Latest 5 kg batch at 2.0% salt, 1.0% cracked fennel, 0.25% chili, and a 3 mm grind tastes fennel-forward even after a 24-hour rest at 2°C. Has anyone balanced that top note by swapping a portion for ground coriander or a whisper of mace, or is the fix simply dropping to 0.6–0.7% and toasting less?
Swap about 30% of the fennel for freshly cracked coriander and skip toasting; instead, steep both seeds in your wine for about 10 minutes, strain, and use the infused liquid so the fennel stops shouting like a tenor. I’d also drop fennel to about 0.7% and rest 48 hours — flavor integrates and the top note calms; did keeping the chili at “0.25%” seem to push the fennel, or have you tried dialing that back too?
Drop fennel to about 0.7% and add mace at “0.05–0.08%”; skip toasting and give the mix 48 hours at 2°C so the anethole settles into the fat… If it’s still shouting, nudge the fat up a couple points (toward 28–30%) — mace is the bass player that reins in the fennel lead. What’s your current lean:fat?
But > the bass player that reins in the fennel lead. A quick double blanch of the seeds (10–15 sec in boiling water, drain, repeat), then dry and crack before mixing has been my fix — it knocks back the sharp anethole hit without flattening the sweetness. If you try it, keep your toast super light or skip it; are you cracking with a mortar or a mill?
, I still bump into old Dexter-by-Schlage and Brinks packs with 3/4" throws; they ‘stick’ exactly like that when the strike box is shallow. I pencil-mark like you, but I’ll pop a 1–1/8" hole saw in the jamb and fit a steel box strike with 3" screws so the new 1" bolt seats clean — nice call on the drilling, @jessica_b88. Did yours have the skinny stamped strike or a boxed one?
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