Morton kosher salt, and 2 cups water in a small saucepan over medium, stirring to dissolve sugar, until mixture is steaming but not simmering, about 3 minutes. Cover and chill white sauce at least 1 hour and up to 3 days. cayenne pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Vigorously whisk ¾ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup buttermilk, ¼ cup distilled white vinegar, 1 Tbsp. Whichever way you choose, don’t forget a side of fried green tomatoes.

For an epic chicken sandwich, tuck the fried thighs into a plush potato bun along with sliced pickles and a hefty spoonful of Alabama white sauce. My favorite way to serve this chicken is over a slice of soft white bread to sop up all that sauce. Laced with plenty of black pepper, this versatile white sauce would be great on just about anything: In Alabama, it’s most commonly slathered on grilled or smoked chicken-the thin mayo-based sauce keeps the bird moist and juicy-but I also use it as a salad dressing and a dipping sauce for fries (Big Ranch Energy). Unlike many barbecue sauces-which lean heavily on ketchup and molasses-this pale mayonnaise-and-vinegar-based one is bright and punchy, a trademark of Alabama barbecue. The ultimate companion for sweet-tea-brined chicken? Alabama white sauce. Instead of deep-frying, I opt for a shallow-fry in a cast-iron skillet, which yields spectacularly crispy, craggy chicken with a fraction of the oil. This trick is said to strip the tea of any lingering bitterness, but adding a little baking soda to the brine also performs the valuable role of tenderizing the meat.

In this recipe, inspired by the dish from Saw’s, sweet tea acts as a flavor-charged brine for chicken thighs, resulting in tender, ultra-succulent fried chicken with a lingering hint of sweetness.įor the brine, I take a cue from the age-old Southern secret of spiking sweet tea with a pinch of baking soda. But it wasn’t until I tasted the sweet-tea fried chicken sandwich from Saw’s BBQ in Birmingham, Alabama, that I realized they’re even more powerful together. Two Southern staples in their own right, sweet tea and fried chicken are often found on the same table.

Portable dredge equipment