-
1
Combine the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, and lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture is fully homogeneous and no streaks of unmixed vinegar remain. The sauce will already be noticeably thinner than plain mayonnaise — sight confirms the base is correct.
-
2
Add the prepared horseradish, black pepper, cayenne, and salt. Whisk thoroughly. This is where the dish lives or dies: the horseradish must be fully incorporated and present on the palate — taste the sauce now and confirm a clean nasal sharpness that lifts the mixture beyond mayonnaise and vinegar. A sauce without that bite is one-dimensional and cannot be corrected at the table.
-
3
Assess the consistency by lifting the whisk and watching the sauce fall: it should flow in a thin, unbroken stream, not drop in slow, heavy ribbons. If it is too thick to pour freely, whisk in apple juice, a little at a time, until it flows freely from a spoon.
-
4
Taste for balance — the sauce should be bright, acidic, and cooling in sequence, with the pepper and cayenne arriving last. Adjust salt or vinegar as needed. Rest the sauce for at least ten minutes before use; the flavours knit and the sharpness of the raw vinegar softens perceptibly on the nose.
-
5
To apply in the Big Bob Gibson manner: transfer the sauce to a vessel wide and deep enough to submerge a whole bird. Lower the hot smoked chicken immediately off the smoker into the sauce, turning once to coat completely. Lift, allow excess to drip, and serve. The skin should feel lightly glazed rather than heavily coated to the touch.