White BBQ Sauce

I love BBQ.  Growing up in Marietta, Ga, we would go to Big Ed's and Williamson Bros. regularly.  I was introduced to Sam's BBQ1 a few years back while visiting my parents and am totally obsessed......we're talking, hop in the car and drive down from NC obsessed.

Having taken up residency
in North Carolina 10 years ago, I have learned waaaay more about BBQ.  People are always asking your allegiance.  Duke/UNC/State or Eastern/Western.  Obviously, I figured out the first question easy peasy (and my answer is UGA).  The second, I learned, was which way I preferred my BBQ.

Eastern is the truest version of BBQ that has a vinegar base to it.  Western (my preference) offers a rich ketchup, molasses, brown sugar variation.  Then, just to throw a little more flame to the BBQ Wars fire,  Lexington is a town an hour up the road headed towards Greensboro that offers its own type of BBQ. The styles of BBQ also have a great deal of which part of the pig is used.  More info can be found in this article from Our State magazine.

I do pulled pork in our slow cooker and will share my recipe for that soon.  One day I'll work on a smoker version.

Having said all that, we were in Birmingham, Alabama, a few weeks back and much to my surprise I learned of a whole new variation of BBQ sauce - White BBQ Sauce.  I mistook it for ranch dressing and was so upset when I heard everyone raving about it after the fact. I love trying knew twists to cuisine, especially if it is of the southern food specialty. So I've been doing my research and whipped up a batch for Father's Day dinner.  Due to a family hike, we opted for chicken since I didn't have time to do pulled pork.  I think I still prefer Western BBQ sauce but this would be so fun to have out as a sampling and it will definitely make an appearance at our annual 4th of July shin dig.

Any self respecting southerner turns to Southern Living first for their research.  Naturally, I found this article describing the phenom that is White BBQ Sauce.

I opted for Rebecca Lang's version out of her book, Around The Southern Table.

White Sauce
2 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
rosemary sprigs for garnish

*mix ingredients, set aside 1 1/2 cups, cover and chill for at least 8 hours
**use the reserved sauce to marinate your chicken (1 4-5 pound chicken, cut up)

Marinade

After chilling, I cooked the chicken on an indoor grill for 7 minutes per side before transferring to the oven to cook for another 25-30 minutes, flipping once half way through cooking.

Dinner is served

Be sure to whip up this sauce and give it a go for your next BBQ.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and a happy belated Father's Day to all the great dad's out there.  Our day was spent hiking a new trail we had not been on before and, of course, spoiling the very best taste tester ever.  Despite my many failures in life and the kitchen, he's always got my back. My boys are so blessed to have such a Godly, caring and hysterical Daddy.

xoxo,
TSS