The History of Alabama White Sauce

Back in 1925, Big Bob Gibson, a 6’ 4” railroad worker from Decatur, Alabama, began smoking pork and chicken in hickory-fired brick pits on the weekends. He served his barbecue to family and neighbors on a makeshift table nailed to a sycamore tree in his backyard. Although Bob was a fan of traditional vinegar-based sauces, he realized that he needed something with more fat to retain the moisture in the whole, split chickens that he was slow-roasting for hours. So, he created a new type of barbecue sauce made from mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Bob’s business grew over time, eventually turning in a restaurant with multiple locations across Alabama, and the popularity of his white barbecue sauce grew along with it. Workers at Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q learned the original recipe and then began making their own versions, distributing the barbecue style all across the state and surrounding areas. Eventually, the tangy, peppery, mayo-based sauce became so synonymous with the region that it came to be known simply as "Alabama white sauce." While it is still most commonly used to flavor slow-roasted chicken and keep it moist, Alabama white sauce is now also used as a marinade for pork and smoked turkey, as a tableside dip, and even as a salad dressing. Today, there are several regional variations within the state that incorporate different ingredients such as sugar, horseradish, or cayenne pepper. Bob’s family continues to run Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q and has won many contests and awards for Bob's original Alabama white sauce. Today, the sauce is found not only in its native Alabama, but has been embraced in many other areas, too, and it frequently shows up at restaurants and backyard barbecues all across the country.