Smoked Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

Alabama white sauce is one of those regional barbecue gems that I think is wildly underrated but also I totally get why mayo based BBQ sauce hasn’t really caught on. It should though, it’s tangy, creamy, and cuts through rich smoked meat like nothing else.

The sauce was invented at Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, Alabama back in 1925, and it’s been their signature ever since. Traditionally it’s served with smoked chicken, and once you try it, you’ll understand why it’s stuck around for a century.

The Chicken

For smoking, I prefer whole chickens, they stay moist better than individual pieces and give you more surface area for that beautiful smoke ring. I always spatchcock mine (remove the spine and crush them flat).

Ingredients

• 2 whole chickens (3-4 lbs each), spatchcocked
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• Apple or hickory wood chips

Method

Mix all the dry ingredients for your rub. Pat the chickens dry and coat them generously with the rub. Let them sit at room temperature for a while before smoking.

Set up your smoker for 225°F. Add your wood chips, I like apple for chicken, but hickory works too.

Place the chickens breast-side up on the cooler side of the smoker. You’re looking for an internal temp of 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh. This usually takes about 3-4 hours, but go by temperature, not time.

Alabama White Sauce

This sauce is stupid simple and absolutely perfect. Don’t mess with it.

Ingredients (ratios, but make more than this)

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp horseradish
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Method

Whisk everything together in a bowl. That’s it. The sauce is better after it sits for a few hours, so make it while your chicken is smoking.

Set aside some for serving but put most of it in a big mixing bowl. When the chickens are near done, say around 30 minutes to go, pull them out of the smoker and dip them in the sauce, like fully coat them, more than you think. You can brush it on too if you’re being a bit more conservative, but you want to get them good and covered in those final stages, a couple of times, to really glaze them.