Smoky Dry-Rubbed Grilled Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

  • Level: Intermediate
  • Yield: 2 to 4 servings
  • Total: 1 hr 40 min
  • Active: 25 min
My mom's favorite barbecue sauce is Alabama white sauce, and it's ideal to serve with my spice-rubbed grilled chicken. The chicken halves are cooked first low and slow over indirect heat to infuse that smoky flavor from the grill into the meat. After a quick char over the flames at the end, the chicken is juicy, tender, and oh so good.
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Ingredients

Dry-Rubbed Grilled Chicken:

One 4- to 5-pound whole chicken

3 tablespoons Miss Brown's House Seasoning, recipe follows

2 tablespoons light brown sugar 

1 teaspoon dried oregano 

1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

1 teaspoon dried parsley 

Kosher salt

Alabama White Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons light brown sugar 

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish 

2 teaspoons hot sauce 

1 teaspoon dry mustard 

Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon) 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Miss Brown's House Seasoning:

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder 

1 teaspoon sweet paprika 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. For the dry-rubbed grilled chicken: Remove the backbone from the chicken. Cut the chicken through the breastbone into two halves. Stir together the House Seasoning, brown sugar, oregano, paprika, parsley and a couple of pinches of salt in a bowl. Rub under the skin and all over the chicken halves.
  2. Prepare a grill for direct and indirect cooking: Heat one side of the grill to medium heat. Leave the other side unlit.
  3. Place the chicken skin-up on the grates on the unlit side of the grill. Grill, with the lid closed, until the skin begins to brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to the lit side of the grill, starting skin-up, and cook until the chicken is done and a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted in the thickest portion of the thigh (avoiding bone), 12 to 15 minutes on each side.
  4. For the Alabama white sauce: Stir together the mayonnaise, brown sugar, vinegar, Dijon mustard, horseradish, hot sauce, dry mustard, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.
  5. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

Miss Brown's House Seasoning:

  1. Stir together the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Let's Get Cooking!

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CajunTot

This recipe is fantastic! We loved it, and her Alabama White Sauce has the perfect amount of balance unlike others I have tried.

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