"white sauce" news and stories

A Birmingham restaurateur is putting a gourmet spin on a barbecue tradition that's thus far remained fiercely regional.

Sweet Bones Alabama, a downtown 'cue joint, last week began bottling its version of Alabama white sauce, a mayonnaise-based concoction pioneered in 1925 by Decatur's legendary pitmaster Big Bob Gibson, who liberally slathered the stuff on chicken. The sauce has since become a favorite dressing for just about anything fried or smoked in North Alabama, including pickles, tomatoes and venison.

"It's a very versatile sauce," Sweet Bones' owner John Cowan says.

While many white sauce fans make their own batches of Big Bob's famous sauce – an authorized cookbook published last year revealed the exact proportions of mayonnaise to pepper to vinegar -- Cowan thinks he's improved on the original. Among the first artisanal barbecue sauce makers to tackle white sauce, Cowan's crafted a recipe he describes as "much more complex, with more layered flavors."

According to many, Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City was the first real restaurant in the United States, opening in 1827 (it's also believed to be the first to use a separate wine list). A lot of great food was invented there, including Delmonico Steak, Eggs Benedict, and Chicken a la King, but today let's talk about Delmonico Potatoes. After the jump is a recipe from about.com, or you could try this one from Emeril Lagasse.

Call it white sauce, cheese sauce, Bechamel: the routine is the same. Fat, flour, spices, liquid, and the melting cheese. It's the first thing you should learn when you start out in the kitchen.

And more importantly, it's the basis for most every fifties casserole or delicious pasta dish. It's the basis for macaroni and cheese, tuna noodle casserole, hamburger pie. It's easy... I'll walk you through it.