Neutral classic mayonnaise
A plain mayonnaise of 200 g refined neutral oil emulsified into pasteurised yolk, vinegar, water and a little Dijon mustard: a clean base for tasting, comparing and flavouring.
Modern adaptation
Northern Alabama white barbecue sauce
A whisked, mayonnaise-based Alabama-style sauce with vinegar, lemon, honey and horseradish. The measured batch below comes from a contemporary published recipe; it is not presented as Big Bob Gibson’s original or secret formula.
A North Alabama sauce with a separate modern formula
Alabama white sauce is a mayonnaise-based barbecue condiment associated with northern Alabama. The Encyclopedia of Alabama credits Robert Gibson in Decatur with the sauce in 1925 and describes chickens being dunked in it. Alabama's tourism account also identifies the style as a North Alabama specialty and describes its use with smoked chicken. Those sources establish regional context, but they do not establish that the measured recipe below reproduces the restaurant's proprietary sauce.
The formula and method below follow a contemporary Food Network recipe labeled Alabama-style. It yields 1½ cups and combines mayonnaise with vinegar, lemon, honey, horseradish, onion powder, black pepper and salt. Its ingredients suggest a tangy, peppery, lightly sweet profile with horseradish pungency; this is an ingredient-based inference, not a tasting note from the source. the historic restaurant account gives a different ingredient description and is not a substitute formula.
Serving and handling
The historical and tourism accounts describe white sauce with chicken, especially smoked chicken; the restaurant also presents its bottled sauce for several other foods. This recipe itself is a cold, whisked sauce. The cited formula gives no validated shelf life. Use commercial mayonnaise or pasteurized eggs for homemade mayonnaise, keep the sauce refrigerated at or below 40°F (4°C), and follow the mayonnaise maker's storage directions. FDA's two-hour rule for perishable food (one hour above 90°F/32°C) is general handling guidance, not a shelf-life test for this sauce.
History
The Encyclopedia of Alabama describes a mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon, pepper and salt sauce associated with Robert Gibson in Decatur in 1925, first used to dunk chicken and later used more broadly. Alabama's tourism account identifies white sauce with North Alabama and describes the Big Bob Gibson version's ingredients and smoked-chicken use. The measured formula here is a separate contemporary published Alabama-style recipe; the historic restaurant's proprietary formula is not claimed.
Ingredients
Yield 1.5 cup · Scaling: source batch only
237 mL1 cup as recorded
59 mL¼ cup as recorded
44 mL3 tbsp as recorded
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
Onion powder
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
to taste
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw-egg exposure in homemade mayonnaise
This sauce uses mayonnaise. Homemade mayonnaise made with unpasteurized raw eggs can expose eaters to egg-borne pathogens.
Hazard sourceUse commercially prepared mayonnaise or make homemade mayonnaise with pasteurized eggs; follow its manufacturer's refrigeration instructions.
Control sourceRefrigerate perishable prepared sauce within two hours, or within one hour when ambient temperature is above 90°F (32°C). This general handling limit does not establish this formula's shelf life.
Control sourceKeep refrigerated sauce at or below 40°F (4°C), following FDA general refrigerator guidance; this does not set a storage duration for this formula.
Control sourceThe source provides no validated shelf life for this exact formula. Keep it refrigerated and follow the mayonnaise maker's storage directions; discard it if it has been left out beyond general perishable-food handling guidance.
- Whisk the mayonnaise, white vinegar, lemon juice, honey, prepared horseradish, onion powder, black pepper and kosher salt together until combined.
Conditions
Yield1.5 cup
Active time5 min
Places
Northern Alabama
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceRegional association for Alabama white sauce; not a precise birthplace claim for this contemporary formula.
Decatur
Historical attestation · Locality evidenceThe source dates Robert Gibson's white sauce to Decatur in 1925; this records historical attestation, not the origin of every variant.
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Sources
Food NetworkMethod · Inspiration
White BBQ Sauce (Alabama Style)Contemporary Alabama-style formula and 1½-cup yield.
Mayonnaise, white vinegar, lemon juice, honey, prepared horseradish, onion powder, black pepper and salt to taste.
Whisk method.
Cited in: A North Alabama sauce with a separate modern formula
Encyclopedia of AlabamaHistory · Geography · Usage
Barbecue: Alabama StyleMayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, black pepper and salt profile.
Robert Gibson at Decatur, 1925; chicken dipping; later broader use.
Cited in: A North Alabama sauce with a separate modern formula; Serving and handling
Alabama Tourism DepartmentGeography · Usage · Taste
Pork, Blues and Inner Tubes: A Tour of Alabama BarbecueNorth Alabama specialty associated with Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur.
Restaurant version flavor ingredients and smoked-chicken use, distinct from the recipe transcribed here.
Cited in: A North Alabama sauce with a separate modern formula; Serving and handling
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Food Safety for Moms-to-Be: Dairy and EggsCommercial mayonnaise uses pasteurized eggs; use pasteurized eggs for homemade mayonnaise.
Cited in: Serving and handling
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Food Safety at HomeGeneral guidance to refrigerate perishable foods within two hours, or one hour above 90°F (32°C); not a recipe-specific shelf-life validation.
Cited in: Serving and handling
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Refrigerator Thermometers: Cold Facts about Food SafetyFDA advises keeping refrigerator temperature at or below 40°F (4°C); this general handling advice does not validate the formula's shelf life.
Cited in: Serving and handling