Whether grilled, smoked, or baked, Chicken in Alabama White Sauce is all about the sauce. The chicken’s role is solely to offer the creamy and soothing sauce a substantial base. It is delicious and will be unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before. At Bob Gibson BBQ in Alabama, where it was invented in the 1920s, smoked chicken is dipped in a bucket of white sauce right before serving. The recipe remains unchanged a hundred years later.

American southern smoked chicken with alabama white sauce

Smoked Chicken in Alabama White Sauce

You can skip the whole dipping chicken in a bucket of white sauce (like they do at BBQ joints in the South) by brushing the sauce on the chicken during cooking. This will give you a lightly spiced crust to douse in more sauce right before devouring.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: BBQ, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, American Deep South, North American

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 55

Servings:

Author: My Hungry Traveler

Equipment

Grill or roasting pan
Instant read thermometer

Ingredients

4 pieces Chicken thigh-leg quarters, or 8 thighs, or a 4 lb cut-up chicken
1 RECIPE Southern Chicken Rub
1 RECIPE Alabama White BBQ Sauce
4 oz Wood chips if smoking (optional)

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Grilled Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

Prepare Chicken – Place chicken pieces in a plastic freezer bag. Add enough rub to coat chicken, 4-6 tbsp. Seal bag and massage the spice rub into the chicken. Seal and refrigerate at least 1 hour and as long as you want.
Grill Chicken – If smoking, prepare smoker box with wood chips. To cook chicken using the indirect heat method, fire up grill to 400°F (200°C). Place a filled smoker box, if using, on the grates. Brush grates with a little oil and sear chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Turn half the grill off (or move coals to one side) and move chicken, skin-side up, to the cool side. Brushing with sauce every 10 minutes, cook chicken with cover closed for about 30 minutes. Chicken is done when an instant read thermometer reads 165°F (74°C) when inserted into the thickest part of a thigh.

Baked Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

Prepare Chicken – Place chicken pieces in a plastic freezer bag. Add enough rub to coat chicken, 4-6 tbsp. Seal bag and massage the spice rub into the chicken. Seal and refrigerate at least 1 hour and as long as you want.
Bake Chicken – Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Arrange chicken pieces on a rimmed baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush bottoms with sauce. Flip back over and brush tops with sauce. Return to oven and bake another 30 minutes. Chicken is done when an instant read thermometer reads 165°F (74°C) when inserted into the thickest part of a thigh. When done, brush again with sauce and serve with additional sauce for the table.