sauce
- Whisk everything together and done!
About the author
Chef and recipe writer Jenny Greenhalgh has worked in kitchens and cookery schools for over 20 years. She has spent time cooking at St John, and in Jamie Oliver's Cookery School. She runs the pop-up Two Dogs, bringing the food and music of the American south to London with a big dose of fun, plaid and Dolly Parton. She is a BBQ smoker expert.
