Found myself slightly offended when The Chew cast was dressed in Western style cowboy clothes but talking in faux accents that sounded more like Gomer Pyle, “Aint” Bea, and other rural Southern media archetypes. One only need hear a person say a word like athlete to know the difference. Out here in the west, it sounds like a 3 syllable word beginning with a short A (ath-uh-lete) whereas in the deep South, it sounds like the 2 syllable word it is but takes longer to say and begins with a long A (Ayyyeeeth – leeyt).
Then I really found myself baffled when Carla Hall started making cheese grits in a skillet on a set that was decidedly Western with its brand marks, saloon doors, etc. I’ve lived in the West my entire life and had never even seen let alone tasted grits until I visited the South. Media synergy is behind many a stretch when it comes to tying in the latest project they’re trying to pimp with the program du jour, so the disconnect between The Chew’s dressing like cowboys but cooking and talking like Paula Deen finally cleared up when it became obvious that today’s show was just a tease for the upcoming CMA awards on ABC. They were going country-western, not just country, and the western part of country-western showed up when Tim Love made his ribs with a new take on how to eat beets.
Mario’s wings and Alabama BBQ sauce was a disconnect for me as well. I think of wings as a Buffalo NY thing that spread throughout the US. I’ve been to Alabama and the wings were fried there like they are in Buffalo, not grilled, and served w/ blue cheese or Ranch dressing. The white BBQ sauce was served with just about everything else you can think of, chicken, ribs, bread, even French fries, but not chicken wings. It’s a staple in northern Alabama, served with just about every grilled or BBQed dish in that part of the state. Go a couple of hours south, like to Montgomery & it’s hit or miss. Drive an hour or so across the state line into Tennessee, Georgia or Mississippi, & it’ll be hard to find someone who’s even heard of it, let alone serves it, and good luck finding it in as far south as Mobile unless you go to a chain restaurant like Big Bob Gibson’s which started in Decatur, AL but is now found across the South. I’ve eaten at the one in Monroe, NC which would’ve been fine if I were in the mood for ‘Bama style BBQ. Unfortunately, my mouth was watering for NC style BBQ with that spicy vinegar sauce – which is not on their menu, even in NC.
There are about as many recipes for White BBQ sauce as there are families in northern Alabama. Some use sugar like Mario did, others, like Big Bob Gibson, don’t. Some use lemon juice, others don’t. Some use cayenne, others don’t. Some use granulated garlic and/or powdered mustard, others don’t. The only ingredients that every one of the recipes has in common are mayonnaise, prepared horseradish, salt, pepper & vinegar … and even that is up for debate. Some use white vinegar like Mario, others like Big Bob Gibson, use apple cider vinegar.
I make a lower calorie version using no sugar, heavier on the horseradish & vinegar while lighter on the mayo – both in amount and type. Mario’s called for 2 cups of mayonnaise, which is more mayo than most Alabamans use in their recipes. Their versions tend to be more like a sauce and less like the dip Mario made.
My Light & White ‘Bama BBQ Sauce
- ½ cup Best Foods (Hellman’s in the East) Light Mayo with Olive Oil
- ¼ c white or cider vinegar depending on what I have
- 2 TBSP prepared horseradish
- fresh ground black pepper, cayenne pepper to taste
Wisk them all together and serve with grilled or BBQed meat or poultry. It is great on one of those grocery store rotisserie chickens. For a quick dinner, serve on sandwich rolls with the sauce drizzled on the chicken with more on the side for dipping. We use it a lot at home on hot sandwiches made with leftover roast, but our favorite is as an accompaniment to Beer Can Chicken, where an opened, full beer can is stuffed into the cavity of a whole bird, then set upright onto a grill over a drip pan and cooked using indirect heat.
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