camp meals

Alabama White Sauce for Camp Birds

A sharp mayonnaise sauce for smoked turkey, mixed in a cup at the fire ring.

calories
210
weight
2.2 oz
cal / oz
95
protein
1 g
serves
6, scales
prep
10 min
cook
0 min
total time
10 min
water
30 ml cold
cost
$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Dinner
  • No cook
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Gluten free
  • Nut free
  • Real dishes
  • Grab and go
  • Needs a cooler
  • Basic

Ingredients

Mayonnaise 1 cup single-serve packets if you have no cooler
Water 2 tbsp thins it to pourable
White wine vinegar 2 tbsp
Creole mustard 1 tbsp any coarse brown mustard works
Garlic cloves 2 minced, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Coarse ground black pepper 1 tsp more than looks right
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp

Method

  1. Mince the garlic as fine as you can. Big pieces stay raw and harsh.
  2. Put the mayonnaise in a cup or jar. Add the vinegar and water and stir until it stops looking like mayonnaise.
  3. Stir in the mustard, garlic, pepper, sugar, and salt.
  4. Taste. It should be sour first, then peppery. Add vinegar a teaspoon at a time if it is flat.
  5. Let it sit half an hour if you can spare it, then spoon it over sliced smoked turkey, or serve it alongside for dipping.

This is the sauce that goes on a smoked wild turkey breast, and it is the part of that meal you can actually make in camp. Vinegar and mayonnaise instead of tomato and sugar, which matters when the bird is lean. Wild turkey has almost no fat, so it dries out on a grill; a fatty acidic sauce puts back what the smoke took out.

The water is not filler. Straight mayonnaise sits on the meat in a lump instead of coating it. Thin it until it pours off a spoon in a ribbon. Mayonnaise needs a cooler for anything past the first day, so if you are carrying it without one, use shelf-stable packets and mix only what you will finish that night.

Packing

Mix it at home and carry it in a screw-top jar in the cooler. If there is no cooler, carry mayo packets and a small bag of the premixed dry seasoning, then squeeze and stir at camp.

Variations

  • A teaspoon of prepared horseradish makes it bite harder.
  • Cayenne or a splash of hot sauce for heat without more vinegar.
  • Thinned with another tablespoon of vinegar it works as a mop during the last half hour of smoking.

https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/bourbon-sorghum-brined-smoked-wild-turkey-with-alabama-white-sauce