White Barbecue Sauce - A Recipe

I live right around Huntsville, Alabama which is an area known for 2 things - the first is a ridiculous number of Aerospace Engineers (I'm the daughter of one and the wife of another and I've worked on a few space related projects myself) and the second is White Barbecue Sauce.  I'm not sure how well known White Barbecue sauce is.  Years ago you only knew about it if you lived in North Alabama but now the world is so much smaller so it wouldn't surprise me if this has spread.  If it hasn't it should because it's amazing!
The sauce was created by Bob Gibson who owned a little barbecue restaurant called Big Bob Gibson's which still exists in Decatur, AL.  He came up with this tangy sauce in 1925 and it's been a staple ever since.  It's delicious on chicken, hush puppies, and pretty much anything else you can come up with.  There are a few bottled versions you can buy (including one by Gibson's) but it's so easy to make and tastes so much better that I always make my own.

Today I thought I'd share a recipe for White Barbecue Sauce.  It's so simple that you probably already have all the ingredients.  This recipe comes from Southern Plate which is a cookbook (and blog) by Christy Jordan who lives in the same area that I do.

Alabama White BBQ Sauce

2 cups mayonnaise

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons black pepper

6 tablespoons white vinegar

6 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together and stir well to dissolve the sugar.  Refrigerate several hours before serving.

And that's it!  This recipe tastes very similar to the sauce you'd find if you were eating at Gibson's where it was originally invented.  Now while this is a really good simple recipe I actually prefer this more complicated recipe from Southern Bites.  If you can't find creole mustard I've used just regular spicy brown in a pinch and it's worked fine.

I take chicken breasts pounded to between 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and brush them with a little olive oil and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper and then on a greased broiler pan I pop them under the broiler for about 8 minutes or so.  I then brush the sauce over each side, flip the chicken and broil for another 8 minutes or so.  Then I brush both sides of the chicken and serve them with a bit of sauce on the side for dipping.  

This works great with most barbecue type sides though I like sweeter things like this corn casserole or baked beans to balance out the acidity of the sauce.  The sauce is also great with all kinds of things that could use a bit of a kick!  

I'm linking up with Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads