Alabama White Sauce High-Heat Chicken Halves
Chapter 2 — The Meats
If Texas brisket is the king of beef, Northern Alabama claims the undisputed crown for poultry. Born in the rail-town of Decatur in 1925, Big Bob Gibson realized that three hours over hickory smoke dried a chicken out, so he engineered a revolutionary fix: a tangy, peppery, mayonnaise-based sauce. The fat in the mayo acts as a barrier, keeping the meat incredibly juicy while the vinegar and horseradish cut straight through the rich wood smoke. This requires abandoning everything you know about thick, sweet barbecue sauces. You aren't going to brush this on; you are going to plunge the entire hot bird into it. When that blistered chicken hits the cold sauce, the residual heat sets the mayo into a shimmering, tangy glaze. It is a quiet, regional gem, and that first bite of applewood smoke, rendered fat, and sharp horseradish will make a true believer out of anyone.
Before you start
Mix the Alabama White Sauce.
Whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, apple juice, horseradish, black pepper, lemon juice, salt, sugar, and cayenne together in a large, wide bowl until smooth, then refrigerate for at least an hour to marry the flavors and chill the emulsion.
Split the chickens.
Using heavy poultry shears, cut completely through the backbone. Flip the birds over and slice directly down the center of the breastbone to yield four distinct halves, which are much easier to manage on a home grill.
Season the halves.
Pat the chicken halves completely dry with paper towels to ensure crispy skin. Coat them lightly with the neutral oil as a binder, and generously apply your BBQ rub to both sides, getting some underneath the skin where possible.
Ingredients
- Duke's Mayonnaise2 cup
- distilled white vinegar1 cup
- apple juice1/2 cup
- prepared horseradish2 tsp
- coarsely ground black pepper2 tsp
- fresh lemon juice2 tsp
- kosher salt2 tsp
- granulated sugar1 tbsp
- cayenne pepper1/2 tsp
- whole young chickens2 large
- neutral oil1/4 cup
- savory BBQ rub1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Fire up the pit for a high-heat smoke.
Dial your kamado, offset, or pellet smoker in to 325°F using indirect heat, and add two or three chunks of applewood or hickory. For a standard kettle, set up a two-zone fire or a short unlit charcoal snake to maintain 325°F. For the kitchen oven workaround, preheat to 325°F and add a half-teaspoon of liquid smoke to the oil binder on the chicken before placing it on a wire rack over a foil-lined baking sheet.
- 02
Smoke the chicken halves undisturbed.
Place the chicken halves in the indirect heat zone, skin-side up. Let them ride for about 45 minutes to set the skin and absorb the smoke. Unlike brisket or pork shoulder, there is no evaporative stall with poultry at this temperature; the heat will power straight through.
- 03
Render the fat and check the temperature.
Once the skin turns a deep mahogany, you may optionally flip them skin-side down for 15 minutes to aggressively render the fat, watching closely for flare-ups. Pull the chicken the second the thickest part of the breast hits 165°F and the thickest part of the thigh registers exactly 180°F, ensuring the dark meat is fully tenderized.
- 04
Dunk the hot chicken into the cold sauce.
Using heavy tongs, take a freshly smoked chicken half and completely submerge it into the large bowl of chilled white sauce. If your bowl isn't deep enough, roll the bird around or aggressively baste it with a ladle until absolutely every inch is baptized.
- 05
Rest the chicken to set the glaze.
Transfer the dunked chicken to a wire rack or cutting board and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. The residual heat of the chicken will gently cook the mayonnaise, turning the opaque white liquid into a translucent, shimmering glaze that locks in the juices.
Notes
Don't fear the oven broiler.
If cooking indoors or if the skin hasn't crisped properly by the time the thigh hits 180°F, blast the chicken halves under the oven broiler for three to five minutes before dunking, watching constantly to prevent burning.
Serve with the classics.
Slice the rested halves into quarters, separating the breast from the leg, and serve with a stack of white bread, pickles, and the leftover white sauce on the side for dipping.
From Cook BBQ at Home.